St. Francis Medical Center
Transition & Move Occupancy Services (Replacement facility)
TIMELINE: 10 months (Expedited timeline)
Details:
The new St. Francis Medical Center is a 6-story, 350,000 square foot 156-bed tertiary hospital that opened in 2008. The $207 million replacement facility project included
development of new service lines to serve one of the fastest growing areas in the Colorado Springs, CO community.
This total replacement facility project included safe relocation of 23 patients transported via ambulance on move day, traveling 6.5 miles from the vacated
Penrose Community Hospital to the new facility in August 2008. Adjunct project support included occupancy of specific departments and offices into the medical
office building and free standing ambulatory surgery center on the new medical center campus.
Challenges:
Clearly defined and comprehensive operational transition planning was missing on this project. Enter 5THink with a 10 month timeline to occupancy to accomplish tasks that typically
require 18-24 months of planning and implementation.
Formalized Scope of Services definition for the new service lines needed immediate focus to ensure that all downstream tasks of process design/redesign, staffing needs, physician
engagement and all necessary equipment had been planned for.
In light of the accelerated timeline from the beginning of comprehensive operational transition planning to the first day of patient care, preemptive education with the general
contractor and construction management was necessary for recognition of requirements for move sequencing (FF&E and staff/patients) and extensive education/training & orientation
to meet operational project schedules.
Amidst executive leadership changes and the above challenges, 5THink ensured continuity of the overall project from the beginning of comprehensive operational transition planning
to the first day of patient care.
Results:
5THink was given the necessary autonomy to get the project on track from an operational planning perspective with close partnership
with the internal Transition Director and full support and accessibility to Senior Leadership. Penrose Community Hospital closed its doors at 7:00 AM on August 16, 2008
while simultaneously opening the St. Francis Medical center. The step by step, hour by hour relocation planning process was implemented along with safely relocating patients.
Embodied in the project success are specific highlight examples such as:
- Revamped team structure to support department specific planning and task completion
- Alignment on scope of services, particularly with the new service lines (Cardiology, ICU, Level III NICU, and hospital Trauma designation)
- Improved Emergency Department processes implemented to meet objective of "cornerstone to speed and efficiency" through redesigned processes implemented to improve patient flow and decrease the time a patient waits to see a doctor
- Utilized expertise in change management for effective move sequencing in support of a replacement facility not only for hospital operations, but also the many other consultants and contractors that supported the new and used equipment and furniture placement and relocation
- Well-orchestrated Command Center process on day of move incorporating appropriate aspects to be used as an Emergency Preparedness planning exercise
- Staff and physicians had a new founded recognition of the importance of interdependencies departments had on one another
- Successful coordination and completion of over 13,000 hours of education/training & orientation for staff and physicians
< Return to Clients
|
