University Hospital’s surge plan gets national recognition
The plan put into effect new training, such as pocket cards for employees, and new practices, such as around-the-clock checklists for supervisors.
USA Health leaders recently shared at a national online conference how USA Health improved patient flow at University Hospital and increased the hospital’s capacity.
Michael Chang, M.D., chief medical officer for USA Health, said that being one of 22 healthcare organizations chosen to give a live presentation shows that the project is at the forefront on the national level. “The fact that we were able to identify challenges, create a tactical plan to address them and then execute on the plan indicates that we are a learning healthcare system that can change rapidly to meet the patients’ needs,” Chang said.
University Hospital created a multidisciplinary task force that identified a lack of systematic processes and data, and created a new surge plan. The plan put into effect new training, such as pocket cards for employees, and new practices, such as around-the-clock checklists for supervisors. A Patient Throughput Committee, meanwhile, monitored patient flow data to gauge success.
As a result of the new efforts, the hospital was able to discharge and admit patients in a more streamlined manner, which increased capacity without adding more beds. Between March 2019 and March 2020, University Hospital reduced by 72 percent the time during which it was unable to admit new patients due to overcrowding.
The increased capacity enabled more patients to receive the specialized care available at the region’s only academic health system. Emergency department admissions increased by 29 percent, and overall hospital admissions increased by 15 percent during the same period.
“The ability to manage capacity in the new USA Health Transfer Center, which opened this past year with a systematic format through the surge plan has led to a 51 percent increase in referral acceptances,” said Sheri Salas, director of nursing for University Hospital. “This makes University Hospital more accessible to the community and other facilities in need of our services.”
Lisa Mestas, chief nursing officer and associate administrator for USA Health, praised the collaboration among leaders and staff that resulted in improved flow and wider access to the hospital’s essential services. “We are very proud of this work, and we continue to work toward improving our processes even further,” she said.
University Hospital is the region’s only Level 1 trauma center providing specialized care in trauma, burn, stroke, cardiovascular disease and sickle cell disease. It serves as a major referral hospital for southwest Alabama, southeast Mississippi and portions of northwest Florida.
