The Good News: You Don’t Have to Live With Pain

The Emergency Trauma Center has reengineered patient flow and how the department functions, leading to a successful improvement project (TRIP) to decrease patient wait times and improve patient and staff satisfaction. Here are some interesting facts about Emergency Medicine in the US and in Minot:

• In 2007 we served 26,853 patients. This was a 28% increase over the past 5 years

• The Average Wait Time in ERs across the US is 46.5 minutes. Prior to TRIP, Average Wait Time at Trinity was 36 minutes and it has been reduced to 19 minutes (this is for all patients; critical patients are taken straight to an ER bed without waiting)

• The Average Length of Stay in ERs across the US is 3.6 hours. Prior to TRIP, Trinity’s was 3.5 hours, and it has recently been reduced to 2.7 hours

While treating almost 30% more patients than ever last year, the ETC has significantly reduced waiting times and length of stay. This is even more impressive when you consider patients are sicker upon arrival than before and admitted to the hospital at a higher rate. Kudos to the ETC team and the many supporting departments for demonstrating a special care and passion for quality at Trinity.

Contact for Media Relations:

Mary Muhlbradt
701-857-5116 - phone
701-833-3341 – cell phone
701-857-5683 - fax
mary.muhlbradt@trinityhealth.org

Randy Schwan, Vice President
Marketing and Community Education
701-857-5635 - phone
701-857-5683 - fax
randy.schwan@trinityhealth.org