Success Story: Atlanta Fertility Clinic
May 23, 2023
Clinic Streamlines Nurse Scheduling at Four Clinic Locations with ScheduleAnywhere
Customer
Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine provides full diagnostic testing and all therapies for state-of-the-art infertility treatment, as well as full evaluations and treatment of polycystic ovarian disease, premature ovarian insufficiency, hirsutism, recurrent pregnancy loss, endometriosis, and complicated reproductive hormone problems. Additionally, the clinic offers psychological counseling, acupuncture, and nutritional counseling services. ACRM fertility centers are based in Atlanta, Ga. with four office locations in the Atlanta area.
Challenge
Nurse managers at the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine were using Excel spreadsheets to create schedules for clinical service’s nurses at four clinic locations, which was a time-intensive process. A PDF of the schedule was emailed to each nurse, who would then print it and refer to the paper schedule to see when and where they were scheduled to work. When changes were made to the schedule, a manager would email the revised schedule to nurses. This made it difficult for managers to know whether each nurse had the most current schedule information. If nurses were not referring to the most up-to-date schedule, they would report to the wrong location. This resulted in improper staffing levels and understaffed shifts.
Schedule requests were submitted through the clinic’s payroll system or via email. Because the requests were in two locations, and managers had multiple emails to keep track of, time-off and other schedule requests were often overlooked.
When a nurse called in sick, it was the managers’ responsibility to fill the open shift. To do this, managers had to reference the paper schedule and sort through the information to find available nurses who were qualified to fill the shift. They would then begin the cumbersome process of calling each nurse until they found one who was willing to cover the open shift.
“Before we began using ScheduleAnywhere, I would email the schedule to everyone. Every time there were changes, I’d create a new PDF and send out the revised schedule. If the nurses weren’t referring to the most current schedule, they would go to the wrong location.” Mikesha Middlebrook
Solution
The Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine implemented ScheduleAnywhere as their clinical service’s staff scheduling solution. With the new system, nurses have 24/7 access to the most current schedule via ScheduleAnywhere’s mobile app. Schedules can be developed, managed, and viewed remotely by anyone with permission and shared with employees and managers at each clinic.
Nurses can now submit cover, swap, time-off and other schedule requests online. The appropriate manager is notified and can see whether the request conflicts with any previously scheduled shift. The manager can accept or deny the request, and the schedule is immediately updated to reflect changes. The nurse or nurses whose schedule is affected by a change will receive a notification.
When a nurse calls in sick, managers can now access the schedule on their computers, phones or any mobile device and instantly see who is scheduled at each clinic. They can message individuals, all employees, or a select group of qualified and available nurses to fill the open shift.
“When an employee makes a request in ScheduleAnywhere, it shows up right on the schedule. If I’m not working on that schedule yet, it will remind me of the request when I get there. Previously, I had to keep up with a million different emails.” Mikesha Middlebrook
Key Features & Benefits
- Access real-time schedules anytime, anywhere
- Submit and manage requests online
- Fill open shifts fast
ScheduleAnywhere is the ideal staff scheduling solution for clinics and hospitals. Learn more and request your free 30-day trial today.
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