Advocate Sherman Hospital Emergency Department - Elgin, Illinois
Advocate Sherman Hospital is a 255-bed non-profit acute community hospital in Elgin, Ill. that has provided high-quality care to Chicago’s northwest suburbs since 1888. The hospital features a Level II Trauma Center and an emergency department approved for pediatrics that is backed by the resources of Advocate Children’s Hospital. The ED sees approximately 60,000 emergency visits annually. Advocate Sherman’s ED initiatives include teammate recognition, leadership development, safe medication delivery and fall prevention.
Advocate Sherman was recognized as one of U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-2023 Best Regional Hospitals. The hospital also earned a Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) certification for LGBTQ+ informed care. Advocate Sherman is certified as a Primary Stroke Center by DNV-GL Healthcare and received Magnet® designation from the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) for excellence in nursing. Advocate Sherman is honored to be selected as a 2023 Lantern Award recipient.
Rush University Medical Center Emergency Department - Chicago, Illinois
Rush University Medical Center located in Chicago is a comprehensive emergency department with annual visits of ~70,000 and 5th time designated Magnet hospital.
Continuous Pursuit of Excellence (CPE) is Rush’s focus on constantly working to improve by providing value, delivering the highest-quality patient care and timely services, by engaging those closest to the work to become problem solvers. Using this methodology from their previous CPE work, this ED gathered a multidisciplinary team of providers, nurses and PCTs, as well as key members of ancillary services teams to address opportunities identified on proper identification of low resource appropriate patients and efficient ordering of labs and imaging from triage with alignment of patient arrivals and staffing. They created a “staff to demand” heatmap and realigned both nursing and provider shift times. This, in combination with placing initial orders for these patients, resulted in both increased capacity and increased efficiency in their low resource pod.
In addition to these gains, this workflow redesign also resulted in a significant decrease in Left Without Being Seen (LWBS) volume. Prior to the implementation, monthly LWBS had been as high as 4.4%. Following the implementation of this process, they have achieved — and maintained — an annual LWBS rate of < 1.5%. This process has also allowed for improved patient safety by increasing the situational awareness of ED providers regarding the patients in the waiting room. Ordering labs and images from triage allows earlier identification of significant abnormalities and expedited rooming of these patients.
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital - Winfield, Illinois
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital is a 66-bed unit a large community hospital serving greater than 75,000 patients a year in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The hospital is ranked among “America’s Best” by U.S. News & World Report for 2022-2023. NM CDH is committed to providing exceptional care to all populations for which they have been recognized for including through the international Child Kind designation and the Healthcare Quality Index LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader.
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital emergency department is certified as a Level 2 Trauma Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, and Treatment Center for survivors of sexual assault. NM CDH maintains a strong pediatric program with a Pediatric subspecialty ED as well as in house pediatric units, pediatric intensive care, neonatal intensive care, and multiple subspecialty clinics. A strong focus on quality coupled with smooth integration of best practice as well as strong collaboration with interdisciplinary groups as well as prehospital providers allows NM CDH’s ED operations to excel. The Lantern document included work on security plan for high-risk individuals, creation of a waiting room assessment position, integration of suicide screening tools into the EMR, and partnership with physician leaders on an Ultrasound Guided IV Program. Our application proudly highlighted exemplary teamwork and professional growth. The Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital emergency department is honored to receive the Lantern Award for the second time.