The Partnership for Health and Accountability (PHA) presented its prestigious
Quality and Patient Safety Award to the Southeast Georgia Health System
Camden Campus for its project that reduced emergency department wait times.
The project, titled “From 0-75: Racing to Decrease Emergency Department
Throughput,” was awarded
third
place in the Hospitals with Less than 100 Beds category. These annual
awards recognize Georgia health care organizations for achievement in
reducing the risk of medical errors and improving patient safety and medical outcomes.
Due to the high volume of emergency department visits at the Camden Campus,
staff wanted to reduce the number of patients who left without being seen
by a physician because of a long wait. Data showed that patients who waited
longer than 50 minutes were four times more likely to leave without being
seen. Staff also wanted to reduce the
amount
of time patients waited to be seen by a physician. Led by the emergency
department physicians, several best practices were implemented, including
delaying registration until after the patient had been seen by the provider;
completing the triage in the patient room; and having the nurse and physician
conduct assessments at the same time. Additionally, staff modifications
were made on a regular basis to match the day-to-day change in patient volume.
“I am very proud of our entire staff,” said Amir Wind, M.D.,
chief, Emergency Department, Camden Campus, and medical staff member since
2010. “This award was earned due to the dedication, hard work and
excellence of our medical providers, nursing staff, leadership, and other
ancillary departments, such as lab and radiology, all working together
towards a common goal—to provide efficient and
high quality
care to our patients.”
The Camden team met its own aggressive goals. By cutting in half the average
time a patient waited to be seen by a physician, they also cut in half
the number of patients who left without being seen.
“With more and more patients seeking care at the emergency department,
determining the best way to provide
efficient
, high-quality care remains a challenge,” said Doug Patten, M.D.,
chief medical officer, Georgia Hospital Association. “We applaud
the Southeast Georgia Health System Camden Campus for its exceptional
handling of this issue and for its efforts in providing the best and safest
care possible to its patients.”