NCH unveils new patient delivery model
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (July 31, 2013) – Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH) has introduced a new service delivery model that is designed to coordinate and improve patient flow throughout the hospital. The initiative, “Aim for Excellence,” will re-engineer roles and workflows and implement a clinical technology software platform to improve quality, patient satisfaction and efficiency.
“The Aim for Excellence project is a transformational process that will involve everyone at NCH – from leadership to frontline staff,” NCH CEO Stephen Scogna says. “We will all work together – partnering to achieve exceptional outcomes, every patient, every time.”
A key component of the system, custom designed for NCH by Care Logistics, a provider of hospital operating solutions, is a Central Control Center called The Hub. Essentially, this is like a “patient traffic control center” that orchestrates the care of patients from admission, through the scheduling of tests and treatment throughout the hospital, and ultimately through timely, efficient discharge. Patients, their families, and physicians will have a daily itinerary that outlines where the patient will be when transitioning among departments.
This logistical control system will ensure that hospital staff and resources are available exactly when needed to advance the patient’s care by providing a clear and reliable agenda for care. Real-time quality data and information also will be available. “This partnership with Care Logistics is part of our efforts to prepare our organization readiness for the future of healthcare,” Scogna says. “The Care Logistics engagement will serve as a cornerstone of predictable, reliable hospital operations and performance.”
NCH is the first hospital in the state to adopt this innovative logistical mindset, methodology and technology that has proven to reduce length of hospital stay by half a day or more, reduce infection rates, and improve patient satisfaction.
Aim for Excellence development work is scheduled in 2013, with a go-live date scheduled for March 2014.
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About Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH)
Serving Chicago’s northwest suburbs since 1959, NCH is a comprehensive, patient-centered system of care that serves more than 350,000 outpatients each year, as well as nearly 30,000 inpatients treated annually at the 496-bed acute care hospital in Arlington Heights. The award-winning hospital holds the prestigious Magnet designation for nursing excellence, is designated as a Primary Stroke Center, earned the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval in 2011, and was awarded the Leapfrog Group’s designation as one of the nation’s Top Hospitals based on quality and safety criteria. NCH has four Immediate Care locations in the northwest suburbs and operates a FastCare Clinic in Palatine. NCH has a medical staff of more than 1,000 physicians, which includes the board-certified primary care doctors and specialists of the NCH Medical Group. For more information or to find a doctor on the NCH Medical staff, visit www.nch.org.