Hospital improves ED efficiency, reduces nurse turnover

As part of an initiative to improve emergency department efficiency following the COVID-19 pandemic, RWJBarnabus in West Orange, N.J. gave experienced nurses triage responsibilities. The health system moved patients to beds as soon as possible and harnessed real-time data from its electronic medical record system to measure the percentage of patients who left without being seen, arrival to room and arrival to seeing a provider. In addition, RWJBarnabus began electronic handoffs to improve communication between physicians and nurses. In addition to decreasing patient wait times and getting them into rooms sooner, improving ED efficiency decreased nursing turnover rates and improved engagement. The percentage of patients leaving the ED without being seen dropped from 2.64% to 0.5% of patients. (HealthLeaders Media article, 7/22/25)