Morton Plant Hospital, a 687 bed facility located in Clearwater, Florida, and winner of all categories of the Top 100, as well as, the Florida Quality Award, was facing serious overcrowding in the Emergency Department. The ED was frequently on diversion and an alarming number of patients were “Leaving Without Treatment” (LWOTs). Overcrowding had significantly affected patient satisfaction scores as well as those of employees. Morton Plant’s senior management acknowledged the need to achieve rapid gains in patient throughput and improve patient flow.
Morton Plant engaged Caldwell Butler (CBA) to critically examine the productivity and work flow of its ED. CBA applied its skill in Lean-Six Sigma to assist senior management in isolating potential changes that would yield the most significant improvements in patient care and productivity. Experts elected to employ the DMAIC method (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) and the 100 Day Workout Productivity Series to systematically achieve the desired results.
Process Flow and Statistical Analysis: CBA deployed its expertise in Lean-Six Sigma methodologies to identify and quantify potential opportunities for enhancing the performance of the ED. CBA completed a statistically driven 14-day longitudinal study of the ED’s process flow and examined the seven categories of waste.
Change Concepts Identified: CBA used its extensive healthcare experience to assist Morton Plant in transforming the results of the analysis into specific Change Concepts for improving the performance of the ED. The team targeted four key areas of focus and with the assistance of CBA, developed a plan for deploying and testing each concept.
Implementation of Rapid Cycle Testing: Once potential improvement opportunities were identified, CBA initiated Rapid Cycle Testing of each Change Concept. In addition, three cycles of the 100 Day Workout Productivity Series were launched to improve hospital-wide productivity. Each change concept was analyzed for effectiveness and the estimated ROI was computed and validated by the finance department.
As a direct result of the services provided by Caldwell Butler, Morton Plant was able to achieve:
Measurable Benefits: