Renovations reduce wait times in VA emergency room

  • Published
  • By Kendahl Johnson
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Average wait times in the VA's emergency room has been drastically reduced.

Maureen Casey, 377th MDG's Health Care Plans & Analysis director, said wait times have dropped to under an hour. They were as high as two hours with 10 percent of patients leaving before being seen.

"This reduction in wait times has been particularly beneficial to active duty members and their families who live on Kirtland Air Force Base," Casey said.

The reduction in ER wait times is due to some major renovations that have taken place over the past year. The renovations focused on patient flow, evaluation and treatment. Planned construction will add additional observation beds and equipment.

"What this means is that for short-term observation, patients might not have to be admitted to an inpatient ward," Casey said.

One catalyst for the change is a strong partnership between the 377th Medical Group and the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System. This partnership, called a Joint Venture, started more than 20 years ago and has evolved to better meet the needs of patients. The collaboration has remained focused on providing the best care anywhere for veterans, active duty members and their families.

"These teams collaborate on direct patient care and perform head-to-toe patient assessments and therapies," said Lt. Col. Courtney Finkbeiner, 377th MDG's chief nurse. "The result is fully qualified active duty nurses and medical technicians with razor-sharp clinical skills working together, as well as a savings of more than $170,000 in temporary duty costs."

Finkbeiner said nurses and medical technicians assigned to the 377th MDG have started clinical rotations in VA medical/surgical unit.

"Both organizations provide superior health care to their populations, and combined forces has benefited beneficiaries tremendously," she said. "We have defined the concept of 'one team, one fight.'"