Red Bud ER continues to pledge short wait times

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Red Bud Regional Hospital (RBRH) kicked off its "30 Minutes or Less ER Service Pledge" campaign in 2010 and they continue to pledge short ER wait times in 2011.

RBRH has pledged to have emergency room patients seen by a doctor within 30 minutes of their arrival. As emergency room wait times are increasing in hospitals across the country, RBRH's ER physicians and staff are taking a proactive approach to reduce wait times.

"Our purpose is to provide emergency care," says Kim Martin, Director of Emergency Services at RBRH. "Waiting hours in a waiting room shouldn't be part of it. Our pledge has resulted in even lower ER wait times than expected. Last month, patients were seen by the ER doctor in 17 minutes on average and the average length of stay was 2 hours and 14 minutes from start to finish."

The ER doctors and staff at RBRH are continually evaluating and improving processes to increase patient satisfaction. The staff has implemented new tools to help communicate to the patient of what is taking place and why. These tools include communication boards in each patient room, nurse rounding visits to each patient, and follow up phone calls to patients at their home.

"This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to provide excellent care and improve patient satisfaction," said Shane Watson, CEO at BRH. "We want to assure our patients that we are dedicated to not only offering the best quality care but also providing that care as efficiently as possible."

Red Bud Regional Hospital's emergency room is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.To learn more about Red Bud Regional Hospital services, visit redbudregional.com.