Georgia Health Trims Labor Tab

By reducing overtime and dependence on contract nurses, Northeast Georgia Health System says it has saved $901,000 in one year. The health system, which comprises 557 inpatient beds, and 261 skilled nursing beds, serves almost 700,000 people in more than 13 counties across the region. The delivery system also encompasses primary care offices, outpatient rehabilitation centers, and a satellite cancer treatment center. Northeast Georgia credited its savings in part to use of nurse-staffing software, AcuityPlus, from QuadraMed.  Key factors included a centralized model of nurse staffing and resource management, according to Nancy Barton, director of central staffing at the health system. Northeast Georgia used the nurse staffing system to assign the right number of nurses and corresponding skill levels to its departments.


--Gary Baldwin