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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Riverside County Regional Medical Center Emergency Department Receives Outstanding Achievement in Performance Improvement Award

Contact: Sarah Hay
800.476.1504
hays@cep.com

(November 2005, Emeryville, California) -The Emergency Department (ED) at Riverside County Regional Medical Center (RCRMC) recently received the 2005 Outstanding Achievement in Performance Improvement Award from California Emergency Physicians (CEP) Medical Group. RCRMC earned the award based on its successful site implementations, decreased wait times, a reduced percentage of patients who left without being seen (LWBS), and strong physician/nurse relationships.

One such implementation was the Rapid Medical Evaluation (RME) program, aimed at decreasing wait times in the ED. With the addition of wireless bedside registration, a redesigned chart flow system and improved communication through the use of wireless phones, the ED has managed to reduce its Time to Provider (TTP) from over 100 minutes to 60 minutes. The percent of LWBS patients dropped from 6% to 1.5%, as well. Patient satisfaction scores improved over 15%. In fact, RCRMC was recently selected for the California Association of Public Hospitals (CAPH) 2005 Management Excellence Award, based on the success of its RME program.

The ED also switched to self-billing, introduced leader rounding, created 32 new treatment areas, and launched a rapid assessment approach in which a “Charge Resident” is responsible for RME and patient flow in the department.

In a survey on the relationship between physicians and nurses, the ED received the highest possible marks in terms of “Overall Atmosphere,” “Sense of Team,” “MD Awareness,” and “MD Participation and Support.” Hospital Administrators also gave the ED top scores for “Overall Performance.”

Says Tim Nesper, MD, Medical Director, “This has truly been a team effort. Unlike many other performance improvement projects, this one not only changed our approach to flow, but changed the attitudes of all admitting and ED staff. We work together as a team to get the patient to the doctor quickly.” He adds, “This process has also been a model of success for our outpatient clinics and labor/delivery areas. None of this could have happened without the backing of our hospital administrators and leadership from our nurse managers and charge nurses. An inspiring IT staff also often carried us through many difficult challenges. Finally, the creativity of the CEP Partnership has definitely been appreciated at RCRMC, as this innovation is the result of similar successful programs at CEP sites. Patients, nurses, clerks and doctors all agree ... the days of saying ‘have a seat in the lobby’ are over!”

Martin Ogle, MD, Regional Director, explains, “This level of performance was achieved through a combination of three very important elements; the Emergency Department leadership of Dr. Tim Nesper and ED Nurse Manager Kim Baumgarten, the unfailing support of all levels within the hospital administrative team, and most importantly, the discipline, commitment and desire to serve of the ED Physician and Nursing team. The effect of this monumental operational redesign goes beyond the walls of the Emergency Department. The RCRMC ED has set the standard by which all Departments throughout the facility are judged. Congratulations to the entire team.”

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The Riverside County Regional Medical Center ED is a County Teaching Facility and designated Level II Trauma Center with an annual patient volume of over 65,000. CEP was founded in 1975 and is a premier provider of physician staffing, management, and consulting services for Emergency Department and Ambulatory Care Practices in California, Oregon and Georgia. CEP includes more than 1,000 providers who treat nearly 2.5 million patients each year. For more information on CEP, visit their website at www.cep.com.