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How to set up an effective rapid response system

Quality Improvement Monitor, July 18, 2008

Small hospitals struggling to implement a rapid response system may want to take a cue from East Texas Medical Center in Athens, a 28-bed facility that saw its calls for code blues—as well as its mortality rates—drop after it instituted an emergency team.

The medical center’s effort began in 2006, when leadership formed a team to address the issues by looking at baseline data, Melissa Lehman, RN, MSN, CPHQ, said during HCPro’s May 14 audioconference, “Rapid Response Systems for Small Hospitals: Tips and Tools to Overcome a Lack of Resources.”

The team included leaders from the floor, the ED, and the ICU.

“We initially looked at what resources were available and not available for nursing,” Lehman said. The hospital discovered it had no formal education in place, and staff members didn’t know who or when to call for additional help.

Staff members adopted a motto of “call early, call often” to encourage nurses to call if they felt at all worried, Lehman said. Through posters, badge buddies (a small paper with the details for a required call), and continual education, staff members learned more about when to make a call to the rapid response team.

Access the full story in the June issue of Quality Improvement Report; access is free for subscribers, nonsubscribers can purchase a copy of the story for $10.

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