The AdventHealth network recently received preliminary results of a pilot project that could revolutionize the patient care model across the United States.
Under the pilot, nurses are freed from a large portion of the paperwork that their work entails, allowing them to spend more time focusing on patients and their needs.
During the pilot, nurses were paired with a Care Team Assistant (CTA). The CTA’s duties are similar to a patient care technician but have the additional responsibility of documenting patients’ care under a nurse’s supervision. Nurses relieved of heavy documentation responsibility can spend more time with patients and play a more active role in patients’ care.
“AdventHealth is committed to finding innovative solutions to health-care problems. We created this model to improve the way we work to make it easy for both our patients and staff,” said Eric Stevens, CEO of acute care services for AdventHealth in metropolitan Orlando, Florida. “Our nursing staff is key to providing compassionate, whole-person care. A hospital stay can be an unnerving experience. This program helps our nurses spend quality time with our patients and their families, to focus on supporting them while they heal.”
The initial pilot began in 2018 and is being tested at select units in AdventHealth’s Central Florida division. AdventHealth engaged CareThrough, a HealthChannels company, and sister company ScribeAmerica, which provides 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, compassion fatigue, and a workforce shortage predicted to last through 2030, supporting nurses has become a health-care imperative,” said Kyle Cooksey, president of CareThrough. “AdventHealth is proactively creating a culture of engaged nurses. The pilot aligns with our mission to reduce burnout and strengthen patient care.”
In the first year of the pilot, staff responsiveness (a measurement of the patient experience) improved by 12 percent, lab turnaround time improved by 13 percent, and 73 percent of nurses said they feel they can spend more time with patients when assisted by a CTA.
“This pilot is helping me be the type of nurse that I dreamed of,” said Christine Reyes, a registered nurse at AdventHealth Altamonte Springs. “I became a nurse because I wanted to show compassion to people who need it most, and this pilot is allowing me to do that even more.”
AdventHealth plans to build on the success of the pilot and expand the program to other units.
The original version of this release was posted on the AdventHealth news site.