Impact of a hospital unit-based leadership triad on key performance metrics

We piloted a triad leadership model consisting of a unit-based hospitalist medical director, nurse manager, and case manager on five medical inpatient units. The purpose of this explanatory case study was to determine what, if any, impact the triad team would have on commonly measured operational and quality metrics: observed to expected length of stay, likelihood to recommend the hospital, hand-washing compliance, all-cause 30-day readmission rates, percent of discharges by noon, and percent of discharge to skilled nursing facilities. Over the course of a year triad units demonstrated improvement in most metrics in comparison to the baseline period. While trends for the metrics were favorable, most striking was a statistically significant improvement in the observed to expected length of stay ratio (1.25 to 1.15, p < 0.001) which is the organization's most widely used marker for efficient hospital patient flow.As a result of these sustained operational, safety, quality, and financial performance metrics the model is being generalized to other medical as well as surgical units, including our observation unit. Intangible benefits include creating leadership development path for hospitalist, nursing, and case management colleagues.