The Emergency Department at DCH Regional Medical Center is the only hospital in central west Alabama that provides full emergency services, including trauma care. Because of this it has a demanding patient load. In an effort to increase patient satisfaction and reduce the length of time required to receive treatment, the hospital decided to streamline the care into two divisions, primary care and trauma.

The design was all about patient flow and staff flexing between the two areas. Segregating the primary care patients from the trauma patients created a “fast track” system of care. This was achieved by having separate waiting rooms, exam rooms, nurse stations and staff for the two departments.