Norman Regional's Early Mobilization Program is the winner of the Journey to Excellence Award for 2023.
In response to changes in Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations, we embarked on a journey to improve patient care.
CMS removed total knee and hip replacements from the inpatient only list, leading to a shift towards outpatient care. We needed to reduce the length of stay without compromising patient outcomes, and research showed that getting total joint patients up and moving on the day of surgery was key.
Orthopedic surgeons discussed one-day stays with patients, and physical rehab became integral in addressing the reasons patients weren't mobilizing on surgery day. Nursing joined the effort, but we quickly realized collaboration was essential.
Our solution was to educate nursing staff and ensure 24/7 coverage, bridging the gap between therapy hours. We even hired a late-shift physical therapist to handle late surgeries, supported by our dedicated patient care techs.
These changes resulted in impressive outcomes:
We increased the percentage of patients getting up on the day of surgery from 62% to 92%.
Our patients' ability to ambulate 100 ft on the day of surgery rose from 6% to over 70%.
Our readmission rate decreased from 6.5% to 1.25%.
The average length of stay dropped from 2.1 days to 1.1 days.
This transformation not only improved patient care but also saved our health system approximately $1.1 million. We're proud of our collaborative efforts and the positive impact on patient outcomes and cost savings.
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