Grady Emergency Room Visit-Janani Venugopalan

-PhD Student Biomedical Engg.

Outline

• First Impressions

• Observations– Positives– Perceived bottlenecks

• Ideas for Improvement

Constant Movement

Entry to Treatment

•Care provided in 5 levels•Severe cases transferred if needed

Patient Waiting

Outside Triage

Triage

Treatment

Promoted an environment of continuous improvement to patient care

Board Monitors Electronic Monitors

Elevated Noise Levels in the Patient Waiting Area & Entrance

Sample Emergency Room Floor Plan

•Role specific functions•Adult & Pediatric unit adjacent•Navigator

•Door Sizes Small•Communication among nurses•Not much patient vision

Functions for each role is well defined and documented

Fixed treatment procedure

Adult & pediatric units adjacent to each other and connected by a door

Pediatric Trauma UnitAdult Trauma Unit

Navigator

• Specialized role to help patient transfer to other units if required

• Continuum of care

•Role specific functions•Planned treatment•Adult & Pediatric unit adjacent•Navigator

•Door Sizes Small•Communication among nurses•Not much patient vision

Distributed nurse stations

Nurse stations distributed & at inconvenient locations. Not conducive for communication

Door Sizes in new ward small

Towards patient & wheelchair friendly design

Should move towards designs to improve patient monitoring by nurses

•Communication

•Structure

Use of current technologies to improve communications

•Improve patient visibility•Improve accessibility•Reduce noise