PRIORITY: TRIAGE

Team,

This is an extremely difficult time and we are seeing a much higher acuity, so I want to reiterate the priority of the initial triage as a safety concern for our FEDs.

What: If you scroll down below to Conrad’s email, this is a count of a rolling 2 hour average where the triage times are above 12 minutes. You’ll see that TSQ has the second highest of all UHS FEDs, GS third. I recognize that we are seeing more than ever and staffing is extremely tight; however, all the FEDs are experiencing these issues and placing triage as a priority. I believe together we can champion this issue and increase patient safety.

Why: It’s not about getting rid of a red plus or the corporate notices… that red plus represents a patient who hasn’t been triaged and could be a STEMI, Stroke or other critical situation until proven otherwise. It is an expectation that the initial triage will be a priority.

This is an example of a board. 3-4 of the patients in rooms were discharged before the patients were triaged out front. The initial triage should have been the priority as those patients are considered unstable until determined otherwise by triage whereas the patients being discharged home were known to be stable.

Reminder: CPs are now called as “Dr Hearts” overhead and all possible strokes get called as Code Stroke and go straight to CT

Thank you,
Andrea