News & Events :: News :: Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Madera Community Hospital Emergency Department Launches Initiative to Reduce Patient Wait Time

Contact: Sarah Hay
800.476.1504
hays@cep.com

(May, 2005, Emeryville, California)—In an effort to enhance emergency services to Madera and surrounding communities, Madera Community Hospital Emergency Department team has implemented the Rapid Medical Evaluation (RME) Program, allowing patients to be seen by a physician or nurse practitioner more quickly. The initiative falls on the heels of an overcrowding crisis facing Emergency Departments nationwide, including those in the Central Valley.

The goal of RME is to have a physician or nurse practitioner initiate the course of care for all patients in 30 minutes or less. Launched in September 2004, the RME program has exceeded expectations— the average time to provider is less than 15 minutes since its inception, more than 70% lower than the national average of 52 minutes.

With the RME Program, patients are placed immediately in an Emergency Department bed when available and examined by a medical provider. When volume increases and resources are exhausted, the program allows medical providers to perform a medical evaluation at the Triage station as soon as patients enter the Emergency Department—this method replaces the previous nursing Triage assessment. The RME Program allows the treatment process to begin immediately and includes an initial assessment, ordering of labs and X-rays, and in some cases, rapid discharge.

RME was initiated by a new group of physicians who began practicing at Madera Community Hospital Emergency Department in 2004. These physicians, who are specialists in emergency medicine, are dedicated to providing high quality emergency medical care. Many of the physicians live in the Central Valley.

“Our goal is to set the expectation for outstanding emergency medical care in a timely manner. We realize patients do not want to wait to be seen when sick or injured. With that in mind, if you are not seen within 30 minutes of your arrival, you will receive a gift card for three movie rentals,” said David Smith, MD, Medical Director of the Emergency Department. “Madera is a thriving community and we look forward to furthering our role in shaping the health care in our neighborhoods.”

“The residents of Madera deserve to have timely and compassionate emergency medical care in their community,” says Robert Toman, RN, Clinical Director of Emergency Medical Services at Madera Community Hospital. “RME has resulted in several positive changes including reducing the time a patient is in the Emergency Department and improving patient satisfaction.”

An additional initiative in the Emergency Department includes the Patient Call Back Program, a project whereby a physician or nurse practitioner follows up with a telephone call to a select group of patients after he or she has been discharged. The follow up phone calls provide another opportunity for patients to ask additional questions, clarify discharge instructions, and discuss concerns.

###

The Emergency Department physicians at Madera Community Hospital are partners with California Emergency Physicians Medical Group, the leading provider of emergency department staffing, management, and consulting services. For information on CEP, visit www.cep.com.