MetroWest495 Biz

For hospitals, that process begins in the emergency room. And indeed, MetroWest-area hospitals are retooling ER op- erations in myriad ways, in part to achieve greater efficiency. A new approach to staffing … For the last two years, Steve Roach, CEO of Marlborough Hospital, has worked toward this goal. Roach, who describes himself as an "extremely data-driven" administrator, came into his new job with ideas on how to improve patient flow in the emergency room. Roach said that not all hospital adminis - trators are so focused on the numbers. And while this type of approach to hospital management is becoming more domi- 16 MetroWest495 Biz | February 2015 BY EMILY MICUCCI MetroWest495Biz H ealth care organizations of all kinds are striving for efficiency under the looming transition to managed-care systems. Instead of being paid for each service, providers will instead be paid to deliver care for a set number of patients annually. Naturally, this is leading providers to reconsider how they manage those patients from the moment they walk through the door. The ER: The frontline of efficiency? Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins, medical director of the emergency department at Milford Regional Medical Center, said patients are regularly treated in hallway beds in the hospital's crowded emergency room. A new wing is slated to open in the fall, which will double ER capacity. (Below) The nurses' station inside the new behavioral health unit at MetroWest Medical Center's Leonard Morse campus in Natick is shown. The new unit has provided another outlet for mental health patients in the ER, who sometimes spend days waiting for placement. P H O T O / E M I L Y M I C U C C I FOCUS: Health Care

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