Most Efficient Utilization of Staff at UPMC Hospital

UPMC Presbyterian Hospital is considering future staffing needs for their new emergency room plan. They want to make sure that:

patients do not have to wait for extended time periods before being given a room
the staff is not underutilized each blood test is less than 15 minutes, in compliance with a UPMC policy

Students at the University of Pittsburgh used Simio to assess the future Emergency Room. Students considered the physical layout of the emergency room, the process from the moment a patient walks in the door – including times for each step in the admittance process, staffing and staff duties. Students created various scenarios like mass casualties, a minor wide-spread endemic, an viral outbreak (lots of blood work required) and a regular week at the emergency room.

The students ran all the scenarios. The conclusion showed that the planned staffing would be adequate, as long as they hire an assistant dedicated to moving the blood from the draw site to the next step in the process.