“Usually here, when someone is sick, it’s up to the families and the relatives to bring them food at the clinic or hospital. But here, we do things differently.”
The team at Asili is no stranger to thinking about ways to go above and beyond in their service delivery—and which aren’t necessarily the norm for the region. Slippers for the patients as they remove their muddy shoes. Crayons and coloring books for the kids. Medications that are always available, that are never expired. And, as we saw yesterday, the fluffiest of pillows and blankets for overnight stay patients.
Part of thinking through the new overnight stay service means thinking through customer care, just like every other Asili business line. And it’s simply not dignified or safe to have a sick go patient go all night or even days without food. What if their families can’t bring it?
The Asili team didn’t want to settle for the status quo.
Instead, they opted to give all their overnight patients—and the nurses who will tend to them—a healthy dose of hot, steaming porridge during their stay.
“We wanted to fill this gap ourselves,” said Dr. Johnny. “It’s something which hasn’t happened in this area before. But it’s a part of the customer service experience, it’s a good experience for the customer that’s different than anywhere else.”
This porridge is basically the chicken noodle soup of Congo—farina, a little bit of sugar, soy protein, and a dash of oil for energy, mixed together and boiled so it’s nice and steamy. It’s good enough to soothe the soul! Perfect for patients who aren’t feeling like themselves.
It’s a really doable thing. But it’s a small gesture that means a lot. “People are going to be excited about this,” said Dr. Johnny. “They’re going to be excited that a warm meal is included in the cost of the visit. No one else is doing this.”
Photos by Lens on Life photographers, Operation Goma (DRC): Kennedy Ngoa and Michel Basizi
