Background

Faced with new goals for reducing the time between surgeries, Riverside's OR unit-based team closely examined their procedures. As a result, the team identified some simple, efficient ways to streamline their work and stay on schedule—providing better service and keeping overtime costs down.

Some of those simple changes included the "10-minute call" to both recovery and housekeeping as the patient begins to wake up from the anesthesia. They also implemented a best practice from another facility—staff now come in earlier in the morning to set up the OR rooms, so they're ready for the first patient.

"Little changes make a huge difference," said nurse anesthetist Karla Hokesbergen, UBT labor co-lead and KPNAA member.

Biggest challenge

"Coming up with a creative method or way to get staff buy-in," Bertok said. "When you have a concept or idea or a directive, where you have a goal in mind, there has to be a way to entice the staff and be able to support and validate why it's important; finding ways to create enthusiasm and capture that drive to make it work. Nobody likes change, and I think health care people especially are not real comfortable with change. Trying to figure out what it is that's going to make people want to do this."

Advice to other teams: "I think it's a matter of sitting down with your UBT and key players and say, ‘Look, this is what we're faced with and these are our barriers. Let's think creatively about how to deal with it,' " Bertok said. "No matter where you go there are key players who can get things done, and respect from others. If you can win that person over to your side, you'll have better chance to change."

Why change: "When you're a family member and you take the day off (to help), you don't expect to be waiting all day in the waiting room for a small itty-bitty case," Hokesbergen said. "You expect to be able to get in a timely manner and let family members know (the patient) is OK. Those are the kind of things we have to look at changing if we're going to compete."