Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine said its capacity command center, M2C2, achieved six measurable efficiency gains in its first two years of operation, according to a Dec. 5 news release.
- Virtual bed expansion: Operational changes led to bed use efficiency equivalent to adding 63 adult inpatient beds.
- Faster bed assignments: Adult patients at University Hospital and the Frankel Cardiovascular Center saw a 33% drop in total wait time and a 37% drop from emergency department arrival to bed assignment.
- Pediatric flow improvement: C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital recorded a 13% reduction in pediatric bed-assigning time.
- Transfer growth: University of Michigan Health increased acceptance of hospital transfer requests from 70% to 80%.
- Quicker discharges: Time from discharge order to departure fell 12% for adults and 9% for children.
- Shorter stays: Adult length of stay dropped 8%, adjusted for patient complexity.
M2C2 cost $2.1 million to build and $1.5 million annually to staff, yielding a $19.5 million net financial benefit. The center features 32 large monitors and played a central role in moving 186 adult inpatients to the new Kahn Health Care Pavilion in Ann Arbor, which will offer 264 private beds when fully open.
Command centers like M2C2 are gaining traction nationwide as health systems turn to centralized operations to manage patient flow amid rising demand, limited capacity and staffing shortages. Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins, Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University, Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth and Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt Health have reported similar gains in reducing length of stay, increasing transfers and improving real-time visibility across networks.
