Case Studies
Increasing Patient Census is Key to Turning Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit Around
The impact of changing federal regulations over the past five years has been hard-felt by this 70+-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit (IRU). With the loss of single joint orthopedics as a qualifying admission and then the loss of state Medicaid benefits in 2009 for inpatient rehabilitation, this 550-bed regional referral facility found it increasingly difficult to maintain budgeted census.
Charge Nurse Leadership Development Leads to Significant Annual Savings
The chief nursing officer (CNO) of this 250-bed, for-profit hospital wanted to improve the quality of care and physician satisfaction in her medical-surgical units. She felt that one of the best strategies to effectively address these issues was to further develop and improve her charge nurses’ skills and job performance. As a result, she initiated a 16-week Charge Nurse Leadership Development engagement with B. E. Smith
Improved Labor Utilization to Save Hospital $1.7 Million
While this not-for-profit hospital has just over 65 licensed beds, its average daily census is between 15 and 20 patients. Appropriate labor utilization and use of proven resource management techniques were lacking at this small community hospital, and as a result, the hospital was operating at a significant financial loss.
Remove Barriers to Throughput and Reap the Financial Rewards
This 850-bed, not-for-profit tertiary referral center regularly remained at greater than 90 percent capacity, with patients being held in the ED, the operating room and the post-anesthesia care unit for up to three days. Its case management model was broken at best, and a lack of departmental goals left employees uninspired to strive for performance improvement.
From Problem-Plagued Emergency Department to World-Class ED
This newly redesigned, high-volume, high-acuity, 80-bed emergency department was chaotic and confusing, leading to discontent among its staff. Inpatient holds left as many as 30 patients being held for admission at once. Part of a 750-bed not for-profit hospital in a health system of community-based and academic tertiary facilities, the ED’s other challenges included high “left without being seen rates” and long wait times to be seen by a provider.