Getting Patients to the Right Place at the Right Time
In a renovated space on Hartford HealthCare’s Newington campus, registered nurses sit behind computer screens monitoring and regulating the flow of patients in, out and through Hartford HealthCare’s acute-care hospitals.
A typical day might sound like this:
Ring: An in-patient at MidState needs to be wheeled from his room to the CT scanner.
Ring: A stroke patient in the Backus emergency room needs a critical care bed at Hartford Hospital.
Ring: An elderly patient with a severe respiratory infection needs the level of care best delivered in the intensive care unit at The Hospital of Central Connecticut.
The new Hartford HealthCare Care Logistics Center is supported by world-class communications and analytics technology through our innovative partnership with GE Healthcare. The center is Hartford HealthCare’s “mission control,’’ handling all questions about bed availability and patient movement across our hospitals. The idea is to get every patient to the right place for the right care at the right time — and with the right team.
When fully operational, the center is expected to manage about 600 transfers a month. Ideally, it will improve the patient experience by efficiently moving patients to units or even other Hartford HealthCare hospitals where available clinicians are awaiting their arrival.
The center also will facilitate transfers from nonaffiliated hospitals and community physicians’ offices. With the ability to instantly share and transmit patient data, our LIFE STAR critical care helicopter can transport a critically ill patient from a referring hospital.
“The new center truly helps us achieve our vision to be most trusted for personalized, coordinated care,’’ said Beth Ciotti, HHC vice president for care logistics. “With one call, clinicians and patients inside and outside HHC get instant access to our vast and deep network of distinguished specialists. Patients can be routed to the most appropriate place for the care they need, reducing delays, improving convenience and leading to better outcomes.’’