The Problem

Shortly after the Emergency Department moved into its new digs at Sunnyside Hospital (Northwest), a lost-and-found pile began to take over the space underneath unit secretary Ann Coleman's desk.

The department was not doing a good job of keeping track of patients' belongings, Coleman said, and as the patients were moved elsewhere in the hospital or checked out, their personal items were being left behind. With a little investigation, she discovered that not only were these lost items causing pain for patients—KP was suffering too.

The last four items lost in the ED had cost KP $2,450, said Coleman, a SEIU Local 49 member. "One of those items was a pair of dentures...These are personal items—you want your clothes and belongings you came into the hospital with."

For the first time in her 18 years with KP, Coleman was inspired to lead her department in an effort to change. And in just a couple of months, she surprised herself and her managers by wiping out the problem. She also changed the way she views her job and the way her managers see her.

"This was not someone who was very involved [previously]," said Karey Whitten, associate manager of the emergency room. "But she got so excited, she got us all excited. Now I can see that when she gets going, we all better watch out!"

The Solution

At the advice of Kelly Schacht, another unit specialist (secretary), Coleman decided that a belongings checklist should be stapled to the Situation Background Assessment and Recommendation form (SBAR), which follows patients as they are moved around the hospital.

Some of her co-workers worried that the checklist was adding work to their already busy days, so Coleman spoke with each co-worker individually and explained that the lost belongings were costing KP money. She asked each of them as a favor to her, to fill out of the form. That was all it took.

"I knew the nurses and medical assistants would get used to this the form and start looking for it," Schacht said. "It's always the simplest answer that works the best."

The Result

Using the Rapid Improvement Model, the belongings checklist was put into action in June and within two weeks nearly 70% of the checklists were being filled out. Since then, there have been no reports of lost items in the department—and nothing's piling up under Coleman's desk.

In the future, if someone's belongings are lost, the checklists will give staff a way to track it.

"Patients are happier if they feel we are caring not just for them physically, but about everything that happens to them in the hospital," she said. "So this is saving money and making our patients happier."

Once Coleman solved that problem, she moved onto her next initiative: developing a tracking system for stock room supplies.

"I didn't have much hope of the checklist being successful, but...one little staple has saved us thousands," said Coleman. "I am just giddy as a little kid."