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Expediting Health Emergency Patient Care
Soon after HMA acquired St. Cloud Regional Medical Center, hospital leaders spotted a community need requiring imminent attention: the Emergency Department (ED) needed an overhaul and expansion.
"In an era of checking emails on cell phones to picking up drive-thru for dinner after a multitude of meetings and children's activities, our culture is beginning to epitomize multitasking," said Christy Glemming, marketing/community relations director for St. Cloud Regional. "When day-to-day life is so nonstop, we certainly don't want to slow down and wait during a health emergency."
Earlier this year, St. Cloud Regional opened The ER Fast Track, located directly across the hall from the standard ED. Its purpose: to provide treatment to patients with less critical medical conditions, such as minor cuts, fevers, colds and flu symptoms.
"Once they're directed to Fast Track, most patients are seen within 15 minutes," said Glemming. "Fast Track is staffed by the same highly skilled professionals as the standard ER, and patients are seen in spacious examination areas."
The addition of Fast Track has improved overall efficiency in St. Cloud Regional's ED, with a typical door-to-door time of approximately two hours for all patients, well below the national average. (Door-to-door time is calculated from the time a patient walks into the ER to the time a patient leaves after treatment.)
Renovations to the standard side of the ER included enlarging patient bed areas to provide less noise and more privacy than a typical hospital room. The nurses' station was relocated to an area that allows the staff to view each patient and their monitors. A negative airflow room became a safe treatment area for patients with potential airborne, contagious illnesses.
Most of the 40 ER professionals that staff the ED live in St. Cloud or Osceola County. A majority of the ER nurses have worked in emergency room settings for at least a decade.
"They've all spent time working in larger hospitals, either in downtown Orlando or other urban areas," said ED director Andrew Stakelum. "Now they've made the choice to work for St. Cloud Regional and care for their friends and neighbors."
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