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Students, employees collaborate to identify innovative solutions to discharge processes, patient experience

Hershey Medical Center’s Department of Nursing Research and Penn State College of Medicine partnered for a two-day problem-solving series focused on improvements to the patient discharge process and initiatives to enhance quality and patient experience.

The series was held Oct. 25 and Nov. 2 in the College of Medicine’s Harrell Health Sciences Library Technology Sandbox. Participants included members of the Hershey Medical Center nursing and nursing management teams, College of Medicine students, the Department of Operational Excellence and professionals from across Penn State Health. The program was facilitated by Neuroscience Critical Care Clinical Practice Nurse Leader Nicole Sunderland and Library Multimedia Specialist Eliza Donne.

More than 20 participants attended the Design Thinking workshop on Oct. 25 and Healthcare Hackathon on Nov. 2. Participants worked in groups to identify how the five steps of design (empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test) can be used to improve discharge processes and customer service. Several process solutions were presented to the panel of judges, including enhanced medication education for the patient, improved communication tools to support the patient’s family and a proposed central discharge location. Participants also learned about creating the perfect elevator pitch, distilling complex ideas and best practices to present complex materials.

“The Hackathon was a great opportunity to collaborate with nurses and members of the health care team,” said Pediatric Intermediate Care Unit Staff Nurse Megan Waite, the winner of the Healthcare Hackathon session. “Together, we got to think outside of the box and come up with a solution for a relevant problem. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and innovative learning experience.”

Employees interested in participating in the 2023 Hackathon can contact Eliza Donne.

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