This article was downloaded by: [New York University] On: 16 February 2015, At: 19:16 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Hospital Topics Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vhos20
Moving a Hospital from a City to a Suburban Area LeRoy Deabler
a
a
Wooster Community Hospital Wooster , Ohio, USA Published online: 13 Jul 2010.
To cite this article: LeRoy Deabler (1977) Moving a Hospital from a City to a Suburban Area, Hospital Topics, 55:6, 25-28, DOI: 10.1080/00185868.1977.9950435 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00185868.1977.9950435
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
This study could be a benefit to other hospitals who will be undergoing similar moves as populations shift and as hospitals become obsolete and
I
Moving a Hospital from a City t o a Suburban Area
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:16 16 February 2015
LeRoy Deabler, Administrator Wooster Community Hospital Wooster, Ohio
T
his article concentrates upon the decision making process involved in moving a medium sized community hospital from an urban area to a remote location ten miles removed from the city. The author was Director of Operations of Flower Hospital during the organization and execution of the moving, and was responsible for the overall coordination of the move itself. The hospital is a 210 bed acute non-profit hospital with a religious affiliation. Prior to March 1975 the hospital was located in a low to middle income neighborhood which was served by one other hospital in the vicinity. The metropolitian area consisted of a population of approximately 320,000 people with a total county population of about 700,000. The hospital was moved to a suburban area in an upper to upper middle income neighborhood with a patient service population of approximately 30,000. The new hospital consisted of nine floors and approximately 250,000 total square feet whereas the old facility was over 60 years old and contained approximately 130,000 square feet. This moving process was coordinated with the Regional Health Planning Council and hospital beds were identified as needed in this suburban area. There was no net addition of new beds to the
NOVEMBEWDECEMBER 1977
planning council region since these beds replaced the obsolete beds at the former facility. The former facility had outdated fire detection equipment and no sprinkler system. The new facility involved installation of new radiation therapy equipment and a cancer oncology unit. The new facilities also offered a comfortable air conditioned environment with piped in oxygen and suction in each patient room. Also a pneumatic tube system was available for communications and transportation needs. Advanced technologies in Medical Records, Radiology, Laboratory and other ancillary service departments brought the hospital up to the most up-to-date and advanced hospital standards. Instead of four operating rooms the new hospital offered eight operating room suites, and an expanded emergency room facility capable of handling major trauma cases was offered to the community. The cost of the building project was approximately $13 million dollars and new equipment totaled approximately $2.5 million dollars. Another unique feature involving this community hospital was the fact that the 210 bed facility was connected by a covered passageway to a 300 bed nursing home which facilitated transfer of patients
25
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:16 16 February 2015
and offered increased use of specialized personnel for both facilities. The Director of Operations used various administrative skills to coordinate the total effort to produce very satisfactory results for all concerned. It was necessary at the outset to establish a definite time table and to communicate plans to various groups of individuals involved in the moving process. The Director of Operations developed different strategies for the medical staff, nursing staff, hospital employees, civil defense, fire department, police, radio, television, public relations personnel, and department heads affiliated with the hospital. Approximately one and one-half years were spent in the construction process, and architectural plans were developed one to two years prior to this time. Three months prior to the move the hospital conducted a fund raising project in the new facility which was sponsored by the auxiliary. This gave influential members of the community, Board of Trustee members and others an opportunity to see the hospital and to make financial contributions to the capital needs of its programs. About one month prior to the move, two general open houses were held. One was for the medical staff members and their wives, and the other one for the public. Department heads and members of the administrative staff served as tour guides and showed interested individuals specific areas of the hospital which led to their increased understanding and support of this facility. One of the first steps taken in the decision making process was to identify a means of transportation for patients from one hospital to the other. The Director of Operations met with representatives of the various ambulance companies and requested competitive bids for transfer of patitents. Since the hospital had cooperated with ambulance companies and supported them financially when patients were transferred to nursing homes or to other facilities, it was not unreasonable to have expected the ambulance companies to provide a financial bargain to the hospital for this moving process. Since overall success would require substantial cost savings in the physical transfer, the metropolitian ambulance association was persuaded to meet as a group to determine the best possible price per ambulance trip. It was projected that approximately 70 to 80 patients would need to be transferred on the established date. The emergency room nursing staff with the Director of Operation’s concurrence selected 10 ambulances from six ambulance companies to work on the move itself. (All ambulances were re-
26
quired to have oxygen on board and a staff trained in CPR.) By guaranteeing at least six round trips per ambulance the hospital was able to secure a one-third reduction in price which helped with cash flow problems. Frequent meetings were held with all hospital department heads to develop a time schedule for coordinated moving. Moving departments such as gift shop and library were postponed since these services could be offered later. Most of the early planning was concentrated on the emergency room area, intensive care, surgery, maternity and radiology so that necessary supportive services would be available during the first full day of service. Competitive bids were secured from moving companies even though many of them were unionized and rates were not significantly different. By properly planning and communicating the program needs with each department head and key supervisors within each department, the hospital was able to utilize the employees as transporters of various items and supplies which were needed on a routine basis. This was particularly true in the clinical laboratory area and on many of the special nursing units. The best day of the week for moving patients and necessary hospital personnel was a Sunday since traffic in the metropolitan area and connecting highways was at a much lower level. The civil defense units were mobilized for assistance in the move, and this agency volunteered their communications system and their- members’ time. Three police departments were notified and patrol cars were staked out at strategic intervals should an ambulance breakdown occur. The Director of Operations wrote to other hospitals who had experienced similar moves in the past 10 years as to the kinds of problems which were encountered in these cases. One hospital within the metropolitan area had experienced such a move, and the Director of Nursing Service was of great assistance. Special meetings were set up with medical staff members individually and collectively to inform them of the probable date as target time approached. About three weeks before the move a specific Sunday was identified and all efforts were concentrated on that particular target. Four days prior to the move there were 174 patients in the hospital, and with physicians’ cooperation the patient count was reduced to 70 on the day of the move. The Director of Operations met frequently with nursing personnel to inform them as to the planned method of operation.
HOSPITAL TOPICS
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:16 16 February 2015
An extensive number of volunteers who had some familiarity with the hospital management procedure, were utilized in the moving process. Nursing personnel were directed to leave their automobiles at the new hospital facility at 6:OO A.M. on the morning of the move. Beginning at 7:OO A.M. volunteers, mainly non-direct patient care personnel, transported nurses to the old hospital facility. Thus nurses were able to go directly home from the new hospital after completion of the regular day shift. The Chief of Staff was encouraged to write an informative memo to each individual medical staff member concerning medical-legal responsibilities involved in moving their patients to the new facility. Physicians were asked to accompany the patient by ambulance in the move whenever possible. It was mandatory for them to ride with the patient in intensive care cases. The intensive care unit was the first unit to be transferred at 7:OO A.M., followed by maternity patients with their babies. There were five intensive care patients and thirteen mothers and babies, however, there was one patient in labor who arrived at the old facility at 8:30 A.M. and delivered at approximately 9:40 A.M. in the new hospital. The balance of the patients were transferred between 8:30 A.M. and 11:30 A.M. on this Sunday morning. In terms of the total coordination, it was necessary to staff the emergency room and the maternity section of both hospitals for over-lapping periods of time, Newspapers were notified in advance as well as radio stations and other hospitals and nursing homes in the area, so that referral cases and emergencies could be directed to other institutions. The Medical Records department was completely re-organized in the new facility with automatic dictating equipment and specialized transcription equipment. The personnel office was moved to the new facility two weeks prior to the move, and files and other personnel records were relocated to be of service to the employees on the first full day of operation. Only two of the five diagnostic radiology rooms were open on the day of the move, and the other three were opened within two months after the move. A master check list was made concerning all the hospitals insurance policies, including fire insurance, professional liability, boiler insurance and other insurance policies which were in need of revision to reflect new values on equipment and new facility and building costs.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1977
The Director of Operations had each deparlment write their objectives and program goals for the year in the new hospital, working closely with them as to particular logistics involved in each depart men t a1 move. Proper tasks were identified and assigned to individuals within each department and periodic progress reports were made through department heads to the Director of Operations on a weekly basis. He met with the Utilization Review committee of the medical staff to discuss the move well in advance of the target date. He also coordinated efforts with the Treasurer in the hospital and the various third party payors to establish estimated budget levels and cash flow difficulties precipitated by the move itself. Assurances were given by Blue Cross, Medicare and lending institutions that the hospital would not suffer liquidity problems due to a prolonged reduction in billing capacity. Within one week after the move the hospital occupancy went up to over 150 patients . Three days prior to the move, all elective surgery was suspended and only emergency cases were done in the final week. On the Monday following the move the surgical suites were .thoroughly inspected, and the scheduled surgical cases were accommodated on the following Tuesday with no problems. The Infection Control committee met on several occasions prior to the move, and complete cultures were taken in the intensive care unit, coronary care unit, nursery and surgical suite areas. A superior air handling system was installed in the hospital so that air borne contamination was kept to an absolute minimum in a relatively sterile environment. Several staff orientation sessions were conducted to acquaint hospital personnel with the new floor layouts and with the new equipment. Visitors were discouraged from coming to the hospital on the day of the hospital move since hospital personnel needed to acquaint themselves with the environment and needed to be of total service to the patients. A total of twelve complete van loads were made by the moving company in an eight day period leading up to the Sunday move. Final truck deliveries occurred on the day following the move itself. Part of the planned process involved identifying needs for the use of the space at the former hospital facility. The Director of Operations met with a number of community agencies and with other hospitals to obtain advice and indications of interest for proper utilization of the space. A family practice residency program was identified for some of the vacant patient rooms. Also a
27
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:16 16 February 2015
shared data processing center was located on the third floor of the facility to service three other hospitals in financial and accounting applications. Since the dormitory to the diploma school of nursing was located on the grounds of the old hospital, the Director of Operations developed a plan to transport the nursing students to and from their dormitory to the clinical facilities at the new hospital. A van was purchased for mass transportation, and a flexible schedule set for personnel to drive the van. Much attention was placed on employee motivational factors in. the move, since many employees responded positively to the challenge and the rewards of successively accomplishing the move. Employees were recognized in the quarterly hospital newspaper, and the employee relations committee was involved in the process. Moving to a completely modern facility, aesthetically appealing and environmentally attractive, employees were very satisfied. The hospital made every attempt to make car pool arrangements for employees who lived long distances from the new hospital. Only two employees did not continue to work in the new location. This was quite remarkable out of a total employee compliment of 720 employees. The bus company in the metropolitan area was consulted, and new bus routes from the city to the suburban area were planned on behalf of the employees. Most had public transportation at convenient locations: Department head meetings were held on a weekly basis following the move to discuss equipment problems or difficulties with mechanical or electrical systems within the hospital. It was learned that many minor obstacles could have been avoided. For instance, much of the equipment and furniture moved was not sufficiently functional or attractive in the new environment and needed to be transported to storage areas. It would have saved effort had they not been moved in the first place. The hospital management utilized department heads and other supervisors who are on salary basis to help in the physical aspects of the moves so that overtime movers’ pay was saved and that of hourly employees in the hospital. This also had the benefit of reducing the cost to the patients even though a good percentage was supported by insurance compan ies. By communicating effectively with all parties concerned and by establishing objectives on a departmental basis, the hospital management was able to effectively accomplish a major move with a minimum amount of problems.
28
Having such plans in writing and with frequent feed back sessions with department personnel involved, faciliated the transfer process and eliminated many barriers which could have interferred with the success of the project. It was most important to keep the medical staff fully informed as to time tables, completion dates and all patient care changes with respect to ancillary and in-patient services. By so doing the medical staff was in full support of the total efforts, and in many cases they volunteered considerable time to aid patients and department personnel in effectively accomplishing their objectives. rn
hfecfion Control Seminar “INFECTION CONTROL UPDATE-’78”
2% day Infection Control Seminar February 9, 10, 11, 1978
Georgia State University, Urban Life Center, Atlanta, Georgia Sponsored by Metropolitian Atlanta APlC and Georgia State University Registration-$50.00 CEU’s Awarded
For further information contact: (MRS.) PEGGY MARTIN, R.N. Surveillance Department Emory University Hospital 1364 Clllton Road, N.E. Aflsnta, Georgia 30322
Announcing 4th National HOSPITAL TOPICS Conference on the Expanding Importance of Central Service In Infection Control and the 6th National Hospital Nursing Supervisor Management Conference ATLANTA, GEORGIA HYATT REGENCY HOUSE JUNE 21, 22, 23, 1978 Plan Now to Attend these Important Conferences
HOSPITAL TOPICS
Hospital Topics Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vhos20
Moving a Hospital from a City to a Suburban Area LeRoy Deabler
a
a
Wooster Community Hospital Wooster , Ohio, USA Published online: 13 Jul 2010.
To cite this article: LeRoy Deabler (1977) Moving a Hospital from a City to a Suburban Area, Hospital Topics, 55:6, 25-28, DOI: 10.1080/00185868.1977.9950435 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00185868.1977.9950435
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
This study could be a benefit to other hospitals who will be undergoing similar moves as populations shift and as hospitals become obsolete and
I
Moving a Hospital from a City t o a Suburban Area
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:16 16 February 2015
LeRoy Deabler, Administrator Wooster Community Hospital Wooster, Ohio
T
his article concentrates upon the decision making process involved in moving a medium sized community hospital from an urban area to a remote location ten miles removed from the city. The author was Director of Operations of Flower Hospital during the organization and execution of the moving, and was responsible for the overall coordination of the move itself. The hospital is a 210 bed acute non-profit hospital with a religious affiliation. Prior to March 1975 the hospital was located in a low to middle income neighborhood which was served by one other hospital in the vicinity. The metropolitian area consisted of a population of approximately 320,000 people with a total county population of about 700,000. The hospital was moved to a suburban area in an upper to upper middle income neighborhood with a patient service population of approximately 30,000. The new hospital consisted of nine floors and approximately 250,000 total square feet whereas the old facility was over 60 years old and contained approximately 130,000 square feet. This moving process was coordinated with the Regional Health Planning Council and hospital beds were identified as needed in this suburban area. There was no net addition of new beds to the
NOVEMBEWDECEMBER 1977
planning council region since these beds replaced the obsolete beds at the former facility. The former facility had outdated fire detection equipment and no sprinkler system. The new facility involved installation of new radiation therapy equipment and a cancer oncology unit. The new facilities also offered a comfortable air conditioned environment with piped in oxygen and suction in each patient room. Also a pneumatic tube system was available for communications and transportation needs. Advanced technologies in Medical Records, Radiology, Laboratory and other ancillary service departments brought the hospital up to the most up-to-date and advanced hospital standards. Instead of four operating rooms the new hospital offered eight operating room suites, and an expanded emergency room facility capable of handling major trauma cases was offered to the community. The cost of the building project was approximately $13 million dollars and new equipment totaled approximately $2.5 million dollars. Another unique feature involving this community hospital was the fact that the 210 bed facility was connected by a covered passageway to a 300 bed nursing home which facilitated transfer of patients
25
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:16 16 February 2015
and offered increased use of specialized personnel for both facilities. The Director of Operations used various administrative skills to coordinate the total effort to produce very satisfactory results for all concerned. It was necessary at the outset to establish a definite time table and to communicate plans to various groups of individuals involved in the moving process. The Director of Operations developed different strategies for the medical staff, nursing staff, hospital employees, civil defense, fire department, police, radio, television, public relations personnel, and department heads affiliated with the hospital. Approximately one and one-half years were spent in the construction process, and architectural plans were developed one to two years prior to this time. Three months prior to the move the hospital conducted a fund raising project in the new facility which was sponsored by the auxiliary. This gave influential members of the community, Board of Trustee members and others an opportunity to see the hospital and to make financial contributions to the capital needs of its programs. About one month prior to the move, two general open houses were held. One was for the medical staff members and their wives, and the other one for the public. Department heads and members of the administrative staff served as tour guides and showed interested individuals specific areas of the hospital which led to their increased understanding and support of this facility. One of the first steps taken in the decision making process was to identify a means of transportation for patients from one hospital to the other. The Director of Operations met with representatives of the various ambulance companies and requested competitive bids for transfer of patitents. Since the hospital had cooperated with ambulance companies and supported them financially when patients were transferred to nursing homes or to other facilities, it was not unreasonable to have expected the ambulance companies to provide a financial bargain to the hospital for this moving process. Since overall success would require substantial cost savings in the physical transfer, the metropolitian ambulance association was persuaded to meet as a group to determine the best possible price per ambulance trip. It was projected that approximately 70 to 80 patients would need to be transferred on the established date. The emergency room nursing staff with the Director of Operation’s concurrence selected 10 ambulances from six ambulance companies to work on the move itself. (All ambulances were re-
26
quired to have oxygen on board and a staff trained in CPR.) By guaranteeing at least six round trips per ambulance the hospital was able to secure a one-third reduction in price which helped with cash flow problems. Frequent meetings were held with all hospital department heads to develop a time schedule for coordinated moving. Moving departments such as gift shop and library were postponed since these services could be offered later. Most of the early planning was concentrated on the emergency room area, intensive care, surgery, maternity and radiology so that necessary supportive services would be available during the first full day of service. Competitive bids were secured from moving companies even though many of them were unionized and rates were not significantly different. By properly planning and communicating the program needs with each department head and key supervisors within each department, the hospital was able to utilize the employees as transporters of various items and supplies which were needed on a routine basis. This was particularly true in the clinical laboratory area and on many of the special nursing units. The best day of the week for moving patients and necessary hospital personnel was a Sunday since traffic in the metropolitan area and connecting highways was at a much lower level. The civil defense units were mobilized for assistance in the move, and this agency volunteered their communications system and their- members’ time. Three police departments were notified and patrol cars were staked out at strategic intervals should an ambulance breakdown occur. The Director of Operations wrote to other hospitals who had experienced similar moves in the past 10 years as to the kinds of problems which were encountered in these cases. One hospital within the metropolitan area had experienced such a move, and the Director of Nursing Service was of great assistance. Special meetings were set up with medical staff members individually and collectively to inform them of the probable date as target time approached. About three weeks before the move a specific Sunday was identified and all efforts were concentrated on that particular target. Four days prior to the move there were 174 patients in the hospital, and with physicians’ cooperation the patient count was reduced to 70 on the day of the move. The Director of Operations met frequently with nursing personnel to inform them as to the planned method of operation.
HOSPITAL TOPICS
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:16 16 February 2015
An extensive number of volunteers who had some familiarity with the hospital management procedure, were utilized in the moving process. Nursing personnel were directed to leave their automobiles at the new hospital facility at 6:OO A.M. on the morning of the move. Beginning at 7:OO A.M. volunteers, mainly non-direct patient care personnel, transported nurses to the old hospital facility. Thus nurses were able to go directly home from the new hospital after completion of the regular day shift. The Chief of Staff was encouraged to write an informative memo to each individual medical staff member concerning medical-legal responsibilities involved in moving their patients to the new facility. Physicians were asked to accompany the patient by ambulance in the move whenever possible. It was mandatory for them to ride with the patient in intensive care cases. The intensive care unit was the first unit to be transferred at 7:OO A.M., followed by maternity patients with their babies. There were five intensive care patients and thirteen mothers and babies, however, there was one patient in labor who arrived at the old facility at 8:30 A.M. and delivered at approximately 9:40 A.M. in the new hospital. The balance of the patients were transferred between 8:30 A.M. and 11:30 A.M. on this Sunday morning. In terms of the total coordination, it was necessary to staff the emergency room and the maternity section of both hospitals for over-lapping periods of time, Newspapers were notified in advance as well as radio stations and other hospitals and nursing homes in the area, so that referral cases and emergencies could be directed to other institutions. The Medical Records department was completely re-organized in the new facility with automatic dictating equipment and specialized transcription equipment. The personnel office was moved to the new facility two weeks prior to the move, and files and other personnel records were relocated to be of service to the employees on the first full day of operation. Only two of the five diagnostic radiology rooms were open on the day of the move, and the other three were opened within two months after the move. A master check list was made concerning all the hospitals insurance policies, including fire insurance, professional liability, boiler insurance and other insurance policies which were in need of revision to reflect new values on equipment and new facility and building costs.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1977
The Director of Operations had each deparlment write their objectives and program goals for the year in the new hospital, working closely with them as to particular logistics involved in each depart men t a1 move. Proper tasks were identified and assigned to individuals within each department and periodic progress reports were made through department heads to the Director of Operations on a weekly basis. He met with the Utilization Review committee of the medical staff to discuss the move well in advance of the target date. He also coordinated efforts with the Treasurer in the hospital and the various third party payors to establish estimated budget levels and cash flow difficulties precipitated by the move itself. Assurances were given by Blue Cross, Medicare and lending institutions that the hospital would not suffer liquidity problems due to a prolonged reduction in billing capacity. Within one week after the move the hospital occupancy went up to over 150 patients . Three days prior to the move, all elective surgery was suspended and only emergency cases were done in the final week. On the Monday following the move the surgical suites were .thoroughly inspected, and the scheduled surgical cases were accommodated on the following Tuesday with no problems. The Infection Control committee met on several occasions prior to the move, and complete cultures were taken in the intensive care unit, coronary care unit, nursery and surgical suite areas. A superior air handling system was installed in the hospital so that air borne contamination was kept to an absolute minimum in a relatively sterile environment. Several staff orientation sessions were conducted to acquaint hospital personnel with the new floor layouts and with the new equipment. Visitors were discouraged from coming to the hospital on the day of the hospital move since hospital personnel needed to acquaint themselves with the environment and needed to be of total service to the patients. A total of twelve complete van loads were made by the moving company in an eight day period leading up to the Sunday move. Final truck deliveries occurred on the day following the move itself. Part of the planned process involved identifying needs for the use of the space at the former hospital facility. The Director of Operations met with a number of community agencies and with other hospitals to obtain advice and indications of interest for proper utilization of the space. A family practice residency program was identified for some of the vacant patient rooms. Also a
27
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:16 16 February 2015
shared data processing center was located on the third floor of the facility to service three other hospitals in financial and accounting applications. Since the dormitory to the diploma school of nursing was located on the grounds of the old hospital, the Director of Operations developed a plan to transport the nursing students to and from their dormitory to the clinical facilities at the new hospital. A van was purchased for mass transportation, and a flexible schedule set for personnel to drive the van. Much attention was placed on employee motivational factors in. the move, since many employees responded positively to the challenge and the rewards of successively accomplishing the move. Employees were recognized in the quarterly hospital newspaper, and the employee relations committee was involved in the process. Moving to a completely modern facility, aesthetically appealing and environmentally attractive, employees were very satisfied. The hospital made every attempt to make car pool arrangements for employees who lived long distances from the new hospital. Only two employees did not continue to work in the new location. This was quite remarkable out of a total employee compliment of 720 employees. The bus company in the metropolitan area was consulted, and new bus routes from the city to the suburban area were planned on behalf of the employees. Most had public transportation at convenient locations: Department head meetings were held on a weekly basis following the move to discuss equipment problems or difficulties with mechanical or electrical systems within the hospital. It was learned that many minor obstacles could have been avoided. For instance, much of the equipment and furniture moved was not sufficiently functional or attractive in the new environment and needed to be transported to storage areas. It would have saved effort had they not been moved in the first place. The hospital management utilized department heads and other supervisors who are on salary basis to help in the physical aspects of the moves so that overtime movers’ pay was saved and that of hourly employees in the hospital. This also had the benefit of reducing the cost to the patients even though a good percentage was supported by insurance compan ies. By communicating effectively with all parties concerned and by establishing objectives on a departmental basis, the hospital management was able to effectively accomplish a major move with a minimum amount of problems.
28
Having such plans in writing and with frequent feed back sessions with department personnel involved, faciliated the transfer process and eliminated many barriers which could have interferred with the success of the project. It was most important to keep the medical staff fully informed as to time tables, completion dates and all patient care changes with respect to ancillary and in-patient services. By so doing the medical staff was in full support of the total efforts, and in many cases they volunteered considerable time to aid patients and department personnel in effectively accomplishing their objectives. rn
hfecfion Control Seminar “INFECTION CONTROL UPDATE-’78”
2% day Infection Control Seminar February 9, 10, 11, 1978
Georgia State University, Urban Life Center, Atlanta, Georgia Sponsored by Metropolitian Atlanta APlC and Georgia State University Registration-$50.00 CEU’s Awarded
For further information contact: (MRS.) PEGGY MARTIN, R.N. Surveillance Department Emory University Hospital 1364 Clllton Road, N.E. Aflsnta, Georgia 30322
Announcing 4th National HOSPITAL TOPICS Conference on the Expanding Importance of Central Service In Infection Control and the 6th National Hospital Nursing Supervisor Management Conference ATLANTA, GEORGIA HYATT REGENCY HOUSE JUNE 21, 22, 23, 1978 Plan Now to Attend these Important Conferences
HOSPITAL TOPICS
