The plaque and medal for 2011 Team of the Year finalist were presented by Hartford Healthcare President Elliot Joseph and Hartford Hospital CEO Jeff Flaks at a ceremony at the hospital on November 8th.

HARTFORD – Efficient patient flow and throughput is critical to any hospital’s clinical and financial performance. Late discharge times prevent the timely transition of all Patients and the early identification of available beds, resulting in delays in appropriate Patient placement, increased length of stay, and the inefficient use of resources. To address inefficiencies and possible synergies, Hartford Hospital commissioned the Discharge Planning Action Group (DPAG).

In order to be successful, this team recognized that it was imperative to apply a multidisciplinary approach to a process that touches so many areas.  Ambulance discharge was a critical part of this process, being the artificial cap on bed utilization. Ambulance service on-time performance was weighed heavily and considered a core metric. And thus, Aetna and ASM were invited representatives on the hospital’s Group.