Saskatoon Health Region 14 Day Challenge

The Better Every Day 14 Day Challenge
Daily Progress Report: As of end of Day 14 (February 16)
It’s the last day of our Better Every Day 14 Day Challenge. While the Challenge is over, our work is not. The
key to our success in the days to come will be a clear and focused plan to build on the improvement
created, make continued gains, and ensure sustainable change. You’ll hear more from me about what’s
to come next on Wednesday, February 18.
Thank you for your commitment to patients, families and each other over the past two weeks.
Dan Florizone
President and CEO
Saskatoon Health Region
Data Snapshot:
Number of Emergency Visits by Saskatoon Hospital
Overcapacity
Daily Admission and Discharge Data (line) with Overcapacity – Number of
People in pods, hallways and in emergency waiting for a hospital bed
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The Better Every Day 14 Day Challenge
Points for Discussion:
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Beginning Tues. Feb. 17, all Challenge teams will combine to evaluate the 14 Day Challenge
process. Public reporting on the outcomes of the Challenge will take place Wed. Feb. 18. A Region
wide endeavor will follow to develop and deploy the next 90-day hoshin (breakthrough strategy)
plan.
Team Updates
Health of the Community and Support (Teams 1 & 6)
Co-Leads: Dr. Cory Neudorf and Nilesh Kavia
Team Purpose: This team (1) studies data to predict trends and future surges in demand for service,
so we can plan appropriately and (2) ensures that the five other teams have the data, financial,
human resources and communications support necessary to complete their work.
What we did:
• Discharges still outnumber admissions.
• We are meeting our target of having at least 85 per cent of the patients who were admitted to
hospital from emergency placed in the right bed within five hours except in specialized units, such
as cardiology and neurology.
Community Strategies (Team 2)
Lead: Corey Miller and Tammy Vornbrock
Team Purpose: This team looks at services we can provide to people in the community that prevent
the need for acute care admissions and to provide greater supports in the community to support
transition from acute care to home.
What we did:
• Team member Alan Buckley met with 11 stakeholders at Homecare today to ensure they were
supported in serving our clients . Overall, the team engaged with 3,005 stakeholders, captured 307
new ideas, and visited 135 units.
• Home care is planning to make schedule changes to accommodate discharges after 3 p.m. daily,
when staffing levels traditionally drop. Late afternoon is when most of the discharges from acute
care occur.
• The IV therapy pilot program launches at Royal University Hospital’s Emergency Department
tomorrow, and the team will measure how many patients use this service.
• The Mental Health Transition Team supported a total of eight clients over the weekend; none
returned back to the emergency department even though seven were considered at high risk of
returning.
• The team also saw 14 Mental Health clients in the emergency departments. The team feels that
increased advertising of the extension of hours will increase referrals, as will building strong
relationships with psychiatric nurses, as some referrals may come from those nurses.
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The Better Every Day 14 Day Challenge
Out-of-Region Transfers in and out of Saskatoon Health Region (Team 3)
Co-Lead: Jackie Mann and Cindy Graham
Team Purpose: This team works on bettering the process of repatriating patients back to their home
regions or hospitals.
What we did:
• Team members huddled with Acute Care Access Services (ACAS). There were no transfers today.
• Our team continues to work on unit and physician communications.
• The team is starting to build an escalation process into the new transition process, so that when a
patient doesn’t transition on the planned day, the transition officer has a plan for next steps.
Admission and Discharge Process (Team 4)
Co-Leads: Sandra Blevins and Dr. George Pylypchuk
Team Purpose: This team creates standards and processes so patients and caregivers know if
someone needs to be admitted, and when they will be discharged.
What we did:
• The new admission process is continuing to work well; no one has reported experiencing problems
with the process.
• In terms of discharge processes, the team collected data over the weekend, and a form is being
piloted with psychiatry.
Next steps:
• A big piece of the puzzle for this team will fall into place Wednesday, when the new admission
process becomes part of the patient flow system.
Progression of Care and Treatment (Team 5)
Lead: Petrina McGrath
Team Purpose: This team ensures that patients receive the care they need in a timely and efficient
manner.
What we did:
• There is an opportunity to create earlier warning and escalation protocols to support patient flow
through emergency services.
• We need clear definitions for early escalation of patient flow issues.
See our Better Every Day 14 Day Challenge stories at
https://www.saskatoonhealthregion.ca/news/Pages/14-Day-Challenge-Stories.aspx
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