Improving Patient Flow to Help More Sick Kids: Children's of Atlanta

Nothing is more compelling to the human psyche than a sick child in need of care.
That’s what drives medical professionals into pediatric care. And that’s also what drove Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to improve patient flow and implement a TeleTracking TransferCenter™.

As the single largest pediatric care provider in the Nation, CHOA was being overwhelmed by demand from a huge service area and from around the World.

Already a TeleTracking client, CHOA had the automation infrastructure needed to improve use of its existing capacity. But the legacy system was upgraded to TeleTracking’s XT operation system so CHOA could maximize capacity usage.

What was lacking was a centralized “control center” which could manage all flow from a single point. CHOA selected TransferCenter™ software because it easily integrated with the hospital’s enterprise patient flow software. This gives transfer center staff complete control over bed capacity and patient movement throughout the entire enterprise.

Beyond its mission of making children “all better” today and healthier tomorrow, CHOA champions Cheryl Stokes, Manager Clinical Operations – Transfer Center, Marianne Hatfield, Service Line Administrator, and Nikki O’Hara, Senior Process Improvement Consultant, found another compelling reason for the upgrade. By applying a sophisticated formula, they discovered that the existing manual transfer system had lost nearly $5 million in potential admissions over the three previous fiscal years, an unaffordable oversight in this time of healthcare reform.

CHOA shared their success story at TeleTracking’s 10th Annual Client Conference, held recently in Bonita Springs, FL.

Interviews with these and other clients will be on our website in the near future.

Check back for more details, or contact us if you would like to speak directly to Cheryl Stokes, Marianne Hatfield or Nikki O’Hara from CHOA to see how they’ve integrated TransferCenter™ and their enterprise Capacity Management Suite of solutions for better flow and better care.