where have all the people gone? increase the occupancy of the crisis stabilization unit (csu)

A Rapid-Cycle Change Project to Increase Admissions

WHERE HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE

GONE?


Westbrook Health Services, Inc. is a comprehensive community behavioral health center serving individuals with mental health, substance abuse and

developmental disabilities in eight counties in West Virginia.


GONE?


Empowering people to achieve their greatest potential, Westbrook Health Services, Inc. is the industry leader in providing comprehensive care to individuals with mental health, developmental,

substance abuse and addiction challenges.

Mission Statement


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• serves an 8 county area with a total population

of 168,800

• 7,796 individuals served annually


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Crisis Stabilization Unit

• serving individuals with mental health and substance abuse issues (detox)• 10 beds• voluntary admission • average length of stay is 7 days• annual budget of $810,000


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What keeps the CEO awake at night?

answer: a low occupancy rate at the CSU


GONE?


The aim of the change project was to


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The Change Team

Suzanne EvansCSU Director and team leader

Tim BarnettAdult Mental Health Program Director and referral source

Heather Williams CSU Administrative Assistant and data queen

Abby PierceCrisis Coordination Case Manager and referral source


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The Issue

For a 6 month period (2-1-09 through 7-31-09) prior to the initiation of the change project the CSU operated at

an average of 50% occupancy.


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The Goal

Increase the occupancy rate of the CSU to 70%.


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The Business Case

At 50% occupancy the revenue of the CSU was approximately $2,680 a day. Increasing the occupancy to

70% would increase the revenue to $3,752 a day, an increase of $1,072 a day.

Bottom line – a 20% increase in occupancy would result in a 40% increase in revenue.


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The Walk-through

The walk-through revealed that the CSU staff members were taking too much time to respond to referrals for admission and admissions were being

lost to other agencies who responded more quickly.


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Plan

Increase occupancy at the CSU by decreasing the wait time for a

response when a referral is made.


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Do

The CSU staff will take no more than 15 minutes to respond to a referral

with a yes or no answer, accept or not accept.


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Study

For the period that the change was implemented, the occupancy rate at the

CSU increased from 50% to 70%.


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Act

Implement the change. The CSU staff will continue to respond to referrals for admission within 15 minutes or less.


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What We Learned

Our referral sources reported to us that they were pleased with the shorter response time, even if the referral was not accepted for admission, and that

they would be more inclined to refer patients to the CSU in the future.


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Sustainability Plan

The CSU staff are recording the time that a referral is received and the time that a response is given on each referral form. The CSU director is

reviewing the response time for each referral.


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Sustainability Plan cont.

The occupancy rate of the CSU is continually monitored by the CSU administrative

assistant and reported to the change team and the CSU staff every 2 weeks.


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Sustainability Plan cont.

The change team intervenes if the occupancy rate of the CSU falls below

60% for a 4 week period.


GONE?


Contact Information

Suzanne L. Evans, M.A., LSWCrisis Stabilization Unit Program Director

2121 7th StreetParkersburg, WV 26101304-485-1721, ext. 159

[email protected]

where have all the people gone? increase the occupancy of the crisis stabilization unit (csu)

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