Aligning Our Services
At a Glance
When tasked with finding ways to reduce operational costs at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, TouchPoint’s Patient Services team saw an opportunity to better align its food service operation with other units in the region. As its patient meal service hours stretched to 8:30 p.m. daily while neighboring units closed at 7 p.m., the team consistently saw a drastic drop-off in meal orders after 7 p.m. This presented TouchPoint with an opportunity to streamline the operation and reduce costs by curtailing operating hours, unused manpower, and minimizing unused food.
Increased Efficiency and Reduced Costs for Multiple Locations
Solution
On average, weekday meal orders at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital totaled 4,489, with 1,581 of those placed for dinner. Of those orders, only 246 – 15% of dinner and 5% of daily orders – were placed after 7 p.m.
Upon reviewing the data with the hospital’s executive leadership, they agreed that the proposed solution of reducing operating hours would be extremely beneficial, providing cost savings, as well as increased efficiency to the patient meal service operation.
Implementation
On the surface, adjusting operating hours seemed simple enough, but cutting an hour and a half from service would present several hurdles. Among them, was its effect on FNS operations, in particular staff schedules and the condensed volume of food production and orders received during peak service times. In addition, the bulk of the responsibility for meal ordering would fall solely on first-shift nurses for all three daily meals.
Effectively communicating the changes would present its own challenges to the team, as the new protocols would need to be shared with all key stakeholders, including the hospital’s executive team, nursing leaders, hospital staff, patients, and guests. To assist with the change in processes and operations, a detailed 30-day timeline was created. This timeline was utilized to track the unit’s progress throughout the transition, allowing for a smooth implementation.
OCTOBER 2022
17
Create schedule template in MyStaff for AM/PM/CC
Create Information slide to be shared with hospital staff
Develop Box Lunch Procedures for late new admits
Create Scripting Info Sheet for call center and leadership team
Order menus with updated service time
24
Meet with AR’s, Nurse Managers, Patient Experience Team regarding transition
Distribute Information sheets
Review schedule change with associates
31
Meet with Call Center to review scripting leading up to start date and first week of change
Review Box Lunch procedures and ensure ready to go live
Report service time change in daily hospital safety huddle call
Send PowerPoint slide to be posted to daily huddle recap email
Post service time change information in each patient pantry
NOVEMBER 2022
6
Distribute updated menus to all units and remove old menus
8
Call center reminded patients of the change in hours; Associates relayed the information to patients upon meal delivery; while rounding, patients and nurses were again reminded of the change.
All is ready to go live
9
Check in with each nursing unit to remind them of time change and box lunch procedure
4PM
Distribute box lunches and sign out sheet
Check in with call center and assist as necessary
7PM
GO LIVE
10
Team Debrief to review 1st day challenges and wins - make necessary alterations as necessary
14
Team meeting to debrief first week take aways and make changes as necessary
Results
The new service hours went into effect in mid- November 2022 and have proven a huge success. During the first three months of implementation, an estimated $33,000 was saved by the measure. The projected annual savings for the unit is $161,035.88, a considerable cost reduction.
The benefits of the operational adjustment are also expected to be seen at Ascension St. Vincent – Fishers and Ascension St. Vincent Heart Center, units within the Ascension St. Vincent Health System that fall under TouchPoint’s region of responsibility. With implementation of the adjusted hours at these locations, Ascension St. Vincent– Fishers is expected to see an annual savings of $22,000 while Ascension St. Vincent Heart Center expects a $30,000 savings.
Ascension St. Vincent – Fishers
Ascension St. Vincent Heart Center
With no major complaints from patients, the success of this operational shift will give units with similar criteria (open more than 10 hours; low dinner volume after 7 p.m.) an opportunity to adjust their hours to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
“Our collaboration with TouchPoint on this project has yielded tremendous results. In addition to cost savings, we’re seeing a more efficient use of associate time and an elevated performance from our food services team, all while maintaining the quality of service our patients and guests expect.”
– Judi Holsinger, Chief Operation Officer, Ascension St. Vincent Hospital