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December 17, 2009

ETMC director talks about department’s focus

By Lauren Ricks Associate Editor

The East Texas Medical Center, Athens Emergency Department is focused on the needs of patients according to Director of the Emergency Department of ETMC David Williams, RN.

He spoke to Athens Noon Kiwanis Club members on Tuesday afternoon.

The meeting was held at the Athens Country Club.

Williams said any decision made is considered by what is best for the patient.

“We are definitely patient-oriented,” he said.

Williams said the mission of the department is to provide world class care and services. He said the team of the department includes physicians, nurses, emergency technicians, clerks and registration personnel, ancillary team members and Auxiliary volunteers.

“We have around 20 physicians in our emergency department,” Williams said.

He said ancillary team members work in other departments including radiology, laboratories and the pharmacy.

“We cannot do our job without the services they provide,” Williams said.

He said the emergency department receives between 30,000 and 35,000 visits per year.

“We see an Athens resident three times in a year,” Williams said.

He said the average length of a visit to the department is three hours and 23 minutes. Williams said six months ago the department instituted the “Service Promoting Integrity Resulting In Teamwork for Total Patient Focus” or SPIRIT Project.

“If we are focused on the patient and their needs, we cannot go wrong,” he said. “That is what the SPIRIT Project is all about. Quality is number one. Our patient’s safety is number one.”

Williams said over the past six months, the department broke apart all the processes and who is responsible for each area of care.

“It’s been a very busy six months,” he said. “We are always striving to improve the quality of care.”

Williams said SPIRIT also includes in-house patient satisfaction surveys, charge nurse/patient satisfaction surveys, patient callbacks and a new triage treatment area. He said the area is an extension of the department with five additional beds devoted to patients with influenza-like symptoms.

Williams said the program allowed the department to decrease the average wait time to three hours and 12 minutes in September, despite a sharp increase in patients.

“We are very thankful we had planned ahead,” he said.

Williams said the department treated an average of 108 patients a day in September, up from 79 patients a day in August.

He said work a new emergency department is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2010. Williams said the project will take between 18 and 20 months to complete.

Williams said the new department will include a 22 bed Emergency Room with large patient rooms.

“We are really excited about the future of our emergency room,” he said.

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