Perioperative services remain one of hospitals’ most critical revenue engines, yet many organizations still manage OR staffing through fragmented data and manual workarounds. At Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), that challenge spanned 53 operating rooms, where scheduling processes consumed significant administrative time and offered limited visibility into the staff experience.
In a recent Becker’s Healthcare webinar sponsored by LeanTaaS, three OHSU perioperative leaders outlined how the system shifted to a data-driven, AI-powered staffing model. The result: more than 25 hours per week reclaimed from manual coordination, alongside gains in staffing consistency and day-to-day operational performance.
Below are four key takeaways from the discussion.
1. Manual staffing processes were unsustainable.
Before adopting an intelligent staffing solution, OHSU’s scheduling process relied heavily on manual workflows, including paper-based assignments and data pulled from multiple systems.
“Our staffing processes were highly manual and reactive,” said Dio Sumagaysay, RN, MSN, vice president of perioperative and multispecialty procedural services at OHSU. “Our team spent about 30 hours each week just to create the schedule using papers, pulling data and then they’d rework it again the next morning.”
The lack of centralized visibility made it difficult for coordinators to consistently align staff experience with surgical case needs. As a result, assignments were not always optimized, leading to staff frustration and operational inefficiencies.
At the same time, rising surgical volume and financial pressures made it clear that OHSU needed a more scalable staffing approach.
2. A centralized, data-driven staffing platform improved decision-making.
To address these challenges, OHSU implemented LeanTaaS’ iQueue for Operating Rooms’ Workforce Optimization features, which integrate staffing data into a real-time digital system.
According to Rayna Tuski, director of adult perioperative services at OHSU, the platform replaced paper-based tools with a dynamic staffing dashboard that displays schedules, staffing levels and case assignments in real time.
“We can actually look at the history of a staff member’s experience and use all of that information to make the best assignment for the day,” Ms. Tuski said. “It builds a culture of transparency, and a culture of using information to the best advantage of our teams and optimized staffing — with visibility into cross-training, experiences and being able to talk about this with surgeons who are looking at skills mix and how their cases are being supported.”
3. The new model reclaimed time and improved operational performance.
Since implementing the new intelligent staffing platform, OHSU has seen measurable improvements in efficiency and staffing coordination.
Most notably, the organization reclaimed roughly 25 hours per week of nurse manager and service line coordinator time previously spent building and revising OR schedules. Additional operational gains included:
- A reduction of about five minutes in average case length
- A roughly two-minute improvement in OR turnover time
- A 30% increase in care consistency, meaning the right staff are assigned to the right cases more often — which also promotes cross-training
Mr. Sumagaysay said these improvements have strengthened both operational performance and staff satisfaction.
“To me, it means high satisfaction, particularly for our charge nurses and service line coordinators, that they can save those 25 hours and focus on the most complex work that really matters for them,” he said.
4. Sustaining results requires partnership and continuous transformation.
Beyond the technology itself, OHSU leaders emphasized that long-term success depended on close collaboration with LeanTaaS and a commitment to ongoing operational improvement.
Kristen Lund, RN, director of OR/MSPU scheduling and the preoperative medicine clinic at OHSU, said the partnership model helped the organization tailor the platform to its complex perioperative environment rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all solution.
“It doesn’t feel like, ‘here’s a box, open it up and apply this,'” Ms. Lund said. “It’s very much, ‘here are our offerings, this is where we can start, where should we go together?'”
That collaborative approach allowed OHSU leaders to refine workflows, overcome operational barriers and continuously track performance improvements.
Ms. Lund added that the organization regularly reviews outcomes such as staff satisfaction, patient experience and case volume — the “true north” guiding the initiative — to ensure the technology continues to deliver measurable value.
Looking ahead
OHSU leaders said the staffing transformation is still evolving. The organization plans to explore additional AI capabilities within the platform, including automated first-pass staffing recommendations and expanded use across complex perioperative environments.
For Mr. Sumagaysay, the experience has underscored the importance of pairing technology with operational strategy.
“I consider AI as a partner workforce,” he said. “There is going to be a lot of redundant work that AI can do versus our staff, so staff can focus on the most complex work and decision-making. I think that is where the future is going to be over for the next few years because we can’t ask for additional staffing. To me, that’s a win-win.”
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