Patient flow adjustment

364th Theater Public Affairs Support Element
Story by Sgt. Lindsey Schulte

Date: 05.26.2014
Posted: 05.28.2014 00:23
News ID: 131252
Patient flow adjustment

BARAHONA, Dominican Republic - Members of the Medical Readiness Training Exercise had to tweak some procedures to accommodate their new work space at the hospital in the Paraiso municupality at Barahona, Dominican Republic, May 26.

In a building with multiple entrances and exits, it was more difficult to keep track of patients. To remedy this, wrist bands are put on patients during in-processing and cut off when they had received care.

This layout also made it important to keep families together so parents or children without bracelets are not ushered out after receiving care, while their family member is still waiting to be seen elsewhere in the hospital.

“We keep families together because when a patient’s bracelet is taken off they have to leave, not wait for family members,” said U.S. Army Cadet Robert F. Perez from Provo, Utah.

Patients who do not leave could potentially receive care from another service instead of a patient who has waited in line and not yet received care.

“We didn't have to do that at the other site, we could just line them up,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Isavelita V. Goodearly from Milpitas, Calif., with the 352nd Combat Support Hospital out of Camp Parks in Dublin, California, serving as the pediatric registered nurse for MEDRETE here.

Being located inside a single building, and often sharing the same waiting room space, sections were no longer able to keep track of patient priority by lining them up outside exam rooms. This was the case for optometry, dental and pediatrics all located upstairs.

Climbing stairs can be difficult for elderly or injured, so the optometrists came down to evaluate and treat those patients.

“There is an eye chart downstairs for the people who can't walk up the stairs,” said U.S. Army Capt. Stephen L. Gartner from Pleasant Hill, California, with the 352nd Combat Support Hospital out of Camp Parks in Dublin, California.

Because the waiting room is so limited, there is a staging area with chairs outside the building to eliminate the congestion until the MEDRETE personnel have room inside.

“Each section has to come and request patients, instead of us bringing them through,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Luis M. Alvarado from Temecula, California, with the 2nd Medical Brigade out of San Pablo, California.

The adjusted techniques worked and the MEDRETE was able to see more than 500 patients in Paraiso May 26.