Spokane hospital to be national training center for hospital leaders

Posted on Dec 15 , 2006

Spokane, WA -- Across the nation, hospitals face the same challenges: emergency rooms have unreasonable waiting times, the flow of patients through the system is inefficient and individual departments work alone rather than as a hospital-wide team. As a result, unnecessary expenses are created and satisfaction among patients, physicians and employees is drastically reduced.

Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, spent two years working through those issues and, with the help of EMPATH Consulting, achieved remarkable results.  Now, Sacred Heart and EMPATH leaders are teaming up to offer operations training to hospital leaders across the nation in an effort to produce similar results at other medical centers.

EMPATH Academy at Sacred Heart Medical Center will show hospital leaders how to engage their employees in process changes that result in best-in-class performance.  Participants will see how Sacred Heart changed its technology and patient care delivery systems and metrics management to achieve far-reaching changes in quality patient care.

“In 2003, faced with expense, revenue and margin challenges, we set Sacred Heart on a course to transform patient care and the patient experience," explains Mike Wilson, president.  “With EMPATH’s assistance and our own staff’s active participation, we achieved significant improvements in operational efficiency, resulting in dramatic increases in patient satisfaction, volume of ED visits and overall hospital performance."
EMPATH engaged Sacred Heart employees in re-vamping the Emergency Department to achieve reduced waiting times for patients and improved communication between support departments such as lab and radiology.  Other transformations occurred in the inpatient units and the operating room, where staff now benefits from real-time electronic hospital status boards to track exactly where each patient is in the process of care.  Results include 95 percent on-time starts in the operating room, better utilization of available beds on inpatient units and a significant increase in patient satisfaction throughout the Medical Center.

“EMPATH Academy participants will learn about a real revolution in health care," says Michael Hill, MD, president and CEO of EMPATH Consulting.  “With a proven methodology and technology systems, driven by front-line workers and rigorously supported by leadership, hospitals can truly change their culture and transform their business operations."

Sessions for the EMPATH Academy at Sacred Heart are available on three specific topics: emergency department, inpatient units and surgical services.  Each is a one- to three-day seminar, held on the Sacred Heart Medical Center campus in Spokane, WA. Participants will receive class training as well as focused observation time watching how Sacred Heart has achieved best-in-class performance. The Academy seminars will be held four times each year beginning in January 2007.

Sacred Heart Medical Center is the second largest hospital in Washington State, with more than 4,000 employees, 800 physicians and 623 licensed beds.  It is a member of Providence Health & Services, the parent company of 24 hospitals sponsored by the Sisters of Providence.  With a Children’s Hospital and centers of excellence in cardiac, stroke, orthopedic, trauma, organ transplant and psychiatric care, Sacred Heart has won the Consumer Choice Award by the National Research Corporation for eight consecutive years.

For details about the EMPATH Academy at Sacred Heart visit http://empathacademy.shmc.org or email academy@shmc.org.

Additional information available at (509) 474-3929.