Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center - (Page 50)

re Ca i n 2009, Phelps County Regional Medical Center (PCRMC) began an initiative to address concerns in the emergency department about patient satisfaction, core staffing and wait times. Consultants made more than 50 “regular day” observations throughout the medical center, then shared recommendations with the hospital. Core teams at PCRMC suggested and tested processes for improvement, then decided which ones could be put into action right away and which could be improved even further. “The key that made this whole initiative work was communication and support,” says Regina Shaffer, R.N. “We had weekly core team meetings, as well as weekly meetings with the senior leadership of the hospital. It kept us accountable to ourselves.” tter er, Be Fast ction Patient satisfa r skyrockets afte ps PCRMC revam tment ergency depar em by Kristen J um p More Staffing To increase the number of staff nurses in the emergency department, PCRMC ramped up programs such as continuing education and extended clinical orientations. “The benefits of employing nurses directly, instead of using agency nurses, are huge,” Shaffer says. “Nurses employed by PCRMC have a sense of ownership in the emergency department, they are part of our core teams—and they receive hospital benefits, and therefore have a greater sense of satisfaction with their job.” And studies have shown the strong link between satisfied employees and satisfied patients. Five of the hospital’s original agency nurses chose to sign on as PCRMC employees and become part of the team. “They went through the improvement process with us, and they decided that this is a place where they wanted to work,” Shaffer says. Shorter WaitS PCRMC began with the goal of maintaining an average “doorto-doctor” time of 30 minutes, with a patient seeing a doctor within a half-hour of setting foot in the emergency department. (Because the benchmark is an average, wait times may shorten or lengthen depending on conditions.) By reducing wait times, PCRMC also brought down the percentage of number of patients who left before receiving care from 8 percent to 1 percent, Shaffer says. “That’s about 100 additional patients each month.” higher SatiSfaction Surveys throughout the hospital showed a dramatic increase in patient satisfaction thanks to the initiative—from an average 23 percent in 2009 to 88 percent a year later. In addition to the improvements above, the department started a new method of checking in on patients. With this system, nurses, shift managers, care managers and patient liaisons all make rounds and talk to patients about their care. “Sometimes it’s as simple as bringing a physician back in to answer one last question for the patient,” Shaffer says. online Shorter StayS PCRMC also strived to shorten the average length of an emergency department stay from 250 minutes to 167 minutes. “Decreasing the average length of stay is a benefit for our patients,” Shaffer says. “It means that they are not waiting— they are being treated appropriately and can be released as quickly as possible.” Join Our Winning Team! Considering a career in healthcare? Visit pcrmc.com and click “Career Center” for career descriptions, scholarship and financial information, benefits and more. 50 Vim & Vigor • SUM M ER 2 011 http://www.pcrmc.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center
Contents
Opening Throughts
Special: A New Day in the Fight Against Cancer
Is There a Doctor in the House?
Auxiliary
Girl Talk
Say What?
Action Plan
Like This? Try That!
On the Cover
A Day in the Life of Your Heart
Unexpected Heroes
Get in Gear
A Real Lifesaver
Rest Assured
Improvements with You in Mind
The Basics of Breast Cancer
Physician Q&A
Spotlight On

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center