Birmingham VA identified as a BMS Top Performer
Carolyn Harrison-Johnson, Registered Nurse and Clarence Lyons, EMS Supervisor, prepare an emergency room for occupancy at the Birmingham VA Health Care System.
The Veterans Health Administration has identified Birmingham VA Health Care System (BVAHCS) as a Bed Management Solution (BMS) Top Performer consistently since February 2020. BMS software tracks patient movement, bed status and bed availability within any of the 170 VA Medical Centers across the nation. Icons within the software interface are assigned to patients according to their care needs.
BMS Top Performers are sites that meet or exceed VHA Patient Pending Bed Placement (PPBP), Environmental Management Service (EMS) and Emergency Management (EM) standards.
The PPBP function is used to track patients requiring a bed.
Effective bed management is crucial to the daily operations of the BVAHCS. The BVAHCS has the potential to hospitalize hundreds of patients daily that are a result of scheduled admissions, emergency visits, surgery or other needs.
“Achieving top performer status took the great efforts of our bed management staff, Patient Care Services and EMS,” said. Leslie Nash, Patient Flow Nurse Manager.
Clarence Lyons, EMS Supervisor, performs a bed inspection at the Birmingham VA Health Care System.
Christopher Offord, Resource Nurse Manager, developed a local process to maintain bed management compliance for the medical center. His staff is responsible for the placement of EM icons as appropriate for all admitted inpatients after assessment by the assigned registered nurse. This is a core BMS feature and requirement for medical facility compliance.
Top performers must maintain an EM icon usage of at least 85 percent. BVAHCS has maintained an EM icon usage of 100 percent for the past four months, ranking them number one in the nation.
“Our nurses follow standard operating procedures, ensuring accurate patient information is verified and uploaded each tour,” he said. “Our BMS is monitored at all times for transfers, admissions and discharges to improve patient flow, as well as view emergency icons.”
After patient transfer or discharge, EMS performs thorough cleaning and disinfection of the vacated room. According to Andre Singletary, Chief, EMS, each room must pass a strict inspection in order to be closed out and listed available for the next patient.
EMS maintained an over 90 percent cleaner closed rate for bed clean records last month, he said. The VHA national average is 76.1 percent.
“Members of our staff have shown great commitment,” said Nash. “Their high performance has continued through many updates to the BMS application and facility processes during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
