Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Winning the ED Waiting Game

The rural community of Ellenville, New York (population 4,000), and the New York borough of Brooklyn (population 2.5 million) may seem miles apart in more than distance. But Ellenville Regional Hospital president and CEO Steven L. Kelley says the community served by ERH is ?a little like Brooklyn? if on a micro level. ?We are a rich cultural area, and we see that as strength,? says Kelley. ERH received the Quality and Patient Safety Award from the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association (NorMet) Patient Safety Institute in 2010 and 2011. Last year?s award in the small hospital category recognized ERH?s work reducing average length of stay in its ED to less than 100 minutes. The hospital?s improvement project began in 2007 when the hospital?s average LOS for ED patients was 3.5 hours. A multidisciplinary team of providers, nurses, radiologists, patient registration staff, and security staff used the Plan Do Study Act model. Between triage, registration, clinicians? assessments and testing, the team identified long periods of waiting for patients, and the process was redesigned. Kelley says keys to success were a culture shift, accountability??we measure everything? he says?and leadership commitment. For the past three years, LOS in the hospital?s ED has averaged 92 minutes, with ED volumes almost doubling during the same time. For more information, contact Ashima Butler, vice president, quality, compliance, medical staff services, at abutler@ellenvilleregional.org.