News & Events :: News :: Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kaweah Delta Named Emergency Department of the Year

New Programs Help Hospital Decrease ED Wait Times to 22 Minutes with No Ambulance Diversion

Contact: Sarah Hay
800.476.1504
hays@cep.com

(May 2007, Emeryville, California) - The Emergency Department (ED) of Kaweah Delta Health Care District has been named 2006 Emergency Department of the Year Award by CEP America, the nation’s largest emergency physician partnership. Out of over 50 EDs eligible for this award, Kaweah was chosen for consistently delivering high quality, timely care to patients while simultaneously maintaining a rewarding practice location for ED staff.

With an annual patient volume of 66,000, Kaweah was the 4th largest ED considered for this award. Despite this size, average patient wait times reached a record low in 2006 of 22 minutes – well below the national average. They have made significant strides in patient satisfaction as well; surveys show scores increasing from 4.08 in 2005 to 4.22 in 2006 (on a 1-5 scale). Staff satisfaction has also increased dramatically; in a recent survey, Kaweah’s nurses rated team and overall satisfaction a 5 out of 5. The ED even cut the number of patients who left before being seen from nearly 4% in 2005 to 1.8% in 2006. Lastly, in 2006 Kaweah had not a single hour where patients had to be diverted to other EDs due to overcrowding.

Kaweah’s success can be traced back to several initiatives and programs. The implementation of a Rapid Medical Evaluation Program© (RME) was a prominent factor in reducing wait times and increasing satisfaction. RME© is a customizable patient processing program which has significantly improved patient flow across a variety of CEP America sites. Kaweah also recently installed a new Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) which aids in efficiencies in the ED. Furthermore, the ED team strongly emphasizes positive morale with numerous “huddles” throughout the week as well as an active Emergency Performance Improvement Committee (EPIC).

###

CEP America is the national partnership practice model of California Emergency Physicians (CEP) Medical Group. CEP was founded in 1975 and is a premier provider of physician staffing, management, and consulting services for over 60 Emergency Department and Ambulatory Care Practices in Arizona, California, Georgia, and Oregon, caring for over 2,500,000 patients annually. For more information on CEP America, visit their website at www.cep.com.