Case Study: Southwest General Health Center achieves faster patient throughput with Cerner CareAware capacity management solutions

Southwest General Health Center accelerates patient journeys with capacity management solutions

Southwest General Health Center, a 350‑bed hospital in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, faced inefficient, paper‑based patient tracking and workflow bottlenecks that slowed care — including an average 81‑minute wait for bed assignments in 2014 and 6,150 ED patients waiting more than two hours that year. Staff also spent time locating equipment and lacked clear data to pinpoint process delays.

By implementing Cerner CareAware Patient Flow and CareAware Tracking with electronic tags and automated bed management, the hospital automated workflows, improved visibility and removed manual steps. As a result, average time from admission to bed assignment fell to 44 minutes by 2016, ED waits over two hours dropped to 3,256 patients, room turnover and cleaning accelerated, and leadership now uses real‑time data to continuously refine throughput.

Southwest General Health Center

Lori Cihon

Director of Nursing, Inpatient Services