Date Approved
4-29-2022
Graduate Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Nursing (D.N.P.)
Degree Program
College of Nursing
First Advisor
Dr. Dianne Slager
Second Advisor
Dr. Donna Rinker
Academic Year
2021/2022
Abstract
Background: Three Midwest rural community hospital emergency departments’ existing guidelines for behavioral health patients are not meeting the organization’s needs.
Objective: To perform gap analyses of three Midwest rural community hospitals’ emergency departments followed by the development of a behavioral health resource toolkit to improve care and reduce length of stay for behavioral health patients.
Methods: The project included an organizational assessment, literature review, and performance gap analyses of three rural community hospital emergency departments. Specific unidentifiable cohort data was gathered from October 2021 to December 2021. The data outcomes were used to provide vital information for the organization and assisted in the development of the toolkit.
Results: The gap analyses of the three rural community hospitals’ emergency departments found that behavioral health patients waiting for an inpatient behavioral health bed had an average length of stay of 29 to 32 hours, while behavioral health patients discharged home experienced an average length of stay of four to eight hours.
Conclusions: The gap analyses findings demonstrated a need for the organization to develop a behavioral health resource toolkit. A toolkit will provide emergency department staff with resources to guide care for behavioral health patients experiencing long lengths of stay.
Keywords: Behavioral health toolkit, gap analyses, emergency department length of stay, quality improvement.
ScholarWorks Citation
Thomas, Shawna, "Behavioral Health Toolkit Developed After a Gap Analysis of Three Rural Emergency Departments: A Quality Improvement Project" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations. 48.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/dissertations/48
