Scheduling Department prepares for major improvements

We recently shared the great work we are doing through our Operation Excellence efforts. Step by step we are looking at all the moving parts in our organization and finding ways in which we can improve. 

One of the areas that showed remarkable improvements over the last year was in our Scheduling Department. This team has done an outstanding job looking for ways to increase our access for our children to get their much needed services. 

The Scheduling Department did the following in 2014:

• Reduced the answer speed:
• Answer speed in English went from 2:20 minutes to 1:26 minutes
• Answer speed in Spanish went from 7:20 minutes to 2:38 minutes
• Developed a formalized training program for new staff
• Expanded the staff by an additional 2 schedulers
• Implemented rescheduling process for text message cancellations
• Refined the text messaging system
• Re-structured the staff so that they have been given a specific job function

So what’s next for 2015?

• Expansion of staff by an addition of 2.5 schedulers
• Expansion of bilingual Spanish staff
• Build a scheduling dashboard to manage the department and ensure scheduling and rescheduling is completed in a timely fashion
• Automate the text messaging cancellations so they no longer need to be completed manually

Great job guys! We know that these efforts along with the other efficiency will help us reduce the current 66 days wait time to see a developmental pediatrician!

Stay tuned for a future blog post where we will go into greater detail about some of the projects from the Scheduling Department when they are completed. 

Is your department making big movements? Do you have a big project for 2015? Let us know in the comments below and you could be featured in an upcoming blog post!