Walking the Talk: Kauvery Hospital redefines ‘Service Excellence’
When the Kauvery Hospital chain set up their first hospital in 2003, their Vision was very clear. To provide ‘affordable healthcare’ in a highly ‘modern environment’ with the ‘latest in medical technology’. But at the same time, all of these must be provided with ‘empathy, love, affection, kindness and genuine caring’.
This ethos of the Management was elaborated into a ‘Value System’ for the hospital. It is famous among staff, for the abbreviation – CHEERS (they jokingly greet each other with ‘Cheers’). CHEERS expands to:
- Continual Improvement
- Heartfelt Personal Touch
- Ethical Practices
- Empathetic Care
- Real Accountability
- Service Excellence
Lofty ideals and noble vision, one may say. And also dismiss them in the same breath! After all, haven’t we heard this before? But that is where Kauvery Hospital stands out as different.
The Management realized that while these goals were noble and lofty, translating them into reality would require a lot of sweat, toil, and ‘subject matter expertise’. Accordingly, they started engaging experts in 5S and Kaizen systems (which are standards for operational excellence), and Toyota standards for safety measures and environmental protection.
Thereafter, Service coaches were engaged by the management to mentor staff on how to deliver, and maintain Service Excellence standards, with a human touch, and on a continuous basis. Thereby creating an enterprise where growth is not driven by a quantitative, but a qualitative approach. Even today, newly appointed staff go through a rigorous training on service excellence.
This journey has not been easy. There are always nay-sayers in any group of people, be they staff, patients, or external consultants. Such people are OK with an occasional compromise on these values, due to real-time and real-world pressures.
However, the Management was resolute on their commitment. They worked on the back-processes, which ensured that nobody, be they staff or specialist, will be forced to compromise due to one or the other pressure. Once such a system and processes were put in place, it became easy to deliver these high standards.
Word spread around, and soon, more and more patients, more and more specialists, wanted to be associated with Kauvery Hospitals (KH). The popularity helped the Management expand into other cities as well. Today, KH has operations in Trichy, Tirunelveli, Salem, Chennai, Hosur and Bangalore.
All the hard-work and commitment to ‘values over profits’ have paid off. This is reflected in the innumerable awards received by KH over the years. Just sample this:
Awards in 2023
- Service Excellence in Cardiology, Vascular Medicine, Oncology, Paediatrics, Trauma and Critical Care – for KH, Trichy
- Service Excellence in Cardiology and Nephrology – for KH, Salem
Awards in 2022
- Excellence in the field of Cardiology
- Healthcare Excellence Awards
- Critical Care Rankings
- A place in the World’s Best Hospitals – India, for the 3rd consecutive year (2020, 2021, 2022)
Awards in 2021
- LeapVault awards
- Excellence in Neonatal care
- Excellence in renal transplantation
- A place in List of Top Hospitals of India, South India
Awards in 2021
- LeapVault awards
- A place in List of Top Hospitals of India, South India
These awards are given by reputed National and Global organizations, after thorough research and due diligence. Some of the recurring themes in these awards are – Service Excellence, Healthcare Excellence, top Hospital, best Hospital, etc.
While this is what the outside world thinks of KH, let us see what the real beneficiaries of this excellence – patients and their families – have to say!
“My infection was treated successfully, after which a plastic surgery was also done. I am very happy with the care and service provided by the nurses and doctors.”
– Santhi
“First, I had a complex surgery at KH. Then, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which I was operated again. My cancer was treated successfully. I was initially scared about undergoing a second surgery, but the doctors convinced me about it. Now, I back to my normal routine, taking care of my family and household chores.”
– Deepa, Cancer Survivor
“I had severe pain one evening and was rushed to the hospital. I was given oxygen, then some phlegm was removed and I was stabilized. An angioplasty was done, which revealed I had 85% blocks on both sides. Over two days, all the blocks were removed. I was moved into the ICU and my condition monitored closely. The nurses administered meds on time, and were very attentive. They took very good care of me; they didn’t miss anything. Earlier I used to be breathless and suffer a lot while walking, now there is no problem, I am feeling fine now, I go for walking every day without a problem. By god’s grace, they brought me back from death, I thank Dr. Arvind and KH profusely.”
– Gulam Mohideen
“I am undergoing dialysis in KH from 5 ½ years. I would like to appreciate KH for the services rendered to me. Primarily I would like to say it’s a patient-friendly hospital and every patient is individually attended to, by the doctors. That is a great thing, I would like to emphasize. They are giving excellent medical service to patients. I have not skipped even one day as the service is so good, I am enjoying good health and I lead my life as a senior citizen today.”
– Sankar Ram, a survivor of Kidney Cancer
“From many years, I was suffering from giddiness, high BP and diabetes. My brother told me that KH will provide good care and advised me to come here. The first doctor I met was Dr. Arun. I was having bone damage in my neck due to wear and tear. People advised me to wear a belt on the neck and restrict my movements which scared me. Dr. Arun gave me the confidence to handle this. He asked me to put faith in him, and follow his instructions, assured me that I will get well. I followed his suggestion and took the course of treatment. All the dizziness has gone and I am relieved now.
Then I was suffering from diabetes and it made me tired. I had to travel to work and struggled a lot with that. The next doctor who came to help me was Dr. Jagadeesan. He has such a warm way of handling patients that just by spending time with him, one will get cured. He gave me the right medicines; I check my sugar levels regularly and it’s all under control now. I got the right doctor.
After that, for my BP, I met Dr. Rajendiran. He encouraged me to be brave and take the right medicines on time and helped regulate my BP levels. All doctors at KH welcome patients with a lot of love. They treat patients with kindness, affection and make you feel relieved. The nurses’ care for patients is comparable to that of a mother for her child. I have to mention this specifically and thank them from the bottom of my heart. I now feel very confident and very happy too. Thank you very much.”
– Kandaswamy
All these accolades and testimonials have made KH a household name in Tamil Nadu today. They are now expanding into other states, and one such endeavour has been the setting up of a super-speciality hospital in Bangalore.
One of the best things about what KH does is the Ripple Effect. When one hospital-chain raises the bar in service excellence, all other chains, or hospitals, must improve their service levels too, in order to survive. In the process, the society is benefited. KH inspires every company, across industry verticals (and not just Healthcare alone) to appreciate that putting ‘values over profits’, always pays! Hospital chains like KH are what makes India a premium destination for Healthcare and Medical Tourism in the world today.
As Kauvery Hospital completes two decades of operations, the Management of KH would like to take a moment to pause and look back at this long journey. There have been many stakeholders in its success. Right from senior doctors to junior doctors, interns, nurses, pharmacy staff, Class IV employees, specialists, quality consultants, vendors and service partners. An entire ecosystem has benefited from KH’s value system and in turn, KH has benefited from their association too.
As KH begins yet another decade of operations, its Management would like to thank all these stakeholders, and the society at large, for all the love, support and blessings received. That will inspire us to set new benchmarks in healthcare, and cross more such milestones in our history.
We also take this opportunity to redeem our pledge. A pledge to uphold our value system always, and take affordable, high-quality, and humanized healthcare to every patient who needs it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does CHEERS stand for at Kauvery Hospital?
CHEERS represents Continual Improvement, Heartfelt Personal Touch, Ethical Practices, Empathetic Care, Real Accountability, and Service Excellence.
How does Kauvery Hospital maintain service excellence?
They use expert training in 5S, Kaizen systems, Toyota safety standards, and continuous service coaching to ensure high standards in patient care.
What awards has Kauvery Hospital received for its service?
Kauvery Hospital has been recognized nationally and globally with awards in Cardiology, Oncology, Critical Care, and more, highlighting its commitment to excellence.
How does Kauvery Hospital impact the broader healthcare ecosystem?
By setting high service standards, Kauvery Hospital inspires other providers to improve their care, raising the bar for the entire healthcare industry.
What do patients say about their experience at Kauvery Hospital?
Patients praise the hospital for its attentive care, compassionate staff, and successful treatments, emphasizing the personal touch and quality service they received.
Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai (Alwarpet & Vadapalani), Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.
Chennai Alwarpet – 044 4000 6000 • Chennai Vadapalani – 044 4000 6000 • Trichy – Cantonment – 0431 4077777 • Trichy – Heartcity – 0431 4003500 • Trichy – Tennur – 0431 4022555 • Hosur – 04344 272727 • Salem – 0427 2677777 • Tirunelveli – 0462 4006000 • Bengaluru – 080 6801 6801
