On the way to great at Morristown Medical Center's Emergency Department

Abstract

AbstractThe Emergency Department (ED) at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey, the largest hospital within the Atlantic Health System, was already well known for providing quality care when its leaders determined it could do even better. They formed a task force that developed several new processes to expedite patient care and ensured that the staff was committed to a new series of performance objectives. Continual feedback and ongoing communication helped keep the staff on track. In less than two months, the ED was able to cut the time it took a provider to see a patient by 20 percent, reduce the number of patients leaving without being seen or treated by 40 percent, and increase patient satisfaction by 20 percent. Now the focus in the ED is on maintaining progress by continuing to strive for even greater performance. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.