Time is on Your Side at Bayfront Health Brooksville and Bayfront Health Spring Hill Emergency Rooms
8/31/2016
Brooksville, Fla. September 1, 2016 – When you’re experiencing a healthcare emergency, the last thing you need to do is wait. Emergency medicine is about three things: compassion, skilled care and speed. Bayfront Health Brooksville and Bayfront Health Spring Hill know the importance of prompt service – especially in the emergency room (ER). “That’s why Bayfront Health is launching a 30-Minutes-or-Less ER Service Pledge – to assure patients we’re dedicated not only to offering quality care, but also providing that care as efficiently and quickly as possible,” said Tom Patrias, Chief Executive Officer at Bayfront Spring Hill.
When a patient enters the ER at Bayfront Health, the arrival time is noted. The 30-Minutes-or-Less ER Service Pledge begins the minute a patient checks in at the ER desk. “Our pledge is that a medical professional will work diligently to initially see each patient within 30 minutes or less of their arrival to begin evaluation and treatment. When the patient is seen by a medical professional -- a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner -- the time is logged, so we can track our performance in keeping our pledge of short ER wait times,” said Patrias.
“While the goal of Bayfront Health Brooksville and Bayfront Health Spring Hill’s ER pledge is to work diligently to initially see every patient within 30 minutes of their arrival, the most critical health emergencies will always receive top priority,” said Polly Spate, Director of Emergency at Bayfront Health Brooksville.
The hospital records and monitors many ER indicators as part of its ongoing quality improvement efforts. “One of the items we track is patient wait times in the ER to determine how efficiently we triage patients and get them to a medical professional for initial evaluation and treatment,” said Patrias. “I’m pleased to report that the majority of patients at Bayfront Health Spring Hill’s ER were already being seen within 30 minutes of their arrival time.”
The hospital launched the 30-Minutes-or-Less ER Service Pledge on September 1st. “We believe this service pledge will underscore our commitment to provide quality emergency care to the people who live and work in our communities,” he said.
“Though we’re committed to prompt and appropriate care for our ER patients, the 30-Minutes-or-Less ER pledge should not be misinterpreted as an effort to rush patients though the ER,” he adds. “Our process improvements focus on getting ER patients into a treatment room as quickly as possible, enabling our medical professionals to see a patient and begin diagnosis and treatment in a timely manner.”
The community can view Bayfront Health Brooksville and Bayfront Health Spring Hill’s average ER wait times -- based on a one-hour rolling average, updated every 15 minutes – on the internet at BayfrontBrooksville.com or BayfrontSpringHill.com
The emergency room (ER) average wait time is provided as an informational service to the public. It is approximate and based on a one-hour rolling average that is updated four times an hour and does not represent the actual current activity in the ER waiting room.
The ER wait time represents the time it takes from arrival until a patient is initially seen by a medical professional (physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner). Patients are triaged upon their arrival in the ER. They are then seen by a medical professional in an order based on their complaint, condition, and the reason for their visit.
While many patients are initially seen by a medical professional within 30 minutes of their arrival, during some peak times when the number of patients and/or trauma situations exceeds the number of providers or beds, some patients are not initially seen within 30 minutes of their noted arrival.
About Bayfront Health Brooksville and Bayfront Health Spring Hill
Bayfront Health Brooksville and Bayfront Health Spring Hill are nationally accredited acute care hospitals providing inpatient, outpatient and emergency care services. As a member of the Bayfront Health network, consisting of seven hospitals with more than 6,100 healthcare professionals, they provide a broad range of services including cardiology, orthopedics, obstetrics, gynecology, sleep medicine, wound care, urology, otolaryngology, neurology, diagnostic imaging and more.
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