Organizing Day Makes an Impact

Intensive care from a team of professional organizers relieved a few units from clutter, with measurable results that improve patient care and service.

Early this spring, select units in Women’s and Children’s Health were approached with an offer that most of us only dream about: A team of 11 professional organizers (right) volunteered for a day-long revamping of the department to make the physical space more streamlined, efficient and user-friendly.

Armed with label makers and file folders, the organizers worked with unit staff to conquer clutter, decrease stress and create an errorfree work environment. Organizing a patient care unit is about more than tidying up the space; it enhances patient safety and improves adherence to Joint Commission standards.

“We were in great need of an objective eye to rethink the arrangement of our rooms,” says Deborah Mordecai, RN, CNM, patient care services manager for Women’s Services. “The staff deserves organized workspaces with well-thought systems that are both easy to maintain and highly functional for our patient care teams.”

The objective eyes were those of two professional organizers – Mora Babineau of Organize Me! and Amy Rehkemper of Simplify Organizing, LLC – who were looking to do some pro bono work in the community. Babineau’s husband, Timothy Babineau, MD, MBA, is senior vice president and chief medical officer of UMMC.

After touring several areas in the hospital in February, the two organizers chose three spaces in Women and Children’s Health where they could make the most difference in one day: the Labor and Delivery conference room, the Pediatric Intermediate Care (IMC) Unit medication/supply room and the pediatric nursing station and break room.

Hospital facilities and unit staff agreed to do some prep work – painting, purchasing supplies and assessing workflow – prior to the event on March 13, when Babineau and Rehkemper returned with nine colleagues for the big overhaul.

They split up into teams, each working in one area, with professional organizer Mary Helen Dennis floating between the three projects to help and to document and photograph the transformation. (See below.)

The results, below, include measurable improvements in work flow and patient care.

“Our room in the Pediatric IMC is still as organized as the day we did it,” says Mary Jo Simke, BSN, RN, manager for the Pediatric IMC and ICU. “It lasts!”

  

Labor and Delivery Conference Room Professional Organizing Team:
Leader: Amy Rehkemper
Nadine Sachs, Pamela Johnson, Katharine Hope
UMMC Team Leaders: Deborah Mordecai, RN, CNM, and Caryn Zolotorow, RN

This room, shared by a staff of 20, underwent a total transformation. After a month of planning by the organizing team leaders, hooks and shelves were installed to accommodate the coats and bags once scattered on the floor, and an ineffective binder rack was replaced with wall-mounted cubbies perfectly sized and labeled for the multitude of patient charts. The rest of the room was carefully divided into activity zones complete with specific supplies and systems for easy maintenance. Now the staff can enjoy a calmer, more productive workspace.

Measurable Result:
The time it takes for a nurse to locate a chart decreased from 5 minutes to less than 30 seconds.

  

Medication/Supply/Nutrition Room Professional Organizing Team: Mora Babineau and Sarah Carey
UMMC Team Leaders: Mary Jo Simke, BSN, RN

Nurses visit this fifth floor multi-purpose room an average of 90 to 120 times in a single shift! The team recognized that this multi-functioning room was holding a significant number of items that did not belong in it, leading to clutter and difficulty locating important items quickly. After conducting a workflow analysis, the organizers opted to relocate frequently used items to more convenient locations (positioned between hip and head level). All supply bins were clearly labeled and grouped according to usage, which allows for error-free supply retrieval. All cardboard storage boxes were removed and replaced with clear bins, in line with Joint Commission standards.

Measurable Result:
Location time for a supply item decreased from 5 minutes to 15 seconds.

  

Pediatric Nurses’ Station and Break Room

Professional Organizing Team: Norma Cobb-Dietz, Jen Dennis, Trish Hayes, Sherry Miller
UMMC Team Leaders: Andrea French, MS, CPNP, and Suzan Lewis, BSN, RN

The rooms were used for a plethora of activities – meals, writing reports, meetings and storing and reviewing charts. The staff expressed frustration in many areas of their space, but especially with unmarked and difficult-to-locate reference materials. Now, a single and consistent home exists for every item used and nonessential supplies were removed entirely. Additional workspace was created by replacing a table with a new, more functional wall-mounted counter. Ineffective shelves were removed so that the bulky Omnicell machine could be recessed into a corner alcove. Bulletin boards are now purposeful and supply cabinets are organized and labeled.

Measurable Result:
If you were out of the unit, could someone easily find one of your files? The answer is now, “Yes!”