CEO Message, Emergency Services

by John G. Hill, president and CEO

The month of May brings two important updates to the Emergency Departments (ED) at The Medical Center of Aurora and Centennial Medical Plaza. The initiatives align with our strategies to enhance the patient experience at our hospital and further improve timeliness and efficiency of care.

At the beginning of May we went live with our Remote Presence Robotics, the latest in stroke technology. The InTouch Health Remote Presence® telemedicine technology includes a camera and microphone for live two-way audio and a computer on a cart that is placed in the ER room and connects to the computer of a specialist, much like video conferencing and capabilities for the specialist to control/zoom the camera and access remote medical devices.

This advanced technology is now available in all HealthONE Emergency Departments and allows for immediate assessment and care of stroke patients by neurologists specializing in stroke, even if the specialists are miles away. Our stroke neurologists are onsite during regular business hours, so our robot will be used after hours, weekends and holidays. This means that 24/7/365, stroke patients will see a specialist instantaneously and receive the care they need from our ED staff as quickly as possible, reducing the long-term effects of their stroke. Every second counts in stroke care, and this telemedicine technology is a great asset to our Primary Stroke Center.

In late May, Centennial Medical Plaza, along with other HealthONE facilities, will be making ED wait times available to the public. A recent national study showed that ED patients ranked being kept informed of wait times as their top priority to improve ED care. Our ED care teams have committed to consistently see patients in far less time than the national one-hour average wait without compromising quality. Specifically, we will try to see our adult patients within 30 minutes of check-in and our pediatric patients within 20 minutes of check-in. 

Currently, ED wait times are posted on TMCA/CMP computers. The wait time information is updated every 30 minutes to reflect the average wait times over the past four hours. When the wait times go public, patients will be able visit our hospital websites, upload our new HealthONE mobile iPhone app, request a text from us, see our digital billboards or call our new phone line (720-523-3888) to find out wait times.

We will implement the wait times initiative in phases, starting at the Centennial Medical Plaza ED and incorporating Main Campus ED wait times later in the year.

Posting and sharing our average ED Wait Times demonstrates the dedication of our ED teams to provide the most important factors for a positive ED patient’s outcome: high-quality care and quick delivery of that care. Thank you to all of the members of our Emergency Department for your continued dedication to excellent and efficient care.

New stroke technology and ED wait times are just two more ways TMCA/CMP staff is committed to the care and improvement of human life.