The newly implemented parking program at the Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus (WCHHC) is improving the patient experience by removing previous barriers to convenient and easily accessible parking. Patients no longer have to worry about being late or risk missing appointments simply because they cannot find a parking space.
“Helping patients find parking at Highland is just one piece of the puzzle of the patient experience,” said Aemal Aminy, director of security, parking and transportation. “But for many, it’s the first piece and we are committed to making it the best experience possible.”
Early 2021, Aminy and his team took on the challenge of creating a strategic plan for a building a better parking experience not only for patients but for the dedicated staff who care for them every day. The first phase of the plan was tackling the eight-year employee parking waitlist. In June of 2021, Aminy and team launched the electronic parking application and worked to maximize every available space on campus. Within one year in May of 2022, the employee parking waitlist was reduced to 10 months.
On November 21, 2022, the second phase of the strategic plan went live to enhance employee safety and provide accessible parking for patients by designating separate parking lots for patients and staff.
The Highland Care Pavilion (HCP) parking garage transitioned to employee-only parking for employees with monthly parking privileges. This transition yielded an additional 47 parking spaces for employees and a secure entrance into WCHHC. Free offsite employee parking was made available to all staff who had previously parked in the daily and hourly patient lots. To enhance efficiency and convenience for staff, additional shuttles were procured for the transportation program to maintain 10 to 15 minute shuttle rides to and from campus. Additionally, a security post was created for the offsite lot and operational hours were extended from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
For patients, the 362 spaces in the K parking garage are now exclusively reserved for patients. In addition, patients are benefitting from a new valet parking service available at the horseshoe main entrance, further enhancing the patient experience.
Aminy said that the positive responses he has received from patients has been gratifying knowing that the new parking program at WCHHC is making a difference in the lives of our patients. An AHS employee praised the patient valet service on the leadership desktop chat and shared her mother no longer has anxiety about being late to see her provider.
Overall, the improvements are getting great patient reviews. “I have been coming to Highland for many years and it’s been frustrating not being able to find parking, forced to leave and ultimately missing my appointments,” shared a patient. “Thank you very much for caring enough about your patients to make this wonderful change.”
For more information on parking at WCHHC, review the FAQ under the parking and transportation section on the support services web page.