Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

One Good Idea Leads to Another

After reading many success stories about hospitals streamlining and improving patient flow in the emergency room, Leah Terrell, RN, nurse manager and Dana Vidrine, RN, director of nursing, at Woman?s, a specialty hospital located in Baton Rouge, La., started thinking about applying some of the concepts to obstetrical areas in their hospital. The old process did not give an accurate picture of which patients were ready for discharge or which rooms were available for new patients. This was causing bottlenecks resulting in patients getting assigned to less-desirable overflow departments. Terrell and Vidrine formed a team of key players involved in the discharge process, representatives from nursing to birthplace photos came together to establish new processes. ?It?s not just a nursing problem,? explains Terrell. After a variety of Lean methodology tools, like 5S and Kaizen, the team maximized bed capacity, reduced nursing staff overtime and improved financial performance, while maintaining quality care. Additionally, average length of stay (ALOS) for cesarean-section deliveries decreased an average of 7.5 hours and vaginal deliveries ALOS decreased by 2.2 hours. Contact Leah Terrell, LEAH.TERRELL@womans.org