Grady Emergency Room Visit -Janani Venugopalan -PhD Student Biomedical Engg.

Outline First Impressions Observations – Positives – Perceived bottlenecks Ideas for Improvement

Constant Movement

Entry to Treatment Care provided in 5 levels Severe cases transferred if needed Patient Waiting Outside Triage Triage Treatment

Promoted an environment of continuous improvement to patient care Board MonitorsElectronic Monitors

Elevated Noise Levels in the Patient Waiting Area & Entrance

Sample Emergency Room Floor Plan

Role specific functions Adult & Pediatric unit adjacent Navigator Door Sizes Small Communication among nurses Not much patient vision

Functions for each role is well defined and documented

Fixed treatment procedure

Adult & pediatric units adjacent to each other and connected by a door Pediatric Trauma UnitAdult Trauma Unit

Navigator Specialized role to help patient transfer to other units if required Continuum of care

Role specific functions Planned treatment Adult & Pediatric unit adjacent Navigator Door Sizes Small Communication among nurses Not much patient vision

Distributed nurse stations Nurse stations distributed & at inconvenient locations. Not conducive for communication

Door Sizes in new ward small Towards patient & wheelchair friendly design

Should move towards designs to improve patient monitoring by nurses

Communication Structure

Use of current technologies to improve communications

Improve patient visibility Improve accessibility Reduce noise