Memphis, Tenn.-based Baptist Memorial Health Care has reduced its average observed-to-expected length of stay by 14% since fiscal 2023 and served more ED patients by redesigning patient flow as an enterprisewide operational capability.
“Like many healthcare systems, we have worked on patient flow for many years but often saw only incremental gains that were difficult to sustain,” COO Chris Anderson and Chief Improvement Officer Skip Steward told Becker’s. “We made a deliberate shift to redesign flow as an enterprisewide system anchored in daily standard work, clear accountability and shared ownership across nursing, physicians, case management and ancillary services.”
This redesigned flow is known as Baptist Management System. Through this system, length-of-stay targets are translated to unit- and department-level expectations that are supported by multidisciplinary touchpoints, early discharge planning and real-time escalation of barriers.
“Flow is no longer viewed as a bed-management issue or the responsibility of a single team, but rather it reflects how well the entire organization functions from admission to post-acute transition,” Mr. Anderson and Mr. Steward said. “Teams have clear visibility into how their work affects throughput, and structured daily forums allow early escalation and resolution of barriers. The result is stronger coordination, faster decision-making and a proactive approach to care progression that replaces the reactive patterns common in many hospitals.”
At Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis, the system’s 706-bed flagship, transfer volumes have nearly doubled compared to 2024 and are up 17% year over year. Emergency department performance has also improved, which has led to reductions in left-without-being-seen rates and allowed the hospital to serve roughly 1,000 additional ED patients annually.
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Steward emphasized that the results reflect a cultural shift as much as an operational one.
Baptist Memorial operates 25 hospitals across Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas and employs more than 22,000 people.
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