CUSTOMER STORY
Better Scheduling Supports Better Behavioral Health: Exodus Recovery’s Experience
Exodus Recovery, a behavioral health organization providing inpatient and outpatient programs across Southern California communities, has been delivering psychiatric and chemical dependency treatment services for over 20 years.
Open around the clock – 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year – their facilities needed a staffing solution that could ensure the right team was ready to provide the appropriate, necessary care that patients need – no matter the day or time.
For Exodus Recovery’s Crisis Stabilization Center in Fresno, CA, that solution was a healthcare staff scheduling software built by nurses, for nurses – and has been since they started using Inovalon’s Schedule Management in 2017.
From Spreadsheets and Phone Trees to Easier, Faster Scheduling
With Schedule Management, Exodus Recovery has consistent confidence that all shifts are filled, more control (and flexibility) in managing the schedule, and increased time to focus on patients. For the team on the floor, better scheduling is bigger than saying goodbye to spreadsheets and phone trees.
Now, they can trust that the right people are in the right place at the right time, without having to scramble for a last-minute shift fill or call a team member on their day off. They’ve gone from surprise gaps in the schedule to appropriately staffed shifts and improved communication, and they can better pivot as needs shift.
As Marcos Lombera, BSN, RN, Clinical Director, shares, “I’ve been at Exodus Recovery since I was going through RN school, so I was on the other end of the scheduling, and now I’m the one making the schedule. I experienced the chaos of ‘this person didn’t show up, now what do we do?’ and we’d split the call list of nurses to fill the shift – while we were on the floor, because we were the ones who needed coverage. Schedule Management has bridged that gap and significantly improved the quality of communication across our team to ensure staffing.”
Better communication for all
When creating shifts, leaders at Exodus Recovery can now see “where everything is green.” In other words, they can clearly tell which shifts are staffed appropriately and where there’s a gap that needs to be filled thanks to the color coding in Schedule Management.
Knowing the schedule is right makes a real difference. In Lombera’s words, “Seeing a schedule where everything is green is important. We know we have the team that we need, and that we’re safely providing the highest quality of care for individuals who come through our doors.”
And when there is an unexpected call out or shift need, it’s easier than ever to fill the gap. “We have a lot of staff, so when we’re on call we used to have to hunt down information like phone numbers and credentials to work a shift. Now, we can search by names and position and their phone number is right there.”
”Seeing a schedule where everything is green is important. We know we have the team that we need, and that we’re safely providing the highest quality of care for individuals who come through our doors."
Marcos LomberaBSN, RN, Clinical Director
Proper Scheduling Supports Appropriate Care, Especially in Behavioral Health
For patients at Exodus Recovery’s crisis center, better staff scheduling means they’re getting the attentive care they need. Patients here are adult and youth patients in various forms of distress; each person’s situation is unique, requiring focused, compassionate care – which is harder to deliver if understaffed or overworked.
Nurses, administrators, and all staff at Exodus Recovery need each other in order to best care for the patients who need them, and with Schedule Management, they can trust shifts are filled and the schedule is right. More importantly, they can stay within the required staffing protocols for behavioral health.
The crisis unit at Exodus Recovery serves 40 adults and 20 youth, and a well-made schedule helps ensure that they can serve their census. Being understaffed would put the organization at risk of going into diversion – or, turning individuals away because they don’t have the staff on the floor to care for them – which ultimately has the most impact on patients, who may end up seeking care in a medical setting versus in a mental health setting.
Especially in the Fresno, CA area where other crisis centers are not available, this makes it even more critical for Exodus Recovery to stay within required staffing, so they can avoid diversion and serve the patients who need them.
”The right scheduling dictates the quality of care. Schedule Management helps us stay within safe guidelines to provide safe and quality care."
Marcos LomberaBSN, RN, Clinical Director
The patient impact
With a correct schedule in place, more patients get the care they need in the most appropriate setting. Schedule Management helps the Exodus Recovery team meet requirements such as 5 nurses and 5 mental health staff within a day, every 24-hour period. But most of all, “the right scheduling dictates the quality of care,” says Lombera.
He adds, “If a nurse is over-allocated and having to care for more individuals than they normally serve, they can’t guarantee the expected quality of care will be provided, especially with high-acuity individuals. Schedule Management helps us stay within safe guidelines to provide safe and quality care.”
This means nurses can spend extra time with each patient, ask how their day is going, and/or explain their medication more in-depth – all because nurses aren’t rushing to the next person in need.
“We want our patients to feel fully supported, which also means knowing they can ask for what they need. Being fully staffed helps us provide that level of service to all individuals.”
Ultimately, the team at Exodus Recovery realized through their Schedule Management experience just how important it is to have a scheduling system that supports their mission – so that their team is set up for success to live that mission every day in serving their patients.
Fill Shifts, Improve Communication, and Deliver Better Care
Discover the impact that the right scheduling solution can have on your team and the patients you serve. Learn more about Schedule Management.
