Montgomery General Hospital

Montgomery General Hospital offers comprehensive medical care, including emergency services, specialized treatments, and patient-centered care, focusing on improving health outcomes and community well-being.

Equipment, supplies, and labor represent the largest expenses for healthcare provider organizations. While equipment and supplies are typically fixed costs, labor is variable and can account for up to 50% of an organization’s budget. However, many healthcare organizations fail to maximize the potential of their workforce, leading to ineffective control over labor costs due to disorganized scheduling and staffing management.

Montgomery General Hospital, a 191-bed community hospital and the first acute care hospital in Maryland, serves four counties with a mission to provide high-quality, personalized healthcare services. To achieve this, the hospital relies on recruiting and retaining top talent to ensure exceptional patient care.

In May 2005, the implementation of CareWare was instrumental in enhancing care delivery at Montgomery General. CareWare streamlined the management of scheduling and staffing across all acute care nursing units, the emergency department (including pediatrics), and an inpatient psychiatric unit.

Improving Staffing Management

The introduction of CareWare equipped Montgomery General with tools to create fair and equitable schedules that meet coverage needs, improve communication about staffing and workload fluctuations, and reduce nurse turnover caused by burnout from excessive overtime.

CareWare also contributed to improved employee retention and satisfaction by automatically incorporating staff preferences into scheduling. One year after implementation, Montgomery General began to see the benefits of its vision to streamline staffing and scheduling.

Enhancing Financial Outcomes

With widespread adoption of CareWare, Montgomery General reduced its reliance on agency staffing from 21 full-time equivalents (FTEs) to 14.5 FTEs, saving $400,000. “CareWare features like online trading and bidding for shifts have allowed us to explore cost-effective staffing options to meet our budgetary targets,” says Mariamma Ninan, RN, MSN, Director of Nursing Resources at Montgomery General.

Previously, nursing units lacked the tools to effectively manage unit budgets. CareWare’s budget tracking and workload management features now provide the hospital with real-time information to support smart decision-making.

Increasing Staff Satisfaction

Following the implementation of CareWare, Montgomery General saw an increase in staff satisfaction with their schedules, thanks to greater transparency and accountability in the scheduling process. Managers preferred CareWare due to its reliable schedule data compared to the previous paper-based system. “CareWare created better quality schedules that met coverage needs, resulting in fewer complaints about schedules,” Ninan adds.

Enhancing Processes

Montgomery General’s use of CareWare also enhanced the value of existing technology investments. Previously, Human Resources (HR) information was tracked in two separate databases—nursing and HR. Now, an interface provides seamless data exchange, offering critical information for informed staffing decisions. Additionally, daily emails from CareWare to managers via GroupWise email alert them to staffing variations that may compromise coverage.

Making Informed Decisions

CareWare has proven valuable to Montgomery General’s daily staffing and workload management operations, particularly in the centralized Nursing Resources office, which responds to daily variations in patient care needs. The seamless flow of information supports the optimal use of CareWare’s functionality and fosters open communication, ultimately improving the work environment for employees.

Mariamma Ninan

Director of Nuirsing, Montgomery General

“By reducing our use of agency staffing from 21 to 14.5 FTEs, we saved $400,000 this year— thereby minimizing our reliance on external staffing and improving continuity of care.”

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