What do you do when there are no beds ready?
What do you do when there are no beds ready?
Comfort’ stretchers help ease the burden
You can be certain that your accreditation surveyor will ask you what you do in the ED when you have admitted patients and no inpatient beds are available.
In preparation for its accreditation survey and to address overcrowding, St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit adopted the Full Capacity Protocol used by Stony Brook (NY) University Hospital.
"We created some additional stretcher rooms’ in inpatient units, as opposed to admitted patients waiting in the ED," says Patricia Mayne, RN, BSN, MHA, CEN, administrative director of emergency services.
The hospital bought 20 "comfort" stretchers that were basically ED stretchers with electronic controls so patients could raise and lower themselves. The stretchers cost just more than $5,000 each, and the 5-inch thick mattresses cost just more than $300 each.
The stretchers are put in hallways or private inpatient rooms where there’s not sufficient space to accommodate a second inpatient bed, Mayne says. ED patients who are ready to be admitted go to those areas and are cared for by inpatient nursing staff. "They would be the first patients to get available beds, but it’s a good mechanism to offload the ED," Mayne says.
If they have 30 admitted patients in the ED, every floor receives 2-3 patients, she says.
Another system that has helped with overcrowding in the last six months is the use of Tele-Tracking software, Mayne says. The system includes an electronic bed board and system for paging the operations manager when a patient is admitted.
"It automates some of the processes and phone calls when you’re trying to place patients in beds," she says.
Resources
Hill-Rom manufactures a TranStar Electric Stretcher EL 500 with an optional 5-inch mattress. The company declined to release the price. For more information, contact:
- Hill-Rom Company, 1069 State Route 46 East, Batesville, IN 47006. Phone: (800) 445 3730. Web: www.hill-rom.com.
Stryker manufactures a Model 1550 Stretcher ("the extended stay stretcher") that allows patients to raise their head and knees. It has an optional mattress of 4 inches or 5 inches thick. Approximate price per stretcher, including mattress, is $4,700. For more information, contact:
- Stryker, 2725 Fairfield Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49002.Phone: (269) 324-6550. Web: www.stryker.com.
Tele-Tracking provides systems for automating all work flow processes. The monthly fee for a 200-400 bed hospital is approximately $8,000-$10,000. For more information, contact:
- Tele-Tracking Technologies, The Times Building, 336 Fourth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Telephone: (800) 927-0294. Fax: (412) 391-5148. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.teletracking.com.
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