Louisville-based KentuckyOne Health made a new pledge to patients — they will not wait more than 30 minutes for care at its emergency rooms thanks to a new, two-track approach in the ER.
The strategy involves sorting patients into two tracks: a traditional path and what it calls a Fast(ER) path.
In this new approach, a pivot nurse assesses patients' acuity level upon arrival to the ER. Patients with life- or limb-threatening illnesses or injuries will be treated in the traditional ER path, according to a KentuckyOne Health video.
Patients with less severe complaints will be routed to the Fast(ER) path, where clinicians trained to treat that level of acuity patient can begin their care.
According to KentuckyOne Health, since implementing the new approach to emergency care, its ERs' "left before being seen" rates and wait times have dropped.