One Solution for Patients of All Sizes: Pediatric Bed and Transport
Tucked In Safe and Sound
One Solution for Patients of All Sizes: Pediatric Bed and Transport
Crothall Healthcare Patient Transport has been setting the standard for safely moving people in, out and around some of the nation’s largest hospitals. Crothall created a solution for a large, tertiary pediatric healthcare facility that was experiencing bed life cycle management challenges in its stationary bed management as well as transport bed options.
Crothall’s centralized management of pediatric bed options reduced costs from excessive rental use and shortened or eliminated repair times with preventative maintenance. The program provided significant savings to the hospital, as well as improving the patient experience for countless children.
“As a Crothall Management Team, we were able to tailor best practices from Crothall accounts in multiple service lines across the country to put a project together where our department became the sole owner of the patient equipment fleet within the hospital,” said Nathan Cotterell, Crothall Director of Patient Transportation. “By streamlining, we have been able to accomplish so much more.”
Different Beds for Different Kids
No patient is alike, and pediatric patients are among the most different by case. Pediatric equipment, including beds, requires the most diversity among healthcare solutions to ensure the care and comfort of patients of all sizes. The hospital’s bed fleet includes cribs, child-size beds, adolescent-size beds and a variety of transport options such as wagons.
The changing needs of bed fleet management is a major challenge in pediatric care. Changes throughout the day or across the facility could begin with extra beds and end with a shortage. Clinicians may be forced to delay care or use an unintended type of bed when the right one is unavailable. Bed rentals, a common way to keep beds in service, can be a costly and time-consuming solution.
Crothall was undaunted by the physical requirements of pediatric bed management. Bed managers found the required space to maintain the necessary fleet of units within the hospital itself, as well as planning and executing the maintenance that kept the fleet in working order for clinicians, transporters and - above all - their patients.
Managing from the Top
The solution begins with centralized management. An efficient bed fleet is streamlined by bed type, manufacturer and maintenance requirements. Crothall’s new centralized pediatric bed program is far more efficient, with a single office for vendor relations, contract management and maintenance scheduling.
Continuous inspection saves precious time and costs. Crothall’s program also ensures all incoming beds and parts are checked for current status and likely future repair needs. This helps put beds into operation faster and keep them in service with regular preventative maintenance checks.
Bed managers help clinicians make the right choices. The hospital maintains a wide selection of beds and transport options for children of all ages, but that may not be enough for doctors and nurses to make the right call on which ones to use for specific cases. Bed managers are ready to assist in the decision making process and to inform clinicians ahead of time about the advantages of various options.
By the Numbers
- $469,000 saved over three years of Crothall’s centralized pediatric bed management
- 90% reduction in bed repair time
- 75% reduction in bed rental confirmation time
Above and Beyond
The project surpassed the client’s requirements. Crothall created the hospital’s full-cycle bed management system, from acceptance of a new bed unit to securing capital to replace units at the end of their useful life. Operating expenses and rental costs for the bed fleet were significantly reduced over the program’s first three years.
Rentals are rarer, faster and cheaper for pediatric beds. The average time to secure bed rentals when necessary dropped from 8 hours to 2 hours due to more efficient management of the rental confirmation process. Crothall also negotiated with the bed rental company on the hospital’s behalf to secure more on-premises options at a lower overall cost.
In a situation where everyone wins, the patient is the biggest winner. Improved bed management increased patient comfort and satisfaction by resulting in shorter wait times for the proper bed equipment. Crothall achieved these results while bed repair time was reduced by an order of magnitude.
To learn what Crothall can do for your organization, call 1-877-4CROTHALL (1-877-427-6842).
