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Biomedical subjects

S DeWoody

Publications and source records attributed to S DeWoody.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Building a strong nursing organization in a merged, service line structure.

In an increasingly complex healthcare environment, the discipline of nursing is difficult to define. Although a designated "department of nursing" may be absent on the organizational chart, the functional elements of the discipline remain. Nursing leaders will benefit from a framework to define and operationalize the core elements of nursing. The authors offer a five-phase methodology to enable the creation of a strong nursing organization in the face of mergers, service lines, and complex reporting structures.

Health Facility Merger↗
PubMed1994

A systems approach to multidimensional critical paths.

Using a systems approach, critical pathways address different types of injuries in trauma patients. A 640-bed tertiary referral center contracted with an independent consultant to evaluate its trauma program, resulting in several improvements in the delivery of services. Case management achieved the action plan goals: improved utilization of resources, improved continuity of care, and decreased length of stay.

Clinical Protocols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Case management of chronic ventilator patients. Reduce average length of stay and cost by half.

The implementation of the case management model and the use of critical pathways has become a major strategy to improve quality of care and cope with measuring and managing costs. Grant Medical Center, a 640-bed Level I Trauma Center, began case managing its chronic ventilator patients in July, 1993. A 30-day critical pathway was developed using a multidisciplinary team approach. In case managing these patients, many problematic issues were identified, such as lack of adequate involvement by staff experienced in specific disciplines and multiple physician decision makers for each case. By increasing multidisciplinary collaboration, care of these patients was systematically changed and streamlined. Over a 2-year period, the average length of stay for chronic ventilator patients decreased from 74.5 days to 41.9 days, and the average cost per case decreased from $189,080 to $107,019.

Case Management↗