“Crowding and boarding are common issues facing emergency departments in the United States. These issues have negative effects on efficiency, patient care, satisfaction, and healthcare team well-being.” (Imhoff et al.,2022). 

At the Antioch Medical Center, members experience a delay from the time the ED receives an admission order to the time they are in their hospital bed. This experience can impact patient satisfaction.  

The Admit to Bed workgroup completed the project “Improving Patient Flow from ED to Inpatient Bed” with the aim to increase efficiency of admissions from a baseline of 7 to 15 percent between June 1 and August 30, 2025. Data was reviewed and collected for gap analysis and interventions included were standardization strategies and performance tracking. The project focused on two process measures which are hospital bed turnaround time and ED to floor handoff process.  

At the conclusion of the project, admit order to inpatient room time improved to 19 percent exceeding the project goal of 15 percent. This process improvement initiative is a collaborative effort between interdisciplinary teams and aims to assess further enhancements in 2026 to provide better access for our patients.