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We Couldn't Have Said It Better Ourselves EMPATH clients have achieved significant and long-lasting results in their hospitals. Click on the links below to watch video clips of client testimonials.  Watch testimonials
 Read testimonials Hospital Leaders Department Managers Hospital StaffDesign and Implementation Testimonials Hospital Leaders Department Managers Hospital StaffNEEDS ASSESSMENT TESTIMONIALS
Hospital Leaders "The assessment that EMPATH provided helped us early on to identify that this was not just an ED issue. When EMPATH came back with its recommendations, we knew then that it wasn't just an emergency department issue and that it was throughout the house, and we also recognized very early on that we would not be successful if we went ahead and did it on our own."Elaine C., Vice President "Exceeded my expectations. Your approach was simple, yet complex. I appreciated your direct intervention with our ED group-you were able to help their group come to some quick consensus decisions. Hope to continue our relationship."Kevin N., Chief Medical Officer "I appreciated EMPATH being sensitive to us as a faith-based organization."Jane B., Senior Vice President of Mission Integration "The biggest value of EMPATH's Needs Assessment project was to clearly define system-wide issues, and to raise organizational awareness-this has been phenomenal. We now see the work ahead of us, and the opportunities for improvement are really on our radar screen. We have taken EMPATH's recommendations, prioritized the initiatives, and developed internal teams to implement change. From the executive team on down, people are talking about and are involved with what we're doing-that's been the greatest benefit."Sally W., Vice President, Chief Nurse Executive/Administrator "EMPATH was able to come into our three-hospital system and rapidly conduct a very thorough and complete assessment of all hospital operations, including detailed benchmarking of all of our operational performance, and constituency specific recommendations. They also showed us how these issues were impacting our hospitals and conducted a detailed financial assessment of that impact. As a result of their work and recommendations, we were able to create a specific strategic plan and formally assign responsibilities for relieving the congestion that has traditionally impacted us. I am convinced that without EMPATH's help, we would not be anywhere near where we are now in dealing with these challenges. Their work was one of the best hospital-wide consulting engagements that we have had in years. I would definitely recommend them to my peers who were facing hospital and ED capacity issues."Vince S., Vice President, Chief Financial Officer "Dr. Michael Hill's input was instrumental to our success. He is very knowledgeable and an excellent consultant. We would definitely recommend EMPATH."John C., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer "EMPATH used a proven methodology for quickly analyzing our issues and made valuable recommendations that we feel will be instrumental in substantial, sustainable change."Maura W., President "Administrators, physicians and department directors were certain that the diversion issues, low patient satisfaction scores, etc. were issues that the ED needed to fix within the ED. After EMPATH completed the assessment, eyes were opened and there was acknowledgement of the complexity of the issues and challenges we were facing. We all now come from the 'same page' in evaluating our issues related to diversion and patient satisfaction. The EMPATH staff taught us a lot in a very short time frame about our own organization."Elaine C., Vice President Department Managers "I have been involved with the Hospital Innovation Project with EMPATH from the preliminary assessment when we provided information concerning our roles in the admission, discharge, and transfer processes through the project as a member of the Inpatient Process Action Team (IP PAT)…. The outcomes have been positive for our department and organization. We developed a Bed Ahead system where each nursing unit provides a list of the next three beds they want used. This allowed us to eliminate numerous telephone calls and wait times previously necessary to obtain a bed. We started bedside registration in the Emergency Department, which has been a positive for our patients. We set time standards for assigning beds and registering patients and goals for collections from our Emergency Department patients. The EMPATH consultants were available to us throughout the project. They led us through the tedious tasks of looking at the 'as is' processes and made suggestions as we developed the 'to be' processes. They put our ideas on paper for us to review. They worked with the medical staff and the different departments to address issues that were identified through the course of the project. They provided the knowledge and the tools we need to continue to make improvements in our processes after they leave."Deborah D., Assistant Manager, Access Management "As a result of the PAT meetings, the SILO mentality went away and interdepartmental relationships were enhanced due to increased communication."Matt B., Manager of Case Management Hospital Staff "Dr. Michael Hill helped us tremendously with our project. His insight and experience were invaluable to our success. His no-nonsense approach helped us make effective management changes that eventually paid off."Niels R., ED Physician DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION TESTIMONIALS
Hospital Leaders "I think what EMPATH has brought to the organization is the awareness of best-in-class, best practice and with that implementation has helped us by looking at our existing processes and helping us with taking those practices and making that work for our organization, and then helping us in developing the measurements - we're now an organization that is using metrics to know if we're on track to where we want to go."Carol S., Vice President of Nursing "The expectations that I had when we started the project are very minimal compared to what I expect now in terms of sustainability. I only had a glimmer of what this project really would mean for the organization - how much it would improve our patient throughput, patient satisfaction, operational efficiency, capacity."Elaine C., Vice President "[By taking] the clarity of the modules, and the expectations that are held there for the staff, the managers spend the time with the staff and in coaching them, they find that it is successful, that they are meeting the targets, and they see their times coming in line with the key performance indicators; this isn't a surprise, but it's great…it's a success."Carol S., Vice President of Nursing "Although the EMPATH team is the catalyst for the innovation, this is primarily a staff-led change, with the hard work done internally. Teams of employees actually develop, test, and then implement the newly designed Emergency Room work processes."Lois B., Patient Services Project Manager; Sharon H., Nurse Manager and Associate Nurse Consultant; and Elaine C., Vice President "In terms of tactical changes, the things that we set out to do to improve our emergency department operations have indeed improved. For example, on an average basis our ambulance diversion was anywhere from 80-100 hours a month, and since we've implemented the high census protocol and team-based care, our ambulance diversion is essentially at zero. In terms of operational and cultural changes, the change is in accountability by our department directors and their understanding of what key process indicators are, what they need to be monitoring on their unit, how those processes that are monitored are linked to patient satisfaction, financial efficiency, operational efficiency, and they have the tools now to be successful."Elaine C., Vice President "The improved ER wait times are a result of introducing numerous process changes/improvements, computerized systems and reorganizing the layout of the ER, all of which combined to improve each step of a patient's movement through the ER and reduce the overall wait times. For example, we introduced a new team based care model where the ER is divided into geographic zones, with staff and physicians organized into teams who have defined roles and are accountable for delivering consistent and effective care processes. We implemented a new patient tracking system, allowing us to identify the location and status of each patient in the ER, the availability of lab and radiology results for each patient and necessary care information upon discharge. We also have a series of weekly reports that track cycle times for each of the key processes within the ER, ensuring long-term sustainability of the process improvements."Lois B., Patient Services Project Manager; Sharon H., Nurse Manager and Associate Nurse Consultant; and Elaine C., Vice President "One of the significant changes is that we've created a helpful organization."Carol S., Vice President of Nursing "With the existing low reimbursement rates and dramatic increases in charity care and uncompensated care due to increased numbers of uninsured, we realized traditional process improvements would not be sufficient. A majority of uninsured/underinsured patients enter hospitals through the emergency room and our ER was jammed to the point where we had to divert ambulance patients to other hospitals. We had to embark on a significant process innovation. As a result, we have increased capacity without adding staff or physical space. By investing in process innovations, we have the systems in place to continue meeting the growing and changing demand for our services. "Lois B., Patient Services Project Manager; Sharon H., Nurse Manager and Associate Nurse Consultant; and Elaine C., Vice President "We will see a return on our investment within the next year in terms of even better patient
experiences through improved service and quality of care, and increased efficiencies. This, in turn, allows us to expand capacity and reduce costs. We're not finished with our work in the Emergency Room at this time. In addition, as a result of our dramatic improvements and success with Emergency Room services, we're extending this model of process innovation and our work with EMPATH throughout our inpatient units and into the Operating Room and related departments (e.g., housekeeping, patient transportation, admitting, etc)."Lois B., Patient Services Project Manager; Sharon H., Nurse Manager and Associate Nurse Consultant; and Elaine C., Vice President "Despite an increase in ED volume and admissions, we were able to tackle ambulance diversion and decrease it by as much as 75% in one month. We were able to stay open to ambulances despite nearly every other hospital in our region being on divert. With EMPATH's assistance, we developed the tools and processes to continue our house-wide effort to maintain a decrease in our ambulance diversion rate. We were very pleased with the EMPATH project and the focus they brought to our organization."Diane N., Senior Vice President, Clinical Services "EMPATH worked with us for a year in redesigning our ED. Three years later, the EMPATH changes we implemented have continued to be well utilized in our facility. Despite other competing clinical initiatives, a significant turnover in management, and a four-month nursing strike, the concepts, measurement systems, and tools that EMPATH introduced into our organization and ED continue to make our ED very successful. We remain very impressed with the breadth in expertise, performance systems and sustainability of EMPATH's efforts."Susan D., Vice President of Patient Care Services "I am pleased to announce our hospital has been awarded a grant of $3 million from the Weingart Foundation to support facility enhancements in our emergency department. [John G.,] a foundation trustee, has been a long-time supporter and grateful patient of [our hospital]. He was quite impressed with the operational and customer service improvements our emergency department has experienced over the last 18 months as a result of the [project]."Jane H., Vice President of Development and Public Relations "We are only five minutes away from achieving an average length of stay that puts us among the best-performing emergency departments in the nation. The staff, physicians and leadership have done a tremendous job… redesigning the ED and the inpatient intake processes to minimize delays, and upholding the highest standards of customer service in our interactions with patients and families. We were very pleased to have EMPATH lead us through a comprehensive change process in a short time frame - and achieving such successful results."Jeffrey C., Vice President of Medical Services "Over the past few months working with EMPATH, we've seen an increase in patient satisfaction scores and a decrease in ambulance diversion. The ED staff has more time available now to spend with patients. On the inpatient floors, our staff has experienced a much-needed shift from unpredictable chaos to dependable organization. With the operational measurement and Best Practice systems we've implemented, they know what to expect, and it makes for a much friendlier atmosphere for everyone. We're receiving hand-written thank you letters from our patients now, which is a big difference from six months ago."Thomas M., Vice President, Medical Affairs "The results that we achieved through EMPATH's work far exceeded everyone's expectations of what was actually possible in patient care delivery throughout the hospital."Kathleen H., Chief Nurse Executive Department Managers "The processes implemented by the EMPATH project have completely transformed the face of [our hospital]. The staff now functions as a team throughout the facility, not just unit by unit, with the number one goal being patient satisfaction. This goal is now achieved by providing timely, competent and quality care facilitated by the processes learned through the EMPATH project."Robin L., Assistant Manager, Oncology "In 12 months, we have transformed not only how we deliver care day-to-day, but also how we, as an organization, solve problems and manage change. We now have a solid structure and change process in place to continue rapid identification, resolution, and implementation of process changes. The change in culture has been just as dramatic as the measurable improvements in length of stay and patient satisfaction-and it will enable us to sustain the improvements."Valerie J., Emergency Department Director "We have seen dramatic decreases in overall LOS, discharged patient LOS, and admitted patient LOS. Our patient satisfaction has gone up as well as our staff satisfaction. The amount of change that we have been able to make in less than a year is unprecedented in health care. The ability to change the perception of emergency health care in our community is without question one of my greatest professional accomplishments."Robert L., Assistant Manager, Emergency Services "The EMPATH Project broke a long-time mold - now we are more open to continuous change, change that is sweeping and not only incremental."Julie W., Director, ED "The best outcome of this project was the increased cooperation between the laboratory and the ED. The key to EMPATH's project was the tremendous cooperation, and willingness to help each other out."Janis P., Manager, Laboratory Hospital Staff "(In the OR)…a scheduled start time now means that the patient is ready to start…..this is a definite difference. It is a metric that is measured, and we know that the number of cases starting by 0730 has increased dramatically. And, my days in surgery finish more quickly now."Dean M., Surgeon "It just seemed so far-fetched that we were actually going to have patients come into the ED and see a physician within 10 or 15 minutes of arrival--I mean they were waiting an hour to 3 hours in the past - and now they are! Our waiting room has changed into a reception area - it's empty. We're moving the patients through."Kathy G., Associate Nurse Consultant, Emergency Department "[This project is] starting to create a more collaborative effort amongst the whole hospital to work together towards a common goal. We're taking a very good look at how we function in the ER, but on top of that we're also looking at the inpatient setting, at the lab, radiology and all those other factors that play such a vital role in taking care of patients."Eric M., EM Physician "One of the most positive results was our diversion rate. We averaged about 80 hours a month where we closed our ambulance doors. And now, since we implemented one of our High Census Protocol modules, our ambulance diversions are practically nil."Kathy G., Associate Nurse Consultant, Emergency Department "One of the biggest changes that's helped us as an ED, and one of the biggest headaches we used to have, is moving patients out of the ED, specifically once it's been determined that they're going to be admitted…[this has] made my job easier and allowed me to see more patients - that we now have people on the floor pulling [ED] patients into the hospital."Steve U., EM Physician "Without EMPATH, we would not have done this. EMPATH is our saving grace for this hospital. Without them, we would not be where we are…we would be worse off."Kathy G., Associate Nurse Consultant, Emergency Department "[This project has enabled us to] understand the whole process a little better as far as how everybody's role affects that process. We get so comfortable in our own roles and in what we do for the patient that we often lose sight of what [others] do for the patient-all the different roles outside of the ER, and that this is a team-oriented business and we're all here for the same goal: to give the best patient care we can."Eric M., EM Physician "We are realizing that we can take care of patients at a much faster pace…and we're working well with other departments. When we were overwhelmed in the past, we had no backup to help us out. Now, we have the ICU as our buddy unit so…they will come down to assist us, as well as we will assist them."Kathy G., Associate Nurse Consultant, Emergency Department "EMPATH's done this before. Our physicians aren't any different than physicians at any other facility, and so, not without a lot of resistance, we've been able to come together and agree on how things are done, and I don't think we would have been able to do that without a third party."Steve U., EM Physician "The skills that the team from EMPATH gave me have been invaluable to the success of the project, but moreover they are skills that can be carried forward to any process you want to change within your organization. A great experience!"Betty B., ED Nurse "Our Hospital Innovation Project, facilitated by EMPATH, has been an exceptional learning experience. Our Process Action Team members have learned through experience that we can solve our problems with the tools EMPATH has shared with us. This empowerment continues to trickle down to the staff level, generating a noticeable impact on staff morale and recruitment/retention. Staff interaction with our customers has greatly improved, making our facility not only one of the best in turn around times, but also in Customer Satisfaction scores. By decreasing waiting times, we are able to evaluate patients and begin the needed interventions much earlier in their stay with us. I believe that rapid turn around times do have a positive impact and improve Quality of Care. By removing many of the process barriers, we have freed up staff to spend more time at the bedside and less time navigating the system."Laura M., ED Nurse Consultant Liaison "The concept of process improvement vs. staff improvement was key. And overall, the project was good for us; there is still a lot of work to do, but now we are focused in the right direction and we know how to create change."Helen P., ED Nurse "We do have some great news about patient satisfaction. For the last quarter of 2003, the hospital scored in the 95th percentile for our inpatient satisfaction survey. But the the ED had to go one better than that-they scored in the 95th percentile in February of 2004, then at the 100th percentile in March for their patient satisfaction survey! We're pretty proud of doing that!"Jean W., Director, Public Relations "We see over 400 patients a day in our emergency department, with 120-130 in the department at any one time. We used to have long waits in the lobby and lots of patient boarding. Now, seeing the same number of patients, we have minimal waits, fewer patients leaving before treatment, and much greater patient satisfaction."Amy, Charge Nurse "The tipping point came when we saw the dashboards showing that we were actually improving. Staff now sees that they have made these accomplishments. Giving them feedback that is data-driven is what we need to keep getting better. Improvement is no longer a feeling but a concrete result."Maria, Project Leader & Six Sigma Black Belt |
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