DALLAS – Decreasing operating room (OR) availability by 15% helped a hospital address a 30% staff shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study being presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ADVANCE 2022, the Anesthesiology Business Event.
“The Great Resignation has disproportionately impacted health care to near-crisis levels and we were able to address ongoing staff shortages by methodically decreasing available surgical times,” said Kimberly Cantees, M.D., M.B.A., clinical director of anesthesiology and perioperative services, UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh. “By using a phased approach, including daily meetings to address scheduling issues, we were able to prioritize essential surgeries and care for patients with the greatest need.”
UPMC is a comprehensive quaternary care regional and national referral center for many surgical specialties including trauma, transplantation, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery and surgical oncology. In the study, the hospital implemented a five-phased approach, which started in May 2021, to ensure that it could continue to provide essential surgical care when its surgical technologist and OR nurse vacancy rate reached 30%. The phases included:
Over the course of the phased approach, the available ORs were decreased from 36 to 31 (15%). This has been adequate to address the 30% reduction in surgical services staff, said Dr. Cantees. The hospital has continued to use the approach to successfully address staffing challenges during the Omicron surge.
Dr. Cantees said the phased approach received minimal pushback from surgeons, mostly because of clear communication of both the staffing hurdles, as well as established surgical priorities. Communication occurs via regular meetings, e-mail and personal communication between members of the multidisciplinary surgical services capacity committee and individual surgeons.
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 55,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves.
For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/MadeforThisMoment. Like ASA on Facebook, follow ASALifeline on Twitter.
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