Children's Healthcare of Atlanta set a new benchmark for large-scale hospital moves Sept. 29 when it successfully transferred more than 200 patients to its new $1.5 billion Arthur M. Blank Hospital in less than 10 hours.
The new hospital's level 1 pediatric trauma center was up and running the same day, with more than 100 patients seen in the emergency department within the first 12 hours after opening. The undertaking marked one of the largest pediatric hospital moves in a single day and involved assiduous coordination and planning at all levels of the organization, said Linda Matzigkeit, chief administrative officer at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Becker's recently caught up with Ms. Matzigkeit to learn more about the level of planning and coordination involved in the major transfer, and how the new hospital fits into the organization's growth strategy.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited lightly for clarity and length.
Question: This transition has been two years in the making. What's the biggest lesson Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has learned about what it takes to pull off a move of this scale?
Linda Matzigkeit: Meticulous planning, micro-attention to every detail, transparency and communication were essential to achieving this logistical feat — moving 202 patients to the new Arthur M. Blank Hospital in fewer than 10 hours, culminating one of the largest single-day pediatric hospital moves in the country.
We engaged employees, both clinical and non-clinical, from every level within Children’s to be involved in the extensive move planning process, forming multiple transition committees including transition and move planning, technology, patient care, clinical, people and communications and support services. We also formed interdisciplinary committees that were focused on building design, tabletop exercises, move, workforce and training planning.
The move itself involved two major components — moving our patients and moving departments and offices. Working with our logistics consultants, we established a patient move-day plan that included minute-by-minute details with comprehensive patient sequencing and exact paths of travel, transport modality, and resources required for a safe patient transfer process to Arthur M. Blank Hospital. The transport of patients relied on coordination with more than 15 state and local agencies, as well as religious organizations along the move route to ensure traffic conditions yielded a safe transition.
We collaborated with our move consultants to design a detailed plan and move schedule for the materials and equipment being transferred to Arthur M. Blank Hospital. All staff and individual departments were given a detailed office move plan and began relocating non-essential materials, supplies, and equipment prior to patient move day.
Q. Can you walk us through key steps that were taken to minimize disruption to patient care and families' experience?
LM: Throughout the process we maintained multiple touch points with patient families, through our care and clinical teams, child-life specialists and interpreter services to update families and ensure they were aware of the move-day processes.
Q. A move of this size requires a level of alignment and coordination that not all team members may have encountered or been a part of before. How did leaders keep staff engaged and motivated throughout such a major shift — what really worked here?
LM: Engaging staff was critical to a successful transition. We were able to do so in multiple ways to ensure our messages reached all departments, including those involved in the transition as well as across the system.
The hospital ambassador program facilitated information-sharing within frontline teams, allowing peer-level communications liaisons to bring news, updates, and engagement opportunities from the hospital planning directors to their teams impacted by the move.
Regular town hall meetings were implemented to share construction progress, engagement survey results, information about training, dress rehearsals, move planning, technology and more. These town halls were offered in-person, virtually and were recorded to offer a number of options for attendance.
Monthly newsletters provided quick and timely news and updates staff across the system needed as everyone prepared to move. An interactive question submission process via our employee intranet helped staff obtain answers to their transition questions.
Q: Can you share a bit about measuring success: What key performance indicators or metrics is Children's Healthcare of Atlanta using to evaluate the success of the transition to the new hospital?
LM: Following the move, here are some success metrics:
Children’s is proud to report that there were zero safety events.
Children’s moved 202 patients in less than 10 hours.
Children’s transported patients in 65 ambulances and transport vehicles.
About 4,000 total staff and contractors helped support on move day.
Arthur M. Blank Hospital opened on time.
We saw more than 100 patients in our emergency department in the first 12 hours
27 helicopter landings in the first week
Q: How does the new hospital fit into the health system's larger strategy and long-term goals in terms of growth and patient outcomes?
LM: The demand for pediatric specialty care in Georgia continues to grow, and Arthur M. Blank Hospital will help us fill that need, maintaining our longstanding commitment to provide every child access to the quality pediatric care they deserve.
Arthur M. Blank Hospital is the only level 1 pediatric trauma center in the state with 24/7 emergency services and highly skilled trauma capabilities. With 446 licensed beds, Arthur M. Blank Hospital is home to the Children’s Heart Center, one of the largest in the country providing lifesaving heart surgery and care for children, and the nationally recognized Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, a leading cancer center in outcomes, clinical trials and the largest provider of sickle-cell treatment for children in the U.S. We will be able to manufacture cells for leading-edge treatment in the hospital’s new Marcus Center for Cellular Therapy, leading to promising outcomes in the future.
The hospital is part of an expanded North Druid Hills campus that includes the center for advanced pediatrics and our support center that houses our administrative offices. The Children’s footprint extends far beyond this campus, with Scottish Rite and Hughes Spalding Hospitals, urgent care centers, neighborhood locations and Marcus Autism Center.