New procedures improve satisifaction with hospital Emergency Department
March 05--WARRENSBURG -- Patient satisfaction improved after the Western Missouri Medical Center Emergency Department changed procedure, chief nursing officer Darinda Reberry said Friday.
Reberry reported to the board that overall satisfaction in January increased to 63 percent from the average 53 percent for 2013.
A department steering committee that includes physicians meets every two weeks to discuss departmental and process issues, she said.
In November, the department named a "charge nurse" and daily "shift huddles" to focus on communication. The department identified education needs and offered training based on staff feedback.
The triage process changed in December, Reberry said. A registered nurse now is stationed in the front waiting area to receive patients and do triage.
Patients are moved to a bed if room is available and triage takes place bedside if patients are in a room.
The goal is to decrease wait times and the number of patients who leave without being seen by a physician, she said.
The change decreased the number of patients who leave without treatment from the average 3.5 percent in 2013 to 1.5 percent in December and 0.65 percent in January, "well into the 2 percent goal" nationally, Reberry said.
A review of practices continues, she said, with new protocols to initiate care quickly.
Monthly meetings began in January with Johnson County Ambulance District personnel, hospital administrators and Emergency Department administrators, she said.
The goals are to strengthen communications and relationships among the agencies; coordinate protocols to better serve the community; improve patient satisfaction; and increase Emergency Department use by the community.
Copyright 2014 - The Daily Star-Journal, Warrensburg, Mo.
