Communication and Sustainment Strategy – Memorial Hospital

Overview:
Memorial hospital will be rolling out a new online, patient triage system in the ER as a
response to an incident that occurred in the waiting room that resulted in a negative outcome.
The new system will be initiated to the hospital in stages with Phase 1 implementation being
introduced and launched to 100 ER nurses within six months. Memorial hospital has identified a
need for improvement in patient wait times across their health care network and to reduce the
capacity of ERs during peak times that causes undue stress on the staff and organization. The
new online, patient triage system will serve to automate several aspects of triage such as a sign-
in and tracking system, appropriate identification and redirection of patients to other areas,
generate transfer documentation and tracking of patient progress from multiple locations to a
single system. The implementation of the new system will reflect on improvements to overall
infrastructure of the hospital workflow and provide ongoing support to nursing staff in the ER.

Desired Outcomes:
The new online patient triage system will reduce overall wait times in the Memorial Hospital
health care network and appropriately manage several layers of workflow across multiple
departments and work areas. Phase 1 implementation and training for 100 ER nurses will occur
within 6 months with the subsequent initiation of the new system to the ER.

The introduction of this new system will also decrease work load for nursing staff which will
increase engagement in continuing education, training and development. The successful
implementation of the new system will also reduce turnover rates and burnout of nurses while
increasing patient safety and treatment quality.

Communication Plan:

When What – To whom – Target What level – From whom – Lead How – Why –
Evaluation Communication group or Organizationa commissioning Communicatio Purpose of
Phase product/informati individuals/positio l level of office staff with n means (in Communicatio
on n communicatio name/position what way) n
n
Analysis Project Key Stakeholders Upper Project Manager In-person Identify
Charter/Needs Management interviews, e- organizational
Analysis mail and needs and
follow up call purpose of
training
initiation
Planning Draft Project Plan SMEs, Key Management Project In-person Information
Stakeholders Manager interview, e- gathering,
mail and project
follow up call planning,
deadline
setting
Planning Final Project Plan SMEs, Key All levels of Project Manager E-mail Inform
Stakeholders, Management relevant
Management (Staff management
Development) staff of
implementatio
n plans
 Development Prototype Training Project Manager, Management Designers/Develope E-mail Communicate
Materials Staff Development / Technical rs overall plan
Manager Management and progress
of training
materials
Development Debrief Meeting Designers/Develope Technical and Project Manager E-mail Relay
Notes rs management communicatio
n between
stakeholders,
SMEs and
technical
development
staff
Implementatio Launch All staff All levels of Project Manager / E-mail, Social Inform staff
n Announcement employees Staff Development Media purpose of
Manager Campaign, training
Bulletin Board objective
Implementatio Implementation All Staff All level of Project E-mail, Social Inform
n Announcement employees Manager/Staff Media auxiliary staff
Development Campaign, (cleaning staff,
Manager Public graphics etc.,) and
public of new
program to
come
Data Data debrief Stakeholders, Management Staff Development E-mail, follow Observations
Collection documentation Project Manager level Manager up and reflection
video/phone of program
call implementatio
n
Data analysis Feedback surveys Stakeholders, Management Staff Development E-mail, follow Convey
and survey Project Manager level Manager up feedback from
video/phone staff after
call training
Evaluation Final Evaluation Stakeholders Upper Staff Development E-mail, in- Informing
Report Management Manager/Project person stakeholders
Manager presentation of final
evaluation and
reports
Evaluation Sustainment Staff Development Management Project Manager E-mail, follow Finalize
Strategy Manager up sustainment
video/phone strategy with
call management
for on going
support

Key Messages:

Stakeholders: This intervention, followed by communication and sustainment strategy is meant

to identify a need, propose a training intervention and follow-up with evaluation of program.
This program is a direct result of an incident that occurred in the ER that has accelerated the
implementation of a new online, patient triage system. This will happen over the course of the
next 6 months and leading into Phase 1 implementation of the new system. The
communication will outline the information gathering, implementation, data analysis and final
evaluation of the training intervention.

Staff Development Manager(s): The communication and sustainment strategy are to keep clear
and consistent communication between stakeholders, project manager, design and
development team and nursing staff. The communication plan will support the needs of
informing staff of training, updates with live information in regards to implementation and
ongoing support for training.

Nursing Staff and Involved Staff: The training intervention serves to train and professionally
develop nursing staff to be proficient and implement the new system. This training is being
supported by all levels of management and communicate the desire for the hospital’s efforts to
improve work standards and reduce additional work load of nursing staff. The new system will
also be supported by management with ongoing training initiatives and improvement to
workflow so nursing staff have the necessary support measures to continue their work and
continuing education.

Sustainment Strategy:
- Abbreivated program for managers to conduct feedback surveys for staff that are fully
immersed in using the new system and training for new staff
- Senior nurses to be included in the abbreviated program for managers and involved with
feedback, improvements and updates with the system
- Annual in-service programs for nurses and scheduled training for new nurses to standardize
the usage, knowledge and key updates to the online system
- Feedback forum for nursing staff to express concerns, appreciations and suggestions for new
training initiatives related or unrelated to the current system
- eLearning modules perpetually available for all staff (especially for new staff whom are
training, or have not yet onboarded)
- Mentorship program from management to support staff and absentee staff from the initial
training (new staff)
- Periodic technology maintenance and system updates to ensure that external factors (such as
slow computers) does not impede training
- Adhere to communication plan/strategy to ensure correct communication is provided to and
from the appropriate departments