Transport Associates - The Unsung Heroes

Patient Transport is one of the most valuable and critical frontline services that can be provided within our healthcare organizations. Such services are provided at UChicago Medicine - Ingall’s Memorial Hospital, located in Harvey, Illinois, where I perform the role of Director of Patient Transport, for Crothall Healthcare.

Our transport department averages approximately 90,000 transport trips annually, servicing all patient care and treatments areas throughout the organization. Implementing this service line into a healthcare facility allows for the registered nurses and certified nursing assistants to remain at the bedside to focus on patient care treatment plans without having to figure out the logistics of trying to get patients to and from test sites or procedural areas. Keeping medical staff at the bedside can assist in increasing patient experience and satisfaction scores, decreasingpatient falls, timely rounding, quicker response time to call lights, etc. Transport services also assists with improving organizational throughput, to ensure patients are efficiently flowing through the organization while receiving appropriate care.

The knowledge required to perform such duties is minimal, considering it is a frontline service position requiring no prior work experience or educational achievements. However, there are valuable qualities that are to be considered when interviewing potential candidates. Obtaining associates who possess a charismatic, energetic, caring, and outgoing attitude is valuable when developing a winning team. The objective is to provide exceptional transport services throughout a patient’s entire hospital stay. Cultivating a well-rounded team, of individuals who are in the position for the right reasons, tends to create positive impacts on our patients and their overall experience.

Transport associates also play a key role in patient experience. A patient’s experience is important because healthcare outcomes tend to improve when patients are receiving better care. Transporters contribute to a patient’s experience because they spend approximately 20-35 minutes with each patient they are assigned to transport. While the interactions are minimal and for short periods of time, they can be quite valuable and impactful. During these interactions, it is important that a patient feels seen, safe, respected, and cared for.

Crothall uses its Positive Impressions training to prepare transport associates to connect with their patients, using a simple and light conversation about a show on the television, flowers on the windowsill, sports, or the weather outside. The goal is to distract a patient from the reality of their current medical situation. 

This conversation, if done correctly, could change the perception of that patient’s day, giving them a positive outlook on their medical stance or the unknown they have yet to face.

From a technology standpoint we utilize a healthcare software program called EPIC, to properly track, monitor, and document patient movement throughout. It is a very simple and user-friendly program that allows our end users to enter transport requests in real time or for future appointments. Once the entry is done, or if an appointment is released, an available transporter is automatically assigned. The system allows for either auto or manual dispatching, within our facility I prefer auto dispatching as it helps to keep things moving at a faster and more efficient pace. However, should there be a need for any escalations or prioritizations to take place we have a dispatcher, located at our National Performance Center, located in Knoxville, Tennessee, that is overseeing our transport board 24/7. The associates themselves carry smartphone devices, called Rovers, that provide them with their transport assignments.

Once the transport task is received the associate is provided with all the impertinent information that is required for them to do their job successfully. This information includes the patient’s name, MRN, DOB, weight, isolation precautions, mode of travel, origin, and destination. The best feature about the Rover device is its capability to scan a patient’s armband, for verification and patient safety purposes. Once the transporter has completed their assignment, they simply select the “complete” option and then they are automatically assigned to their next task. 

Transport associates are extremely valuable assets within our healthcare organizations that often go unappreciated or unvalued for the services they provide. The bees to the hive, as I like to call them, keep everything flowing efficiently in order to decrease the potential for delays in the care that is being provided to our patients. It is my belief that without their dedication and strong efforts, a healthcare organization would be significantly impacted. Frontline heroes consist of more than just our medical personnel. Our patient transport teams are also frontline heroes as they too contribute to patient care, their medical outcomes, and the overall success of our healthcare organizations.