AdventHealth Pilots Nursing Model To Transform Patient Care

AdventHealth announced the preliminary results of a pilotproject that could revolutionize the patient care model across the country.Under the pilot, nurses are freed from onerous paperwork, allowing them tospend more time focusing on patients and their needs.

During the pilot, nurses have been paired with a Care TeamAssistant (CTA). The CTA’s duties are similar to a patient care technician butwill have the additional responsibility of documenting patients’ care under anurse’s supervision. By relieving nurses of heavy documentation responsibility,they can spend more quality time with patients and play a more active role inpatients’ care.

“AdventHealth is committed to finding innovative solutionsto health care problems. We created this model to improve the way we work tomake it easy for both our patients and staff,” said Eric Stevens, CEO of acutecare services for AdventHealth in metro Orlando. “Our nursing staff is key toproviding compassionate, whole-person care. A hospital stay can be an unnervingexperience. This program helps our nurses spend quality time with our patientsand their families to focus on supporting them while they heal.”

The initial pilot began in 2018 and is being tested atselect units in AdventHealth’s Central Florida division. AdventHealth engagedCareThrough, a HealthChannels company, and sister company ScribeAmerica, whichprovides the scribe workforce in AdventHealth’s emergency departments.CareThrough is providing training and assistance with developing the CTA role.

“With the alarming rate of nurse burnout, compassionfatigue, and a workforce shortage predicted to last through 2030, supportingnurses has become a health care imperative,” said Kyle Cooksey, president ofCareThrough. “AdventHealth is proactively creating a culture of engaged nurses.The pilot aligns with our mission to reduce burnout and strengthen patientcare.”

In the first year of the pilot, staff responsiveness (ameasurement of the patient experience) improved by 12 percent, lab turnaroundtime improved by 13 percent, and 73 percent of nurses said they feel they areable to spend more time with patients when assisted by a CTA.

“This pilot is helping me be the type of nurse that Idreamed of,” said Christine Reyes, a registered nurse at AdventHealth AltamonteSprings. “I became a nurse because I wanted to show compassion to people whoneed it most, and this pilot is allowing me to do that even more.”

AdventHealth plans to build on the success of the pilot andexpand the program to other units.