Publication Date
5-5-2019
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Chen, Gary||Nguyen, Christine||Damodaran, Purushothaman
Degree Name
B.S. (Bachelor of Science)
Legacy Department
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Abstract
This paper covers the background, methods, and results of the Environmental Services (EVS) Throughput Improvement project at Northwestern Medicine’s Kishwaukee Hospital. Patient throughput at hospitals is closely related to the experience of its patients. At Kishwaukee hospital, increased demand for inpatient services resulted in high occupancy rates and thereby undesirable patient throughput patterns. The project addresses patient throughput related problems at the hospital by seeking to improve the EVS bed turnaround process. This process is defined as the time from when the EVS system is notified that a bed is ready for turnaround, to the time that the room is prepared for the next patient. The primary objective of the project is to reduce the cycle time of the process. The project considers improvements to the scheduling, communication, and standardization of this process by delivering data supported process improvements, industry best practices, and tools for improved communication and feedback. The project succeeds in sustainably reducing the cycle time for the bed turnaround process. Additionally, the project analyzes the effects of factors related to patient throughput using an ARENA discrete event simulation model. The factors analyzed are the bed turnaround time, the patient discharge time, and the number of hospital beds.
Recommended Citation
Ghrayeb, Leena O., "EVS Throughput Improvement" (2019). Honors Capstones. 502.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/studentengagement-honorscapstones/502
Leena Ghrayeb 2020 .pdf (2.450Mb)
Ghrayeb_Honors Capstone.docx (3665 kB)
Ghrayeb_Honors Capstone.docx (3.579Mb)
Extent
51 pages
Language
eng
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
