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In this special package on responding to unexpected events, we take a look at how ED managers should plan for disasters natural or otherwise that can stretch your resources and your nerves beyond their normal limits. We consider the challenge of treating patients when there is no longer an ED, as was the case at one hospital after Hurricane Charley.
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One of the key challenges for ED managers when faced with a communitywide health crisis be it terrorism, infectious disease, or natural disaster is surge capacity.
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In this first part of a two-part series on benchmarking, we tell you about two hospitals that achieved dramatic reductions in length of stay (LOS). Next month, we discuss how to speed up admissions by addressing virtual capacity issues with the entire hospital.)
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ED management and staff at Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, OH, have improved both internal and external customer satisfaction by instituting a system of daily satisfaction surveys. Patient satisfaction is now at 95%, and physician satisfaction is above 90%, when they had both been at about 80% to 85%.
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While health care facility surge capacity is the prime concern of ED managers, it is also important for them to interface with community officials both before and after a major disastrous event.
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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a tool to help quickly locate alternate health care sites if hospitals are overwhelmed by patients due to a bioterrorism attack or other public health emergency.
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If your ED handles 15,000 to 20,000 pediatric patients a year, it might be time to consider adding a child life specialist to your staff. These specialists, say observers, can increase cooperation and compliance with medical staff, can prove invaluable in pain management, significantly improve patient and family satisfaction, and set you apart from the competition.
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Complications of sickle cell disease are a common presentation to the emergency department. Emergency physicians and nurses must treat complications of this disease process aggressively.
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Trauma to the thoracic cavity is responsible for approximately 10-25%
of all trauma-related deaths, with the majority of these deaths
occurring after arrival at the emergency department. The mortality for
isolated chest injury is relatively low (less than 5%); however, with
multiple organ system involvement, the mortality approaches 30%. This
article dissects the critical aspects of thoracic trauma and highlights
acute care management strategies.