Emergency Department Services

Improve Emergency Department Throughput and Patient Outcomes

Emergency care is one of the most important hospital services provided in rural communities. Emergency Departments (EDs) are the front door of your rural and community hospital and the window into how the community views your organization. Through the ED, your facility can have the opportunity to make or break a patient’s perception of their care. Stroudwater partners with hospitals to perform operations-based evaluations of ED throughput and EMTALA, transitions of care, and patient outcomes.  

Through the Emergency Department, your facility can have the opportunity to make or break a patient’s perception of their care.

Emergency Department Throughput

Our team recognizes the crucial role that throughput plays in the efficient operation of an emergency department. We collaborate with rural and community hospitals to improve their ED throughput by evaluating their current practices and processes that impact workflow and efficiency. On site, we’ll evaluate your organization on a range of measures, and because we use an in-the-moment charette approach, we provide an actionable plan prior to leaving your hospital. 

Our team evaluates the entire path of a patient visit from Registration to Admission, Discharge, or Transfer. This approach allows our team to assess compliance with regulatory standards, evaluate the implementation of policies and procedures, and identify potential gaps and areas for improvement. 

Maintaining EMTALA Compliance

Research indicates that EMTALA violations occur at an annual rate of 4%–5%, with most violations happening in high-volume emergency departments. Even a single EMTALA violation can result in significant financial repercussions for facilities and providers. Our clinical and quality team partners with your organization to assess and enhance your compliance with EMTALA regulations.

Together with your team, we will:

Findings from the field

Every patient that leaves a hospital’s ED without being seen is a patient safety concern that may negatively impact the reputation of the organization due to patient dissatisfaction and could lead to potential loss of revenue. It is important to consider the number of interdependent and possible downstream areas ED visits impact.

These may include, but are not limited to:

Acute Development of Swing Bed Services

Observation Status

Respiratory Services

Laboratory Tests

Radiology Exams

Referrals to Primary Care and Other Specialists

A lost ED visit is not just a visit lost, it is the loss of a relationship with a patient — and maybe a family — with potential long-lasting effects on our organizations and the communities we serve. 

Improving outcomes for behavioral health
patients in the emergency department

In recent years, there has been a surge in patients presenting to emergency departments with behavioral health conditions, often with co-occurring issues. This trend is creating a crisis for rural EDs, which often lack access to behavioral health specialists and/or available beds within nearby psychiatric hospitals or treatment centers. 

Our team helps rural and community hospitals improve outcomes for behavioral health patients, reduce lengths of stays, and address the increase in workplace violence against staff and clinicians in the ED.  Building on evidence-based best practices and developed in partnership with national experts, our approach features strategies for: 

 

Our Approach to Care:

The Emergency Department Services Team

MSN, RN

Consultant

Clinical & Quality

MBA, CPHQ

Consultant

Clinical & Quality

DNP, RN, NE-BC, CATC, CPHQ

Principal

Clinical & Quality

Connect with the team

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