Which caregiver won a TV for smiling and saying, "Hello?"

For years now, Primary Children’s Hospital has encouraged all caregivers to practice 10-5, as simply doing this can make the difference in someone’s day.

What is 10-5 you may ask? Well, it’s simple: as you walk the hallways of Primary Children’s, when you pass by a caregiver, patient, patient’s family member—any human, really—at 10 feet, smile and make eye contact, and at 5 feet, say, “Hello,” or “Good morning,” or “How are you doing?” If someone looks like they could use help, ask something like, “Can I help you find something?”

Recently, we asked volunteers to walk the halls and observe the number of caregivers saying, “Hi.” The results were not as great as we had hoped, sitting at 8% of our caregivers practicing 10-5. This year, we are enhancing our focus on 10-5. To kick things off, Primary Children’s Hospital announced a 10-5 big screen TV giveaway. Hospital leaders walked the halls, and when they spotted a caregiver practicing 10-5, they gave that person a ticket for the prize drawing. We now get the pleasure of announcing the winner.

James Harvey, from our new Orem Rehab team, won the TV! James said “When I come to work, I like to have fun. And I’ve found that when I do acknowledge people, either by eyesight or by talking to them, that they feel more comfortable here and we develop a relationship, even if it is just a small relationship just for a second.”

The 10-5 way reminds each of us to be conscious throughout our day about opportunities for interaction. It’s important to help our patients and our fellow caregivers feel safe, welcome, and at ease.

So now that masks are off, let’s be like James from Orem Rehab, and show our patients and fellow caregivers what our smiles look like. Show those pearly whites, and let’s brighten up our hospital more than ever before!