It took two years to finish.

However, for Cathy Pallozzi, CHAM, CCS, director of patient access at Albany (NY) Medical Center and her team of access managers, constructing a new, comprehensive policy and procedure manual was worth the wait.

After all, Albany Medical's access team of about 95 full-time employees and 110 overall staff members had its struggles prior to the implementation of its policy and procedure manual, including:

Low staff morale. This was due to the absence of a structured monitoring process. Staff members wanted to do the right thing. “We, as managers, have the responsibility of providing them the tools to be successful,” says Pallozzi.