Good Shepherd Medical Center

Increasing efficiency and savings with CareWare’s staff scheduling and analytics system

BACKGROUND
Good Shepherd Medical Center (GSMC), is a 425-bed regional referral center located in Longview, Texas. Good Shepherd has been designated a Level II Trauma Center, Primary Stroke Center by Joint Commission, a Certified Chest Pain Center and a STEMI Receiving Center by American Heart Association, and a CareChex Top 100 Hospital.

PROBLEM
GSMC sought to reduce the time for managers spent creating and managing schedules each month, improve unit coverage, improve management reporting compared to what was available using their previous system (ANSOS), and give staff and managers access to schedules from anywhere at any time.

During the past decade, two payroll providers, first Kronos and then API, urged the hospital to implement their scheduling solutions and replace CareWare. However, those overtures received energetic opposition by GSMC managers and staff due to the superior performance and capabilities of CareWare.

SOLUTION CHOSEN
CareWare’s CareStaffer and CareAnalytics solution

RESULTS
GSMC saw a 25% reduction of contract labor utilization in the first twelve months because schedules were more balanced, even with an increase a 10% increase in inpatient census in the same time period.

The GSMC team experienced a reduction of overtime hours because schedules were better balanced to unit-specific workload. CareWare also allowed managers and the central staffing office to easily identify and contact staff who were available to pick up open shifts and not incur overtime.

GSMC used CareWare’s business intelligence reporting to enhance important management functions such as producing 12-month absence and tardy reports that both API and KRONOS Time & Attendance systems could not provide, overtime reports by unit and staff member, and reporting of important audit functions.

GSMC began using CareWare’s near real-time productivity dashboard to more rigorously manage labor productivity and, ultimately, their labor costs.

In the 2011 NDNQI Nurse Satisfaction Survey, the RN staff at GSMC noted their satisfaction with the scheduling process as “Scheduling” was one of the highest rated questions on the survey. This is directly related to CareWare’s ease of use and the ability for staff to access the system anywhere.