ORD,
Neb. The Valley County Health System (VCHS) Emergency Department
(ED) provided more responsive emergency medicine care compared to
state benchmarks in 2016, based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services door-to-doc time reports submitted by VCHS.
Door-to-doc time the average time it takes for a provider to see a patient after the patient walks through the ED doors is a common industrymeasure. A lower door-to-doc time typically indicates more efficient and higher quality care. During 2016, VCHSs average door-to-doctime was 11.6 minutes, compared to the most recent Nebraska average benchmark of 26 minutes. The data was derived from a sample of the total VCHS ED volume.
VCHSs team of providers is excellent. Theyre dedicated professionals who believe in service to the patient, as evident by our short door-to-doc times, VCHS Chief Nursing Officer Vicki Bredthauer, RN, said. The goal of the VCHS ED providers and staff is competent, efficient and compassionate delivery of care.
During daytime hours, the VCHS ED is managed by a dedicated provider commonly Jeff Breitkreutz, PA-C, or Johanna Spencer, APRN-NP, FNP-BC. During evening and weekend hours, a provider is always on-call and readily available to care for ED patients.
Having a dedicated ED provider has shortened wait times because medical
staff is no longer required to balance clinic schedules with
emergency patients, Bredthauer said. This provides a better
experience for both clinic and ED patients.
Medicalproviders assume each patient who goes to the ED is in an emergency
condition and, therefore, responds as quickly as possible to the
patients concerns.
If the ED is full, or multiple patients arrive at the same time, we
triage each patient to determine the most urgent case and care for
that patient first, VCHS ED Manager Jennifer Sandoz, RN, said.
Even with that consideration, our door-to-doc numbers show that we
respond and provide excellent care to all of our patients in an efficient and competent manner.
