Jessie Spurlock of Augusta has been greeting people entering Augusta University Medical Center for two years.
He is a member of the Blue Coat Ambassador team, employees stationed at all entrances to the hospital to welcome and help incoming visitors or patients.
“To do this job you got to be a people person,” he said. “And you got to be understanding about people’s emotions. When people come in and they asked me ‘Can I get to so-and-so,’ I go all out to get them where they got to go.”
AUMC used to have greeters at each entrance. That changed in 2017 when the first group of employees stepped into the new positions.
Allise Riney supervises the Blue Coat Ambassador team, under the leadership of Julie Moretz, assistant vice president of Patient Family Services.
Riney started with the team in 2018. She quickly realized she loved the job and loved helping people. She wants people who have never been to the hospital to know the team is there to help.
“When they enter our organization and they see one of us in the blue vest, blue coats, we are absolutely going to get them where they need to be on time,” said Riney. “They do not need to be hesitant about approaching us because that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to make sure that their experience goes smoothly and with the least amount of stress as possible.”
She said being available for people was the easy part of the job. The arrival of COVID-19 brought challenges to team members.
“We now have some restrictions and they’re not really well received because people don’t understand. But we explain the whys and generally they’re well received,” she said. “Now you have to wear masks or children can under 18 can’t go up unless they have an appointment. So, sometimes they’re well received and sometimes not.”
Even without the impact of SARS-CoV-2 Riney said some days were hard, particularly when they can not solve an issue a guest is having. Or if it is someone they have come to know well who is going through a difficult time.
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“Our hospital has clinics within the hospital, so a lot of people come on a regular basis. So, we build relationships, and when we see that they’re going through a diagnosis and we don’t have an answer, but we are able to listen and sometimes people just want to be heard. But the hard part is not taking that home with you. That’s the hard part,” she said.
When the virus hit in 2020, the ambassadors saw their role change. They had to transition from being focused on helping visitors to being the gatekeepers who often had to keep people out for the safety of the patients. Some team members could not make that transition.
“They hated leaving, but they said, ‘I just can’t do this.’ So, that was hard for a lot of them. And then the ones that are here, they’re doing great. And they just roll with it. Our shifts got extended. We were jumping and doing, like everybody here in the hospital, doing things out of our scope, but we’re team players.”
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Blue Coat Ambassadors are paid employees. Riney said they do have some openings, and anyone interested can apply at the AU career webpage https://www.augusta.edu/hr/jobs/ and search for “Hospital Services Representative.” The job description reads in part “Duties include, but are not limited to, standing to greet patients/guests and answering their questions as they enter or leave hospital; assisting patients by looking up appointment times and locations as well as providing patient room numbers for visiting guests; collecting and entering data in Excel spreadsheets; arranging transports and/or escorts for patients/guests as needed; screening and entering individuals in the Guest ID Badging program; and tracking any concerns or issues.”
Spurlock said there are two things not in the job description that are important to have.
“You must have empathy and understanding. Because if you don’t have empathy and understanding you will make the job difficult on yourself,” he said. “But if you got those qualities, empathy and understanding and a cheerful attitude, this job becomes easier as time goes along.”
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
