Transporting Care Into The Future
Crothall Healthcare Patient Transport Division is constantly improving patient transport outcomes, with processes built specifically for their hospital settings. Memorial Hospital Belleville, a 222-bed acute care hospital serving southwest Illinois and employing more than 2,300 people, partnered with Crothall Patient Transport Division to reduce transport times and enhance the patient experience on their spacious campus.
Crothall managers responded to the needs of the 400-strong medical staff with a transport solution that combined state-of-the-art custom technology and proven methods built to fit Memorial Hospital Belleville’s needs. Results included time savings, cost reductions, and support for the hospital’s Designated MagnetTM certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
“Crothall’s transporters are the hub of our operations and the face of the hospital to patients and staff alike,” said Tami Wielgus, Assistant Director of Cardiology of Memorial Hospital. “Crothall stepped up to the plate and integrated our different tools for patient transport to build a truly first-class operation.”
Room to Improve
Transport delay volume was high before Crothall. Delays in patient transport routinely occurred in surgery, emergency department (ED) and diagnostic testing, leading to patient flow bottlenecks and overcrowding. “Surgeons in particular voiced their frustration to the Chief Nursing Officer about patients arriving late for testing or surgery causing a delay in care and impacting care for other patients throughout the day,” said Nancy Weston, Chief Nursing Officer (Retired) at Memorial Hospital Belleville.
Crothall Healthcare’s Patient Transport Division created efficiency in less than a year. Prior to Crothall’s arrival at Memorial Hospital, the Patient Transport department was inefficiently centralized. “The department needed a system to update the processes, highlight their stronger employees, as well as strengthen the accountability across the department,” said Kevin Crill, Crothall Director of Patient Transport at Memorial Hospital Belleville. “The part of the Crothall program culture that emphasizes education, alignment, and then recognition when we succeed has been huge for this department.”
By the Numbers
45% Increase in On-Time Surgery Starts
500+ Days Without a Patient Fall Accident
49% in Trip Volume with No FTE Increase
$39,929 Hospital Savings in 2016 through Staff Optimization while Increasing TPPH
Surgeries on Schedule
On-time surgery starts increased to 94.5% and the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) patient hold time plummeted to 7%. “The internal transport aspect of patients was the best way to approach the massive costs incurred from the volume of delayed surgeries,” said Vickie Henry, PACU/OPS Manager of Memorial Hospital Belleville. Patient care before Crothall had to extend in post-operative departments when patients were not promptly returned to assigned inpatient rooms.
Patient readiness expectations, communication and accountability melded and significantly improved the inpatient surgical unit throughput results. Crothall improved surgeon satisfaction, service perception by patients, and increased surgery volume and revenue. Patient wait time in post- anesthesia care (PACU) was reduced by 89%.
Better Tools, Faster Transport
New technology made for a new transport request system. The automated system allows a dynamic look at several aspects of the patient transport process. “Under Crothall, I am always impressed with the data and tools they had to look at process improvement and outcomes,” said Weston.
Transport times exceeded the hospital’s expectations. Memorial Hospital Belleville averaged around 1.75 trips per productive hour (TPPH) prior to Crothall. Transporters are exceeding expectations with an average of 3.2 trips per productive hour. “With this improved throughput and trip volume the patients arrive and depart procedural areas efficiently, and department staff can work without incurring overtime,” said Henry.
The Vital Link
Transport became safer as well as faster. Memorial Hospital Belleville featured a good patient transport safety record, which has become perfect under Crothall management.
95% of Requests to transport a patient are completed in less than 30 minutes – exceeding the best in class of 90%. Clinical staff departments were pleased with the results, as requests were completed with a quick response. “Schedules were met, and everyone from the surgeons, imaging, ED to the dialysis department were happy,” said Mike McManus, Vice President of Operations at Memorial Hospital Belleville.
“The role of a patient transport department is critical in hospital operations to ensuring proper patient flow throughout the hospital,” said Weston. “All patient flow in a hospital is interconnected, making the transport department essential to efficient and cost-effective patient movement and bed optimization.” “There is such camaraderie between transporters and the nurses, technicians, and other support personnel that we forget it has only been that way since Crothall,” said McManus.
To learn what Crothall can do for your organization, call 1-877-4CROTHALL (1-877-427-6842).
