Error loading player: No playable sources found

P033

Ambulatory Care Nightingales: COVID Response Discharge Unit

Date
April 22, 2022

Background: During the COVID-19 epidemic, UW Health Northern Illinois, SwedishAmerican, saw a rise in hospitalizations. The organization mobilized an ambulatory care nurse-led discharge unit to improve bed capacity management. This innovative solution was able to serve over 200 patients. This unit exemplified transformative leadership and innovation during the height of the pandemic.

Purpose: The purpose of this unit was to provide respite to the inpatient units by creatively improving bed capacity at the organization. The goal was to use resources available to promote patient care and keep surgical procedures ongoing.

Methods: In November 2020, the discharge unit called 1 North was developed. The unit had an experienced team with over 100 years of ambulatory care experience including manager, supervisor, educator, nurses, and ancillary support. Ambulatory care staff volunteered to be trained and work for an 8-week period. The unit was open Monday through Friday from 7am to 7pm and located in a converted conference room. Admission criteria was developed with the goal to discharge patients to keep surgical volumes and inpatient bed capacity stable. Daily leadership evaluated surgical volumes along with inpatient census to collaborate, prioritize, and determine the best plan to meet the organizations needs. Post-implementation, a response plan has been developed if the unit is needed in the future.

Findings: Over 200 patients were seen in the discharge unit during the 8-week implementation. This unit improved hospital revenue by $320,000 from surgical procedures that were able to continue. The nursing staff felt empowered and appreciative to offer support to the inpatient staff while providing strategic collaboration. Overall this innovative response was a breath of fresh air and was an exemplar during our Magnet designation in 2021.

Speaker

Speaker Image for Kristen Tatum
Kristen Tatum, MSN, RN AMB-BC

Related Products

Thumbnail for Creating an Ambulatory Care Infusion Space (ACU) for Symptomatic Patients Under Investigation (PUI) and Confirmed COVID-19 Positive Cancer Patients
Creating an Ambulatory Care Infusion Space (ACU) for Symptomatic Patients Under Investigation (PUI) and Confirmed COVID-19 Positive Cancer Patients
Significance and background: The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented global challenges that countries and healthcare institutions were not fully prepared to face with a magnitude of this level…
Thumbnail for A Gamble Pays Off: Students’ Perceived Benefits of a Primary Care Clinical Immersion Experience
A Gamble Pays Off: Students’ Perceived Benefits of a Primary Care Clinical Immersion Experience
Purpose: Traditionally, bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) curricula provide clinical experiences within the community setting, but not specifically in primary care. At a midwestern university, a 150-hour, two-year, longitudinal primary care clinical experience was added to the curriculum…
Thumbnail for Using Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) Simulation to Improve COVID-19 Perceived Clinical Competency
Using Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) Simulation to Improve COVID-19 Perceived Clinical Competency
Background: COVID-19 presents many challenges for nursing educators due to rapidly evolving research and best practices as well as the highly contagious nature of the virus…
Thumbnail for Nurse-Driven Modalities to Enhance Patient Care Delivery during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Nurse-Driven Modalities to Enhance Patient Care Delivery during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Purpose: Since the capricious and unprecedented advent of COVID-19, normalcy has been altered in myriad ways for both patients and healthcare professionals (HCP)…
Privacy Policy Update: We value your privacy and want you to understand how your information is being used. To make sure you have current and accurate information about this sites privacy practices please visit the privacy center by clicking here.