Case Study: Baptist Health Hardin achieves faster ED throughput and improved patient safety with Stryker Vocera

Enhancing Emergency Department Workflows and Safety with Hands-free Communication

Baptist Health Hardin, a 300-bed integrated health system in central Kentucky, doubled its emergency department footprint in 2018 (from 27 to 65 rooms), which dispersed clinical teams and undermined fast, bedside communication. Leadership found smartphones inadequate for the fast-paced ED and needed a hands-free solution to maintain connection, safety and workflow efficiency.

Implementing Vocera wearable, voice‑controlled devices and the Vocera app let clinicians call people or roles, broadcast trauma and sepsis alerts, and summon help discreetly. The change improved key metrics substantially — for example, antibiotic timing for ED sepsis improved 62.4% (141 → 53 minutes), door‑to‑room times improved 63.3% (49 → 18 minutes), left‑without‑being‑seen rates fell 71.4% (5.6% → 1.6%), and ED lab turnaround improved ~44% — while supporting PPE communication, staff safety and better patient experience.

Baptist Health Hardin

Steve White

Assistant Vice President of Operations