What Makes a Great Emergency Department?

By Emily Tupa, BSN, RN, CEN
Director of Emergency Services
Methodist Charlton Medical Center

Sometimes you’re fortunate in your career to be in the right place at the right time to experience a truly wonderful place to work. I’m happy to say that’s my situation in the emergency department (ED) at Methodist Charlton Medical Center.

Like any work environment, people make the difference — and the dedicated ED staff here is truly amazing. Compassionate, caring, and extremely competent, their patient dedication is second to none. Collaboration and caring for each other make this team highly productive and effective for our patients, for the hospital, and for each other.

Every ED can be a challenging and stressful place to work, and the Methodist Charlton ED is no exception. But our highly skilled team of physicians, nurses, and caregivers meets the challenges and exceeds expectations day in and day out. The result is a community resource that our patients have come to rely on for their health and well-being.

The Affordable Care Act has placed hospital EDs in the spotlight. Providing the right care at the right time with the right resources is our team’s primary focus. This will help us work to achieve optimum outcomes and reduce readmissions, a goal shared by insurers, regulators, patients, payers, and the hospital.

Of course, a great ED is shaped to a large degree by the hospital itself and the organization’s culture. Methodist Charlton’s culture breeds excellence and innovation. This has led to the hospital receiving many awards and recognitions, including:

• Recognition from The Joint Commission as one of the Top Performers on Key Quality Measures^® for achieving exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and stroke
• Honored as a top performer for heart attack care by the Dallas County STEMI System of Care, ranking No. 1 in door-to-balloon average in the county in the third quarter of 2012, with an average of just over 50 minutes, far ahead of the national goal of 90 minutes
• Recognition from the American College of Cardiology Foundation with the NCDR Action Registry^®-GWTG™ Platinum Performance Achievement award for the hospital’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients.

Another indicator of a successful ED is the corps of emergency physicians who provide around-the-clock care. How would I describe our ED physicians? Many adjectives come to mind — energetic, fun, smart, motivated, and compassionate.

Can you tell that I love my job, the people I work with, the patients we serve, and the community that we call home? Absolutely! So what are you waiting for? I’m always looking for nurses to join our great team of caregivers. We value clinicians who have a positive attitude, are engaged, and are dependable. Most of all, I look for nurses who are kind, compassionate, and who thrive as members of our high-performing team. We have a great future ahead of us, and I’m so glad I’ve been given the opportunity to lead this department to be the best.

If you’re looking for the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, it’s time to choose Methodist Health System. Learn more by visiting Jobs.MethodistHealthSystem.org.

© Methodist Health System

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