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As a not-for-profit community hospital, we feel it is important to share with our community the planning and project implementation that is always underway to bring high quality services to the area as well as a improve the patient experience for all. Below you will find summaries of our past strategic initiatives as well as quarterly updates for the initiatives being undertaken this fiscal year. Should you have any questions about these projects, please contact Atlantic General Hospital administration at 410-641-9600.
View our Strategic Plan for 2011-2015
Fiscal Year 2013
Southern Sussex County
Vascular Center of Excellence
Maryland Broadband
Fiscal Year 2012
Emergency Room Expansion
AGHS Loyalty Cards and Kiosks
Center of Excellence for Joint Surgery
Kronos
Project Management Software
Fiscal 2013 Budget
Our 2013 fiscal year (operating year) began on July 1. This year, we are focusing on three primary strategic initiatives: Expanding our services in the southern Sussex County area; creating a Vascular Access Center of Excellence for patients undergoing hemodialysis; and improving our IT connectivity in the region by investing in connecting to the new Maryland Broadband fiber optic infrastructure.
Southern Sussex County
Sussex County has one of the fastest-growing populations in the region served by Atlantic General Hospital and Health System. To meet the needs of the community and support our mission to improve access to services, we are expanding the medical office in Selbyville, where internist Dr. Nhu Tran currently practices, to include specialties such as neurology and women’s health. Additionally, Atlantic General will be improving communication to residents and visitors regarding available healthcare services and offices located in Ocean View, Selbyville, and the Atlantic ImmediCare walk-in clinic in Millsboro Rite Aid.
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Vascular Center of Excellence
We are also focusing on improving our capacity and equipment for accommodating patients who need access for their hemodialysis care. General surgeon, Alae Zarif, M.D., is leading this effort with us, and we are in the process of selecting and ordering equipment for our surgical services team. Due to the high incidence of diabetes in our community, and the high proportion of individuals over the age of 65, we care for an increasing number of patients who require hemodialysis in our community.
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Maryland Broadband
Due to our expansion of electronic medical records (EMR) throughout the community, our conversion to all-digital imaging in radiology over the past six years, and other uses for the internet infrastructure in our community, the existing community IT network infrastructure has become over-burdened with all of the traffic (AGH/HS traffic, banking traffic, credit card use traffic in retail settings, etc.) Over the past year, the Maryland Broadband initiative, funded by federal and state grants, laid fiber optic cable along Rt. 113 that connects our region to the rest of Maryland. This project is still being completed, and few “terminal branches” from the main fiber have been connected. This year, we are planning to connect the hospital, the James G. Barrett Medical Office Building, and some of our physician offices to this fiber. This will greatly enhance the speed of our connectivity for our EMR data sharing.
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Fiscal 2012 Budget
Emergency Room Expansion
With the number of Emergency Room visits continuing to rise, Atlantic General Hospital recently created a pilot program to redesign patient flow, converting two registration areas to triage rooms, where patients are first evaluated, and turning the existing triage room into a protocol room. The protocol room is a space where treatment and diagnostics such as blood draws and EKGs can begin, allowing for a more continuous flow of patients even when the emergency room beds are full. This plan has reduced Emergency Room wait times and increased the community’s access to emergency care. Planning for a more permanent change will begin in the fall of 2011.
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AGHS Loyalty Cards and Kiosks
This fiscal year, computer kiosks will be placed in each of the Atlantic General Health System offices. The new system will offer patients the ability to check in for an appointment, update their personal information such as address, marital status and insurance information as necessary, and pay their co-pays for the appointment – all by using their patient loyalty card. The system will help ensure that the most accurate patient information and medical histories are maintained within the electronic health record. The kiosks will feature easy-to-use large button touch screen navigation, PalmSecure identification, patient summary screens, a credit card magnetic swipe, and multi-language support.
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Center of Excellence for Joint Surgery
This fiscal year, Atlantic General Hospital is continuing to improve the patient care experience in its Center for Joint Surgery with the goal of evolving the program into a nationally-recognized Center of Excellence that provides patients with the ultimate healing environment – world-class physicians, specially chosen for skill in orthopedic joint replacement, combined with an effective program designed to educate and rehabilitate, through advanced preoperative care, enhanced inpatient experience, and coordinated after-care. Atlantic General Hospital Joint Center specializes in knee, hip and shoulder replacement.
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Kronos
Kronos is a staff scheduling software system that furthers Atlantic General Hospital’s e-strategy plan to increase efficiency of hospital operations, thereby allowing the organization to intensify their focus on improving the overall patient care experience.
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Project Management Software
This plan will establish a Project Management Office (PMO) for information services, which is a software program that will be used to track Atlantic General’s strategic initiatives and provide standardized status updates for all projects. This initiative is of tremendous importance in a time when large-scale information technology projects are the pathway to a more patient-centered model of care and improved quality measures for healthcare organizations nationwide.
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| Millsboro, DE |
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| Ocean Pines |
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