Springhill Medical Center reduced complaint management time by more than 50% and maintained full compliance with ADN’s support, bringing relief, visibility, and peace of mind to frontline teams.
Springhill Medical Center is a full-service community hospital serving the Gulf Coast region. The Quality and Risk team, led by Director Beth Leffard and supported by Patient Satisfaction Coordinator Tante King, RN, manages the hospital’s complaint and grievance program. Before implementing ADN’s Complaints & Grievances application, their process relied heavily on manual tracking and coordination to meet regulatory timelines.
“Before we started with ADN’s module, I was tracking everything through emails and spreadsheets,” said King. “It took so much time just to make sure deadlines weren’t missed.” Each month, Springhill’s Quality and Patient Satisfaction staff spent roughly 173 hours collecting, managing, and reporting on complaint and grievance data.
Tracking updates across emails and spreadsheets made it difficult to quickly verify which issues were resolved and which were still pending. Department managers had limited visibility into case progress, and leadership reports provided counts but little context. “I spent more time managing the process than resolving the complaints themselves,” King reflected. “It was challenging knowing how much effort went into keeping up with spreadsheets instead of helping patients.”
Springhill joined ADN’s pilot program to test the Complaints & Grievances application. As an existing user of ADN’s Patient Safety Event Reporting system, Springhill found implementation straightforward. The new module mirrored the same look and feel, allowing staff to adapt quickly with minimal instruction. “It didn’t take long to learn,” said King. “Staff picked it up fast because it worked like what they already used.”
Soon after go-live, the team began seeing benefits from the new workflow. Complaints and grievances were documented through a standardized electronic form that automatically captured all required data fields and deadlines. Tasks could be assigned directly from the system, and automated notifications replaced the manual reminders King once managed herself. “The module made everything smoother,” she explained. “Now I can see every complaint and where it is in the process without chasing updates.”
The new workflow also strengthened communication across departments. For the first time, department leaders could view case statuses in real time. “Everyone can see where a case is,” said King. “Managers know what’s on their plate without me having to tell them.” The built-in structure improved process consistency and created shared accountability across teams.
Within a few months, the results were clear. The team reported more than a 50% reduction in time spent managing complaint and grievance data. Turnaround times for follow-up improved, and the hospital maintained full compliance with grievance response requirements throughout the pilot.
“The automated timelines have been transformative,” said King. “We don’t worry about missing letters anymore, and that peace of mind has been huge for our team.”
With ADN’s dashboards, Springhill’s leaders gained real-time visibility into open cases, trends, and resolution performance. “I felt much more confident going into the next survey,” King shared. “Being able to show clear timelines for every grievance letter made all the difference.” The reporting tools also gave leadership continuous insight into activity and outcomes. Instead of waiting for periodic summaries, they could monitor progress as it happened and identify opportunities for improvement with greater clarity.
Beyond workflow and reporting efficiencies, the module reinforced Springhill’s ongoing compliance with CMS and Joint Commission grievance requirements. Automated due dates, structured fields, and audit-ready task histories helped the team maintain regulatory timelines and demonstrate compliance during survey preparation with confidence.
“Since implementing the Complaints and Grievance module, we’ve significantly streamlined our complaint handling and follow-up process. This module has made our workflow more efficient and helps us consistently meet regulatory standards. With the built-in timeline notifications, our team stays on track and is consistently survey-ready.”
Tante King, RN
Patient Satisfaction Coordinator
Springhill Medical Center
In a post-pilot survey, both Springhill’s Quality and Risk Director and Patient Satisfaction Coordinator confirmed that the module continued to deliver measurable benefits. They agreed it reduced staff effort, improved workflow efficiency, and increased transparency across departments. Both also reported stronger compliance tracking and better data insights, confirming the improvements they had already seen during implementation.
Overall satisfaction with ADN’s module was high, and both leaders said they would recommend it to other facilities seeking to improve their complaints and grievances process.
Key Outcomes
Springhill’s experience reflects a challenge many hospitals face. Managing complaints and grievances manually requires significant time and coordination, even for organizations that already have strong compliance systems in place. Springhill had long prioritized regulatory consistency, but sustaining that work through spreadsheets and emails made the process difficult to scale and took valuable time away from driving meaningful quality gains. ADN’s Complaints & Grievances application simplified that effort, creating a more efficient, transparent, and reliable workflow.
For Quality, Risk, and Patient Experience leaders, the takeaway is clear: compliance confidence and staff relief can go hand in hand. By automating repetitive steps, hospitals can spend less time managing tasks and more time improving service recovery and patient outcomes.
ADN’s platform extends that impact beyond compliance. It transforms patient feedback into actionable insight, helping teams resolve issues faster, identify recurring themes earlier, and uncover trends that drive improvement across the organization. The result is a smarter, data-informed approach that enhances quality, strengthens operations, and reinforces trust.
The post-pilot survey confirmed what Springhill’s team already experienced day to day: the module continues to save time, improve visibility, and support confident, consistent compliance management. Reflecting on that shift, King shared, “It felt good to know everything was getting done. We now have more time to focus on our patients instead of tracking reminders”.
For many hospitals, managing complaints and grievances is more than a compliance function. It is a reflection of organizational culture. The process touches every corner of patient experience, staff accountability, and leadership transparency. Springhill Medical Center’s results show what can happen when that process becomes simpler, smarter, and fully aligned with daily operations.
ADN’s Complaints & Grievances application gives teams the structure and clarity they need to stay survey-ready while freeing time for the work that drives improvement. By automating documentation and communication, it replaces task management with insight and turns every complaint into an opportunity to strengthen care delivery and patient trust.
If your current process still depends on spreadsheets, emails, or manual reminders, there is likely more effort behind your compliance than you realize. ADN’s solution brings the entire complaints and grievances process together in one platform. The result is a program that is easier to manage, easier to understand, and easier to act on.
Every organization starts from a different place. ADN meets you there, with technology that adapts to your workflows and a partnership that supports long-term success. This approach gives your team the clarity to manage compliance with confidence and the freedom to focus on what truly defines quality care.
Discover how ADN can help your team simplify compliance and strengthen every step of the complaints and grievances process.
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