PatientFlow Technology (www.patientflowtech.com), the leading provider of patient flow management tools and services for hospitals, today announced that its customer, WellStar Health System, Marietta, Ga., earned VHA Georgia, Inc.’s VHA Regional Operational Excellence Award for its project on patient flow improvement that impacts quality of care, cost and patient/staff satisfaction. WellStar will be honored at VHA’s 25th Annual Leadership Conference on Wednesday, October 15 at the Georgia International Convention Center. During the day, WellStar will share its story with other VHA members in a presentation and through a poster session.
The VHA awards were selected using a systematic tool that allowed a panel of reviewers to objectively score each application. WellStar earned one of the top honors out of 51 applications.
“These awards exemplify the efforts that are underway across the state to improve the quality healthcare being delivered to Georgians. Instead of reinventing the wheel, our members are learning from each others’ successes and failures, and by recognizing these few hospitals, we hope to point others in the right direction,” said Richard T. Howerton, III, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of VHA’s regional office in Atlanta.
“This award validates the tremendous operational improvement effort happening at WellStar. Word has spread quickly about the successful results we are seeing in the OR, ER and the cardiac cath lab,” said Candice Saunders, SVP and hospital administrator, WellStar Kennestone. “Each successive project is running more smoothly and with better collaboration. Staff and physicians want to become a part of the process and improve not only their own workflow, but also the quality of care they offer our patients. Without a doubt, these enhancements are also paying big dividends in the form of patient satisfaction and a more balanced life for our staff and physicians.”
“Operational flow has been an ongoing problem area for most healthcare organizations. WellStar’s project is unique in that operations management science tools, such as queuing analyses and simulation modeling are not typically used to solve patient flow issues,” said Richard Siegrist, president and CEO of PatientFlow Technology. “Smoothing the artificial variation caused by the elective surgery schedule in order to significantly improve the flow of patients in the emergency department is a new concept. I am pleased at the success we are seeing in physician involvement and ownership in collaboration with hospital leadership. Learning is focused on teamwork, data analysis, communication and quality metrics. WellStar is setting the bar for quality improvement in healthcare.”
About VHA
VHA Inc., based in Irving, Texas, is a national alliance that provides industry-leading supply chain management services and supports the formation of regional and national networks to help members improve their clinical and economic performance. With 16 offices across the U.S., VHA has a track record of proven results in serving more than 1,400 not-for-profit hospitals and more than 23,000 non-acute health care organizations nationwide. To learn more about VHA or one of its regional offices, please visit www.vha.com.
About WellStar Health System
The vision of WellStar Health System is to deliver world-class healthcare through our hospitals, physicians and services. WellStar Health System includes Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone, Paulding and Windy Hill hospitals; WellStar Physicians Group; Urgent Care Centers; Health Place; Homecare; Hospice; Atherton Place; Paulding Nursing Center; and WellStar Foundation. For more information, call 770-956-STAR or visit www.wellstar.org.
About PatientFlow Technology, Inc.
PatientFlow Technology provides tools and services for hospitals to address patient flow problems such as emergency room overcrowding, long wait times, bumped or delayed surgeries, and lack of available ICU and routine hospital beds, while concurrently improving quality of care. The company’s headquarters are in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.patientflowtech.com or call 617-358-5060.
Contact: PatientFlow Technology Richard Siegrist 617-358-5060 [email protected] Schwartz Communications Davida Dinerman/Wendy Mejia 781-684-0770 [email protected]
SOURCE: PatientFlow Technology
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