Sterling Regional MedCenter Implements Patient Experience Re-Boot

STERLING, Colo. — The Sterling Regional MedCenter in Sterling is seeing positive changes in patient experience due to changes made in the emergency department over the past 15 months. In response to patient satisfaction surveys, Banner Health and the Sterling Regional MedCenter knew they needed to improve patient satisfaction, according to Banner Health Officials.

These changes have been able to increase the number of patients seen, while also reducing the patient wait time to be seen by a health care provider, according to a statement from Sterling Regional MedCenter and Journal-Advocate. Changes were made to increase the patient experience and, therefore, were focused on operational efficiency, communication to the patients and daily callbacks from nurses, according to Jeff Shelton, CEO of Sterling Regional MedCenter.

Banner Health partnered with TeamHealth on a project in September 2014, which helped to staff the emergency department at the medical center and lower the amount of time patients had to wait to see a physician. To make the improvements happen, the hospital was staffed with eight regular physicians, assistance from PRN staff, that only work when needed, back up schedules and a tech shift and swing shift nurse, according to Journal-Advocate. The facility was able to take the national average wait time of 40 minutes and reduce that time to approximately 17 minutes in 2015.

After the new system was put into place, the hospital saw a 30 percent decrease in wait time, while also seeing a 30 percent increase in patient volume, said Matthew Ledges, MD, regional medical director at TeamHealth, to Journal Advocate. This was made possible by streamlining the process and removing barriers in the hospital that caused a longer waiting time.

The Sterling Regional MedCenter has not stopped trying to improve patient experience as it moves forward with a second process to regulate the flow of departments. To do so, the hospital is implementing a plan where a patient will see a doctor and a nurse at the same time. According to Journal-Advocate, the hospital hopes that this implementation will help regulate the flow, direct bedding, increased staffing and the Emergency Department redesign.