Client Results
Learn how quality, safety, cost savings, delivery, morale, and patient experience performance indicators were achieved through space optimization.
Inpatient Units
Problem:
The children services floor encompassed NICU, PICU, and pediatric patient populations, requiring the department to have adequate supplies and equipment to treat children covering the ages of one day to eighteen years old. The breadth of patient care items needed to be stored on these units amplified by the east wing not having a dedicated clean supply room resulted in having insufficient supplies and equipment storage space. Pediatric staff in the east wing used an exam room and the nursing station to store supplies, introducing non-compliance issues into the environment of care. Increased utilization of the nursing station made it a high traffic area, creating opportunities for safety incidents. The west wing had one clean supply room but two separate budgets for NICU and PICU, which mandated duplication of supplies for unit accounting, further limiting storage space. The inefficient layout of supplies, equipment, and support areas throughout the floor increased clinician time spent on retrieving patient care items, leading to care delivery delays, and impacting throughput, capacity, and length of stay. The variation in supplies and equipment stored on the east and west wings also created considerable disruption for staff, clinicians, and recovering patients when multi-disciplinary activities overlapped. In addition, physicians and clinicians were recruited to grow the service line; however, a clinical space on the west wing did not exist to accommodate their arrival.
Mission:
To recover an exam room available for patient care and create clinical space to support department growth strategy through optimization of the children services floor for improved throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
Outcomes:
- Quality: The creation of a pediatrics clean supply room in the east wing allowed the unit to treat patients in the exam room, providing a quiet environment for care. The consolidation of supplies from the exam room and nursing station as well as integration of the NICU & PICU budgets, facilitated easier retrieval of patient care items. The team standardized and systematized supplies located in both clean supply rooms to quickly gather items for care delivery. Reduced search efforts for supplies and equipment increased touch time with patients and their families to address clinical needs.
- Safety: A better distribution of staff throughout the floor decompressed high traffic areas, reducing opportunities for staff and patient injuries. Designating rooms by activity and utilizing them for their intended purpose created safer spaces to support patient care while meeting regulatory compliance requirements.
- Cost Savings: Improved supplies and equipment organization, visibility, and access allowed staff to:
- Reduce support and clinician idle time
- Efficiently manage treatment capacity and patient throughput for an improved length of stay
- Diminish occurrences of staff and patient injuries associated with congestion of highly utilized spaces
- Decrease standing inventory and product expirations by developing accurate par levels for supplies and equipment replenishment
- Create a clinical area for incoming physicians and clinicians without the need to request additional real estate
- Delivery: The efficient use of exam space and clinician treatment time reduced the number of patient care delays, enhancing throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
- Morale: Organized and designated supplies/equipment storage reduced staff frustration in searching for essential patient care items. Overall, staff satisfaction with improved working conditions enhanced collaboration, confidence, and response time in addressing patient needs.
- Patient Experience: Patients and their families were more readily provided with care at the bedside without experiencing delays, improving patient survey satisfaction responses.
Optimization Images
Problem:
Limited supplies and equipment storage space on the medicine floor resulted in one patient room with two beds being utilized as storage instead of patient recovery. A reduced number of available beds to transfer patients created a bottleneck for the medicine unit, which impacted throughput, capacity, and length of stay. Further patient care delays were attributed to the inefficient layout of unit supplies, equipment, and support spaces, increasing clinician time spent on retrieving care delivery items. A substantial amount of variation in supplies and equipment being stored on the east and west wings created disruption for staff, clinicians, and recovering patients when multi-disciplinary activities coincided. The lack of proximity to access administrative and clinical care items increased movement and noise on the floor, disturbing patients’ ability to heal in a quiet environment. Inadequate availability of power sources to charge medical equipment led to machines being placed in non-compliant spaces and around the nursing station. Increased utilization of the nursing station made it a high traffic area, adding opportunities for safety incidents. In addition, one of the nursing stations had a glass barrier that reduced sight and sound, making it challenging to address patient, family, and clinician requests effectively.
Mission:
To recover two patient beds available for care through optimization of the medicine unit while reducing treatment delays to improve throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
Outcomes:
- Quality: Co-location of necessary supplies and equipment at the point of use throughout the floor facilitated easy retrieval of patient care items. The team standardized and systematized supplies located in the clean supply/medication rooms to quickly gather items for care delivery. Reduced search efforts for supplies and equipment increased touch time with patients to address clinical needs.
- Safety: The removal of glass from one nursing station provided increased visibility to address patient, family, and clinician requests immediately. A better distribution of staff throughout the units decompressed high traffic areas, reducing opportunities for injuries. Enhanced proximity of equipment at the point of care supported by the installation of additional power sources decreased safety incidents while complying with regulatory requirements.
- Cost Savings: Improved supplies and equipment organization, visibility, and access allowed staff to:
- Reduce support and clinician idle time
- Efficiently manage treatment capacity and patient throughput for an improved length of stay
- Diminish occurrences of injuries associated with equipment movement and congestion of highly utilized spaces
- Decrease standing inventory by developing accurate par levels for supplies and equipment replenishment
- Increase bed availability for patient care without the need to request additional real estate
- Delivery: Increased bed availability and efficient use of support and clinician treatment time reduced the number of delays for patient care, enhancing throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
- Morale: Organized supplies and equipment storage at the point of use reduced staff frustration in searching for required patient care items. Overall staff satisfaction with improved working conditions enhanced collaboration, confidence and response time in addressing patient needs.
- Patient Experience: Reduced noise levels at the nursing station and decreased delays in providing care at the bedside positively impacted patient survey satisfaction scores.
Optimization Images
Rehabilitation
Problem:
The adult rehab therapy department merged from multiple locations into a new space without a full understanding of supply/equipment utilization, workflows, and patient care needs. The staff did not have the appropriate patient care items stored in the treatment spaces to support their therapeutic specialties leading to significant under-utilization of three treatment rooms. A reduced number of available treatment rooms created a bottleneck in the main gym and led to overcrowding of patients while conducting therapy sessions. Providing therapy in a high traffic area increased opportunities for safety incidents, which impacted the quality of care, throughput, capacity, and length of stay. Therapists spent significant amounts of time searching for supplies and equipment as well as moving items between treatment rooms, which interrupted patient care and diminished therapy touch time. Variation in the storage of single-use and reusable supplies promoted hoarding, storing items in non-treatment spaces, and increased cross contamination risks. In addition, several high-value equipment were not adequately secured or charged contributing to non-compliance issues.
Mission:
To increase utilization of three patient treatment rooms available for rehabilitation through optimization of the adult rehab therapy floor while reducing therapy session delays for improved throughput, capacity and reduced length of stay.
Outcomes:
- Quality: Co-locating treatment supplies within treatment spaces designated by impairment enabled increased utilization of all available patient care areas. A better distribution of patients throughout the treatment spaces decompressed the main gym and increased opportunities for higher quality care in a quiet environment. Storing frequently used patient care items where they were consumed allowed for more timely retrieval and increased therapy touch time with patients.
- Safety: Increased availability of treatment spaces throughout the rehab floor reduced traffic in the main gym, which eliminated overcrowding and decreased opportunities for accidents. The removal of unnecessary supplies from patient care areas and allocation of assigned storage spaces for durable medical equipment not in use reduced safety risks by removing clutter from the environment of care. The development of a secured charging station cabinet for high-value equipment met regulatory compliance and provided asset protection.
- Cost Savings: Improved supplies and equipment organization, visibility, and access allowed staff to:
- Reduce idle time and reimbursement losses associated with shortened therapy sessions
- Effectively manage treatment capacity for improved patient throughput and length of stay
- Diminish occurrences of staff and patient injuries associated with overcapacity of the main gym
- Decrease standing inventory by creating par levels for supplies and equipment replenishment
- Expand available treatment spaces by creating a mobile casting and splinting cart to provide patient care at the bedside while repurposing the casting and splinting room for other therapies
- Delivery: The efficient use of treatment time reduced the number of delays for subsequent patient therapy sessions, enhancing throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
- Morale: Organized supplies and equipment storage at the point of use reduced staff frustration in searching for required patient care items and available treatment space. Easy retrieval of care items improved therapist response time in addressing patient needs boosting their confidence.
- Patient Experience: Increased availability of treatment spaces allowed more patients to move through their rehabilitation without experiencing delays. Better organization of supplies and equipment within therapy spaces increased patient perception of high-quality care, which positively impacted satisfaction survey responses.
Optimization Images
Problem:
Insufficient equipment storage space resulted in the disorganization of wheelchairs and accessories. A disorderly environment led to delays in providing patients with safe seating solutions, which impacted the length of stay and reimbursements. Staff spent significant amounts of time searching for wheelchairs and accessories, diminishing touch time for patient care. Wheelchair inventory status was unknown at any given moment, which made procuring the appropriate seating system for a patient challenging. The program also had to relocate to a space that was approximately half the size of their existing location to proceed with the construction of new patient rooms. The rehab department needed to determine the appropriate amount of square footage to allocate for the relocation; however, no one fully understood wheelchair utilization and inventory requirements to make well-informed recommendations.
Mission:
To relocate and optimize the wheelchair program in a smaller setting while reducing patient seating system delays to improve rehab throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
Outcomes:
- Quality: Standardized and systematized placement of wheelchairs with their corresponding accessories allowed for faster retrieval. The consolidation of wheelchair storage with the repair shop enabled the delivery of equipment for a full evaluation of patient transfers on the first day of treatment. The development of a repair process to enhance communication between staff and technicians about equipment failures eliminated malfunction delays at the patient bedside. Reduced search efforts in obtaining seating systems increased touch time with patients to address rehabilitation needs.
- Safety: The removal of defective and obsolete wheelchair equipment and accessories from circulation reduced likelihood of injuries. Creating a wheelchair assessment system in between patient use to deploy fully functional and clean equipment diminished infection control risks.
- Cost Savings: Improved equipment and accessories organization, visibility, and access allowed staff to:
- Reduce therapist and technician idle time
- Improve patient-provider services representation for reimbursement
- Eliminate high cost equipment rentals by replenishing necessary replacement parts to extend the life expectancy of current inventory
- Efficiently manage and budget wheelchair costs by creating a line of sight for inventory control
- Accurately purchase needed wheelchairs and accessories for evolving patient population
- Diminish occurrences of staff and patient injuries associated with defective equipment
- Decrease incidents of cross-contamination between patient use of wheelchairs and accessories
- Occupy a 45% smaller footprint without the need for additional real estate allowing new construction of a medical-surgical unit
- Delivery: The establishment of clear procedures and visual cues in the environment enabled staff to get patients what they needed quickly, which improved the average wheelchair delivery time by two hours. A reduced number of rehab equipment delays enhanced throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
- Morale: Organized wheelchairs and accessories storage reduced staff frustration in obtaining patient seating systems. The development of standard operating procedures for repairs minimized defects at the patient bedside, which increased collaboration and staff confidence in delivering care.
- Patient Experience: The upgraded fleet of wheelchairs and accessories increased patients’ perception of receiving high-quality care. Patients were more readily provided with the appropriate seating system to support their recovery without experiencing delays, which improved patient satisfaction scores.
Optimization Images
Support Services
Problem:
The existing storage area assigned to the food & nutrition department was located in a cellar with no room to expand, however, they needed to accommodate the opening of several new retail venues while servicing the main hospital campus. The department already exceeded its allocated footprint, which resulted in non-compliant storage of emergency food stock and decanting activities in an egress corridor. In addition to the safety and compliance issues of decanting in the hallway, the food & nutrition department was required to vacate the egress corridor for the construction of a connecting pathway between the main campus and new hospital. Inadequate storage space resulted in the disorganization of food, beverage, and paper supplies, creating delays as staff spent significant amounts of time searching for food items. Delays were further compounded by the food procurement process, which required four hours per day to reconcile due to participation in a hospital rebate program. Dry goods and non-perishable foods were stored on wire shelving with wheels, which were frequently moved to reach what was needed contributing to the disarray of locating food. The environment did not support efficient inventory management leading to shortages, expirations, and excess inventory, reducing the availability of retail service and patient room menu items. It also diminished collaboration as staff were constantly tripping over each other to carry out their assignments.
Mission:
To support the increased volume of food supply for several new retail venues through optimization of the food & nutrition department storage area while creating a space for decanting activities.
Outcomes:
- Quality: The consolidation of patient services food storage into one centralized location with decanting space in close proximity provided increased visibility to retrieve food items for distribution. Systematized placement of food, beverages and paper supplies allowed for faster retrieval, reducing delays in delivering patient room service and serving food at retail venues.
- Safety: Installation of a high-density storage solution reduced opportunities for staff injuries associated with moving heavy items. Eliminating the need to constantly retrieve food items from multiple locations diminished cross contamination risks. Vacating the egress corridor allowed the space to provide safe access to exit the department in case of an emergency while meeting regulatory compliance requirements.
- Cost Savings: Improved food item organization, visibility, and access allowed staff to:
- Reduce culinary and support staff idle time
- Efficiently manage perishable and non-perishable foods by creating a line of sight for inventory control
- Streamline the re-order process to qualify for hospital rebates and focus on food distribution
- Decrease standing inventory and food expirations by creating accurate par levels for food, beverages and paper supplies replenishment
- Diminish occurrences of staff injuries associated with the movement of heavy items
- Reduce incidents of food cross-contamination by designating vendor locations for delivery
- Occupy a 60% smaller footprint while creating a decanting space without additional real estate allowing construction of a connecting corridor between the main campus and new hospital
- Delivery: The establishment of visual cues in the environment enabled staff to get what they needed quickly, which improved the average food delivery time by fifteen minutes. A reduced number of food delays to all retail venues and patient rooms enhanced the department’s throughput and capacity to handle the increased volume.
- Morale: Organized food item storage facilitated faster retrieval and distribution of perishable and non-perishable goods. This reduced staff frustration in searching for food items while working in close proximity, which increased collaboration and confidence in addressing customer needs.
- Patient Experience: Patients and their families were more readily provided with food and nutrition at the bedside and at retail venues without experiencing delays, increasing patient survey satisfaction responses.
Optimization Images
Problem:
Relocation of the respiratory therapy department was required to vacate spaces earmarked on the surgical services unit for the construction of a new endoscopy suite and hybrid operating room. Before the finalization of this design plan and strategy, the department exceeded its allocated space on another floor, which led to non-compliant storage of equipment in the hallways. Inadequate supplies and equipment storage space resulted in inventory being kept all over the hospital, making it difficult to manage. Unknown inventory status of equipment and supplies throughout the day made obtaining the appropriate machines and consumables for a patient challenging. Staff spent significant amounts of time searching for supplies and equipment, increasing patient care delays, and minimizing touch time. In addition, the department was being relocated to an area that was approximately half the size of its existing footprint despite their request for additional space to move forward with construction.
Mission:
To relocate and optimize the respiratory therapy department in a smaller setting while improving patient throughput, capacity, and reduced length of stay in tandem with increasing patient volume by building a new endoscopy suite/hybrid operating room within surgical services.
Outcomes:
- Quality: The consolidation of multiple supply and equipment storage areas into one centralized location provided increased visibility to retrieve patient care items for distribution. Standardized and systematized placement of machines with corresponding consumables allowed for faster retrieval, increasing touch time with patients.
- Safety: Developing par levels of equipment to store at the point of care reduced opportunities for staff and patient injuries associated with moving heavy items. Eliminating the need to constantly retrieve equipment from centralized storage diminished cross contamination risks and reduced respiratory failure incidents attributed to delays.
- Cost Savings: Improved supplies and equipment organization, visibility, and access allowed staff to:
- Reduce respiratory therapist and technician idle time
- Decrease high-cost equipment rentals by implementing real-time asset management capabilities
- Efficiently manage, and budget equipment costs by creating a line of sight for inventory control
- Reduce standing inventory and product expirations by creating par levels for supplies and equipment replenishment
- Diminish occurrences of staff/patient injuries associated with equipment movement and delays
- Occupy a 46% smaller footprint without the need to request additional space allowing new construction of an endoscopy suite and hybrid operating room
- Delivery: The average equipment delivery time was reduced by thirty minutes allowing staff to get patients what they needed quickly. A reduced number of respiratory therapy equipment delays for all patient care areas enhanced throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
- Morale: Organized supplies and equipment storage facilitated faster delivery of patient care items reducing staff frustration, which increased collaboration and confidence in addressing patient needs.
- Patient Experience: Patients were more readily provided with respiratory therapy equipment to support their care without experiencing delays, which improved patient satisfaction scores.
Optimization Images
Surgical Services
Problem:
Inefficient layout of unit supplies, equipment, and support spaces increased clinician time spent on retrieving items for patient care. This resulted in patient care delays, which impacted surgical services throughput, capacity, and length of stay. Storage spaces for supplies and equipment were found on opposite ends of the unit while the staff lounge was centrally located behind the nursing station. The staff lounge was used as a multipurpose room to accommodate meetings, meal breaks, lockers, and computer touch down space. When multiple activities were taking place simultaneously, there was significant disruption for staff, clinicians, and patients recovering in rooms nearby. The cardiology unit did not have a separate conference room to discuss patient results and matters requiring privacy, which violated HIPAA requirements on occasion if the staff spoke loudly. There were two patient waiting areas with one room being partially obstructed from immediate view, which led to the under-utilization of space on the floor. Further patient care delays were attributed to certain supplies and equipment not having a designated place and most patient care items being stored in automated locked cabinets, requiring multiple verification steps to access supplies for replenishment and distribution.
Mission:
To reduce patient care delays by optimizing the cardiology unit through redesign of supplies, equipment, and support spaces for improved surgical services throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
Outcomes:
- Quality: Centralization and co-location of necessary supplies and equipment on the unit facilitated easy retrieval of patient care items. The team standardized and systematized supplies located in the clean supply/medication rooms to quickly gather items for care delivery. Reduced search efforts for supplies and equipment increased touch time to monitor patient recovery.
- Safety: A better distribution of staff throughout the unit decompressed the nursing station, providing increased visibility to immediately address patient, family, and clinician requests. Enhanced proximity of equipment at the point of care reduced opportunities for staff and patient injuries. Repurposing rooms by activity created safer spaces to support patient care while meeting regulatory compliance requirements.
- Cost Savings: Improved supplies and equipment organization, visibility, and access allowed staff to:
- Reduce support and clinician idle time
- Efficiently manage treatment capacity and patient throughput for an improved length of stay
- Diminish occurrences of staff and patient injuries associated with equipment movement
- Decrease standing inventory by developing accurate par levels for supplies and equipment replenishment
- Create a conference room to support clinical activities without the need to request, plan and budget for additional space
- Delivery: The efficient use of support and clinician treatment time reduced the number of delays for patient care, enhancing throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
- Morale: Organized supplies and equipment storage reduced staff frustration in searching for required patient care items, which improved their response time and confidence in addressing patient needs. The creation of a locker room, conference meeting space and staff lounge solely utilized for the purpose of breaks increased overall satisfaction with working conditions.
- Patient Experience: Reduced noise levels at the nursing station and decreased delays in providing care at the bedside improved patient survey satisfaction responses.
Optimization Images
Problem:
Limited PACU/CVSCU supplies and equipment storage space resulted in four patient bays being utilized as storage instead of patient recovery. A reduced number of available bays to transfer surgical patients created a bottleneck for the operating rooms, which impacted throughput, capacity and length of stay. Staff spent significant amounts of time searching for equipment and supplies, which took time away from critical patient care. There was a substantial amount of variation in supplies being stored in satellite carts and at each patient bay, which resulted in staff carrying around supplies in a non-compliant fashion to ensure they had what they needed at the bedside. In addition, one of their centrally located storage rooms was grossly under-utilized because the employees were unable to effectively monitor patients due to obstruction of sight and sound when obtaining supplies.
Mission:
To recover four patient bays available for care through optimization of the PACU/CVSCU unit while reducing operating room holds to improve surgical services throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
Outcomes:
- Quality: Positioned necessary supplies and equipment at the point of care throughout the floor, which facilitated easy retrieval of patient care items. The team standardized and systematized supplies located in clean supply rooms/satellite carts to quickly gather items for care delivery. Time savings from reduced search efforts increased patient touch time to monitor recovery progression and address acuity needs.
- Safety: Enhanced proximity of equipment at the point of care reduced opportunities for staff and patient injuries associated with moving heavy items. Standardized and systematized supplies close to the bedside eliminated the need for care providers to store items in their pockets, which resulted in regulatory compliance for handling and storage.
- Cost Savings: Improved supplies and equipment organization, visibility, and access allowed staff to:
- Reduce operating room and clinician idle time
- Efficiently manage treatment capacity and patient throughput for an improved length of stay
- Diminish occurrences of staff and patient injuries associated with equipment movement
- Decrease standing inventory and product expirations by developing accurate par levels for supplies and equipment replenishment
- Eliminate the need to request, plan and budget for additional space to support PACU/CVSCU unit
- Delivery: Increased timely transfer of patients from the operating rooms to recovery reduced the number of delays for subsequent surgical procedures enhancing throughput, capacity, and length of stay.
- Morale: Organized supplies and equipment storage reduced staff frustration in searching for required patient care items, which improved their response time and confidence in addressing patient needs.
- Patient Experience: Increased availability of recovery bays reduced operating room holds and allowed more patients to move through their continuum of care without experiencing delays, which positively impacted patient satisfaction survey responses.
Optimization Images
