"Mousker" Award

Disney Institute Presents "Mousker" Award to University of Chicago Hospitals

June 11, 1998

Lake Buena Vista, Fla. -- A hospital can learn a lot from a mouse--and a mouse can appreciate a quick study. So at 4:30 p.m., on Thursday, June 11, 1998, Mickey Mouse, accompanied by officials from the Disney Institute, will present the "Mousker" Award, for adapting the Disney philosophy of customer service to the healthcare field, to the University of Chicago Hospitals.

That same day Mickey will visit with patients at the University of Chicago Children's Hospital.

The Mousker recognizes institutions that have successfully adapted "The Disney Approach"--a people-management program that focuses on selection, training, communication, and care of employees, known at Disney as the "Pixie-Dust Formula"--to their industry.

UCH is only the second hospital ever to win the award.

The Hospitals have long been students of the business side of the Disney resorts with a particular interest in bringing the business philosophies and practices that have brought these resorts world renown for customer service into the field of medicine.

So last year, the Hospitals and Disney Institute decided to collaborate, using the Hospitals' establish employee-education vehicle--an on-campus professional education system known as the Academy--to make the fundamentals of the Disney approach part of the training of every employee with patient contact.

The result has been a smoother working system and much greater patient satisfaction, according to frequent surveys, before and after the new approach was implemented.

Disney Institute is now collaborating with the University of Chicago Hospitals to make this industry-specific program, "The Disney Approach to People Management: Forum for the Healthcare Industry," more widely available.

Scheduled to debut in August at Disney Institute, the program will showcase Disney's personnel-development philosophies and how healthcare providers can adapt them to their organizations. The program will include an instructional video demonstrating how the Disney Approach was adapted to healthcare at the Hospitals. This "Forum for the Healthcare Industry" will be offered to interested individuals in a three-and-one-half day package, and to groups and management teams from the healthcare industry in several customized formats.

For more information about the Disney Approach to People Management: Forum for the Healthcare Industry" or other professional development opportunities at Disney Institute, call (407) 828-5800.