Health care facilities share strategies for optimizing operations

Despite chronic staffing shortages, several hospital executives shared strategies for keeping their operations running smoothly. Birmingham-based UAB Hospital hired more than 70 students who completed basic nursing courses to fill its newly created student nursing aide position. University Hospitals, based in Cleveland, reduced the documentation burden on nurses by using an automation solution to process orders that nurses previously handled manually, freeing up nursing time by about five full-time equivalents. University Hospitals relied on remote patient monitoring technologies to send patients home earlier with wearable devices. In addition, the hospital last year launched a Hospital@Home program to increase hospital capacity and continue to provide care for patients who no longer need round-the-clock care. (Healthcare Executive article, 7/2/22)