Sacred Heart Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals between Portland and San Francisco, and a regional referral center serving as a Level II trauma center for an eight-county region, implemented an RFID solution to track and manage IV pumps. Before deploying the system, the 385-bed facility—part of the PeaceHealth Medical Group—discovered that nurses in gateway areas (where patients enter) often sought IV pumps, which would frequently collect within discharge areas. The process was prone to hoarding and hunting, resulting in the staff’s constant dissatisfaction. Past solutions required leasing, buying or renting additional pumps. While this provided a short-term relief, the latent root was never addressed and resolved. Learn how Sacred Heart Medical Center decreased the number of IV pumps by 26 percent (from 923 units down to 700), by increasing equipment availability and eliminating frustrations.
Speaker: Kaspar C. Buchsteiner, Healthcare Improvement Engineer, PeaceHealth, Oregon Region
