Curaspan Health Group Helps Sentara Leigh Increase Patient Satisfaction

June 1, 2011

Medical Care Manager Karen Ward-Lilly, RN, MPH, CCM, oversees 13 case managers and attributes much of her team’s success to Curaspan. Patient satisfaction scores have improved each year over the last two years at Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk, Va., a 250-bed facility that’s part of Sentara Healthcare, one of the top-ranked integrated health-care networks in the country.

“We couldn’t do what we do without Curaspan,” says Ward-Lilly. Sentara Leigh ratings improved 10 percent in an annual National Research Corporation survey of patient perspectives on care.

“We’ve been able to free up case managers’ time to do what they’re good at-speaking with patients and their families about best next steps, which ultimately improves clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction,” says Ward-Lilly, whose facility handles 1,200 discharges each month. “Even with our volume, we’re able to find beds quickly and get patients where they need to be next.”

More Care Coordination, Less Administration.

Ward-Lilly’s team relies on the industry-leading Curaspan software-as-a-service (SaaS) application. When Ward-Lilly saw how easy it was to use, she trained one secretary to input patient data and send referrals to post-acute providers. That freed up case managers from administrative tasks.

“eDischarge allows us to focus on care coordination,” says Ward-Lilly. “The technology allows my case managers to see more patients and spend more time ensuring they’re getting the best care, and that shows in our improved patient-satisfaction scores.”

Increased Staff Satisfaction Too.

While boosting patient satisfaction has always been a Sentara Leigh priority, Ward-Lilly recognizes that with that achievement comes improved staff satisfaction. By utilizing the portfolio of 30 standard weekly and monthly reports available with eDischarge, her team is able to easily track and quantify the impact it’s having.

“The reports make it easier for my case managers to see how they’re doing,” says Ward-Lilly. “All of their placement data is in one place and simple to read.”

“And it’s helpful for me to look at the reports that show referrals by case manager. This allows me to look at patterns and trends. What’s really nice is the ability to view the data in the Excel format. Simple, easy to digest.”

” I saw the benefits of eDischarge^®right away. I can walk into a patient’s room, show the number of post-acute facilities in the area and ask where they would like to go. The patients truly benefit from this. ”

Karen Ward-Lilly, RN, MPH, CCM Manager, Medical Care Management

Sentara Leigh Hospital