Patient flow (measured by wait times, length of stay and patients who leave without being seen) is a common issue for emergency departments in hospitals across the country.
“Over the past year, our emergency departments have been working hard to implement a ‘Pull to Full’ process that is nationally accepted as a best practice for decreasing wait times and overall length of stay while making sure that patients are efficiently diagnosed and treated in a timely manner,” said Regina Ciambrone, divisional director of the emergency departments at Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell and Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton.
The term “Pull to Full” refers to a process that places a registered nurse at the front of the emergency department, allowing patients to be seen by a clinical provider immediately and taken to an appropriate area where the primary nurse and physician can diagnose and treat the patient.
“Our patients are already seeing the difference and we hope to see continued decreases in our wait times and lengths of stay the longer we have our new process in place,” said Ciambrone.