Endoscopy Staff Masters Multi-Tasking

Known for their excellent patient customer service, the staff of Oconee Memorial Hospital (OMH) endoscopy center is well respected among their clinical peers, physicians, and patients. The Seneca, S.C., endoscopy center has fast become one of the largest in-house outpatient endoscopy centers in the area. The facility houses an expanded service area, updated equipment, and comfortable surroundings where an excellent staff has taken increasing efficiency and customer satisfaction into their own hands.

“The expansion of the center includes five designated prep areas, nine recovery rooms, one designated specifically for bronchoscopy patients, four negative airflow lead-lined rooms, a designated room for pH studies and GERD diagnosis, and a new scope reprocessing area along with more storage space for scopes,” explains Tammy Morton, RN, PhD, nurse manager of the OMH endoscopy center.

In an attempt to become more efficient, and to stay competitive with ambulatory centers, endoscopy nurses were paired and sent to ambulatory centers in other counties. They learned how to bookcase tighter appointments by having floor nurses schedule through a totally paperless system, Pathways Healthcare Scheduler, which decreases physicians’ wait; therefore, more cases are finished in less time. Volumes have increased by 5 percent, patients have better satisfaction ratings, and OMH has saved money.

In addition to the endoscopy expansion, an infusion center, housed inside endoscopy, has taken the pressure off the emergency room, where cancer patients were going for treatment.

Morton adds, “Patients not eligible for private infusion centers often end up in ERs for their treatments, not an ideal setting for immunocompromised patients. Any wait time in a public setting increases risk for an already high-risk patient, so our department provides a comfortable place to receive outpatient IV antibiotics or chemotherapy.”

Staff has been cross-trained in both endoscopy and infusion, and if endoscopy staff has downtime, they are willing to help in the infusion center. 

The infusion center is comfortable for patients and their families. La-Z- Boy donated two healthcare grade infusion recliners free of charge and Stryker Medical responded with another La-Z-Boy and two over-the-bed tables. The OMH Auxiliary donated two 19-inch TV/DVD/VCR combos for patients who have all-day treatments, and a former patient donated $800 worth of portable DVD players for each person to have their own.

“This patient was impressed with the program and the service she received at OMH,” comments Morton, who is proud of the centers’ “doing more with less” philosophy.

Endoscopy and infusion staff didn’t stop there. With performance improvement in mind, safety goals were assigned to nurses who observed and researched policies and standards, and educated the rest of staff on these goals. Nurses developed their own ideas of how they would educate each other, and within six months of nurse-to-nurse education, endoscopy and infusion staff went from 85 percent compliance to 100 percent compliance in performance improvement goals.

“Performance improvement projections were completed by staff, not administration,” boasts Morton. “Solutions for how they wanted to get where they wanted to be were their idea. That’s the kind of staff you want to have.”

Byrne Medical, Inc., salutes the staff of the gastroenterology unit at Oconee Memorial Hospital for their hard work and commitment to exemplary patient care. The team will receive a commemorative plaque in celebration of their EndoNurse All-Star recognition.

(Front row, L-R) Zadie Harrison, unit coordinator; Jeanie Dahlin, LPN; Shannon Shook, surgical technician; Linda Lee, RN. (Second row, L-R) Janice Clayton, RN; Brooke Barton, surgical tech; Stephanie Long, RN; Kim Baxter, RN; Stefanie Jones, LPN. (Third row, L-R) Lynn Ballenger-Johns, RN; Donna Green, RN; Patricia Mitchell, RN; Jane Oldham, RN; Tammy Morton, PhD, RN, endoscopy nurse manager. Not pictured: David Dilley, transporter.

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