Ellen Tolbert earns National Healthcare Consumer Advocacy Award
Ellen Tolbert, director of patient relations and case management for Beebe Medical Center, has been recognized by the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy for her patient advocacy work at the local and national level.
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Tolbert’s work spans nation
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Ellen Tolbert’s work is not limited to the services she has provided at Beebe Medical Center.
Tolbert also has been actively involved at the national level. She served on the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy board of directors for five years, including terms as president and as president-elect. She has spoken to healthcare professionals across the nation on Medicare regulations, and on managing and responding to patient grievances. She also co-authored the 2009 edition of the society’s manual “In the Name of The Patient.” |
The society will honor Tolbert by presenting her with the Ruth Ravich Award during the annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pa., in April. Ravich was the founder and first president of the society. She was committed to improving healthcare services and communication between patients and their healthcare providers. The society is affiliated with the American Hospital Association.
“Your peers recognize you as an individual whose work supports the vision of the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy to bring patients’ needs to the center of healthcare,” organization President-Elect Carol Waldemayer wrote in a letter to Tolbert.
While the society was founded in 1991, the role of a patient representative was born in the 1960s, to follow up on patient complaints regarding service and delivery of care in healthcare institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes. The role has expanded over the decades to become a key component in quality assessment and improvement of care.
Tolbert, who has a master’s degree in social work, joined the Beebe Medical Center staff in 1998, when she took a position as a part-time case manager and the hospital’s first patient advocate. She went on to design and develop Beebe’s Patient Relations Department. Today she oversees a team that includes another full-time patient advocate, a Spanish interpreter and a chaplain. Tolbert also oversees the patient satisfaction survey process, compliance related to federal and state patient rights and advocacy regulations, and employee recognition and reward programs. Tolbert is integrally involved in process improvement and quality efforts at Beebe.
“We are pleased but not surprised to learn that Ellen has received this well-deserved recognition,” said Jeffrey M. Fried, president and CEO of Beebe Medical Center. “Her commitment and dedication has made a difference not only at Beebe Medical Center but throughout the nation. She is a true advocate for the patient and works hard to open the doors of communication between patients and their caregivers, and healthcare providers. She also has worked with our leadership team at Beebe Medical Center to continually work on improving the service and the quality of care that we offer the diverse communities that we serve.”
