Graduate School
Harvard Kennedy School

Undergraduate School
Cambridge University, United Kingdom

Agency
City of Boston Public Health Commission

Supervisor
Kristen Golden, Director of Policy and Planning

Description of Fellowship
Natasha worked for Kristen Golden, Director of Policy and Planning at Boston Public Health Commission and Elaine Ullian, BPHC member, and President of Boston Medical Center. Natasha looked at what factors determine patients’ satisfaction with their in-patient hospital care, using Boston Medical Center as a case study. She also studied how patient’s socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds affect their satisfaction with the care received. Based on Boston Medical Center data, interviews with staff and patients and best practice information available from other medical facilities across the US, Natasha presented recommendations on how patient satisfaction can be improved for all patients. Her key conclusion was that a critical determinant of satisfaction is the quality of the personal interaction between the patient and the hospital staff that come into contact with patients. Patients expect to be cared for, but they rate hospital care especially highly when they feel cared about.