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Lorain Performance Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Amazing patient care Creating the future

As part of Mercy Health — Lorain’s goal to decrease In an effort to support the ministry-wide focus on service
readmission rates to an O/E of 1.0, appointments for line development, and to improve 2018 profitability, Mercy
follow-up with the patient’s PCP or specialists are Health — Lorain restructured its leadership team to focus
scheduled for high-risk for readmission patients. Those on five clinical service lines: orthopaedics, neurosciences,
patients are identified each morning and that list is gastroenterology, cardiology and oncology. Each service
provided to the unit secretaries. Once a discharge order is line now has a dyad leadership team composed of a
entered, the unit secretaries then make the follow-up physician medical leader and an administrative leader.
appointments with the patient’s physician. Any barriers to Three of the teams have already formulated growth plans
making appointments are communicated to our Chief that are expected to have a significant financial impact in
Medical Officer, who assists with reducing those hurdles. 2018. All of the teams are also working on a 3 – 5-year
With the daily focus on making follow-up appointments, business plan that will seek to improve quality, market
Mercy Health — Lorain started 2017 at 41.5% and ended at share and profitability.
61.9%, a % increase of over 49%.
Fostering healthy communities
Operational excellence
Since 1994, the Mercy Health Parish Nursing Program has
Mercy Health — Lorain started the journey to improve RN been extending the healing ministry of Jesus into faith
turnover with an RN vacancy rate of 9.8% in 2015, an RN communities throughout Lorain County. Every weekend,
turnover rate of 19.9% and high use of agency nurses. The throughout over 100 congregations, the staff of 2 full-time
employee engagement surveys indicated “having enough Parish Nurses and over 300 volunteers perform screenings
staff” and a “manageable workload” as priorities. The that are focused on chronic disease prevention, with a
nursing leadership team prioritized efforts around not only specific focus on diabetes, obesity, heart disease and
recruitment but also retention. Many initiatives were stroke. Additionally, classes and education sessions
implemented, including quarterly RN recruitment fairs, a around weight loss/nutrition and exercise are also held. In
program to transition LPNs to RNs, open communication 2017, Mercy Health Parish Nursing conducted health
and purposeful rounding with staff. As a result, Mercy screenings for over 12,000 people, held 150 nutrition
Health — Lorain has been able to eliminate all nurse classes and had over 20,000 people attend the free or
agency usage, reduce the vacancy rate to 3.8% and low-cost exercise classes.
reduce the RN voluntary turnover to 12.1%.

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