How should the CEO of a major metropolitan hospital address congestion and prolonged wait times in the emergency department?
How should the CEO of a major metropolitan hospital address congestion and prolonged wait times in the emergency department?
It is an all too common occurrence that patients admitted to an emergency department (ED) can wait at least an hour to be treated because of overcrowding, a critical issue due to the increased mortality and worse outcomes associated with delayed treatment. Saintemarie University Hospital, located in a midsize European city, has the only emergency care facility in its metropolitan region. Its CEO, Emma DuPont, faces the task of reducing this ED wait time while maintaining quality of care, staff morale and profitability. This case explores the challenges of the healthcare industry, the processes that hospitals must manage and the factors contributing to congestion in ED's. Students will address questions of process mapping and operations.
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