Good Samaritan emergency dept. earns Lantern Award for efficiency, patient care

Early in 2020, before the worries of COVID-19 reached Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, leaders in the emergency department worked to improve how team members collaborated and cared for patients.

The changes not only improved efficiency in the emergency department - just ahead of a global pandemic that would bring an influx of patients - but also helped earn a 2021 Lantern Award from the Emergency Nurses Association. The award recognizes emergency departments that not only excel in excellent and innovative patient care, but also development and well-being of team members.

"The lantern award really is not an award that's easy to achieve," said Roseanne Niese, chief nursing officer. "It hits on all buckets from patient satisfaction to leadership to quality of care. This team has truly done some excellent work. I'm just really proud of them."

The team submitted various information about initiatives in the emergency department, including the improved model of care, which focused on a transformation of the triage process just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We did this right before COVID hit and it really prepared us," said Jan Boonstra, director of nursing, overseeing the emergency department.

One area of concern - an old wooden chart rack. It represented an older model of care - how physicians would know which patients to see next.

Recognizing there was a better way for physicians and nurses to work together, the team developed a new model of care. Leaders divided the emergency department into pods and assigned physicians, nurses and other clinical team members to those pods' patients. This improved efficiency and fostered more collaboration among the care team. It also brought patients back to the emergency department sooner, resulting in an often-empty waiting room.

Patients and team members alike responded to the improvements, Boonstra said.

Good Samaritan's emergency department was also recognized for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, its offering of team member wellness programs and workplace violence prevention.

Boonstra said the timing in receiving the honor is especially meaningful after more than a year of a pandemic.

"Team members have worked so hard for our patients," she said. "When we all learned we had earned the award, you could see the pride."