Reducing emergency department (ED) overcrowding in the hope of improving the ED's operational efficiency and healthcare delivery is an important objective for healthcare providers. This research analyzes resource allocation with the objective of reducing patient length-of-stay (LOS) and time to be seen by a physician or physician assistant (TBSPPA) while leveling resource utilization. Different levels of resources (physicians, physician assistants, and nurses) were changed in controlled experiments in order to analyze patients' LOS and TBSPPA, as well as resource utilization. The experiments were performed using a simulation model based on data from an ED at a local hospital. The simulation model accounts for patients with different severity levels as well as different rates for patient arrivals. Based on the severity, patients are treated by combinations of multiple resources, often with interspersed waiting time. Results indicate that the simulation model can be used as a tool to help decision makers in the ED with the allocation of resources. The experiments show an average reduction of 14% in the average patients' LOS, 16% in the average patients' TBSPPA, and leveled resource utilization between 70% and 80% when allowing a restructure of the ED resource capacities.
Many communities and many engineering programs embrace the need to study and practice sustainability. Human activities must be designed to allow this generation to meet its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainability is often described as requiring attention to the triple bottom line: people, planet and prosperity. This paper presents background concerning the incorporation of sustainability into engineering, for example, in the student outcomes of ABET criteria and in the codes of ethics of some engineering disciplines. We focus on describing and analyzing the efforts toward sustainability being taken in our community and the efforts of our engineering department to incorporate sustainability throughout our curriculum. We describe the methods we are using, starting with an intensive 4-day summer workshop (including a community college faculty member), which resulted in action items including plans to alter specific courses. We also describe the Department of Education funded grant that is supporting this work to incorporate sustainability, service learning, and advances in educational technology in all STEM programs at our university.Unique features of these community and university efforts include the involvement of all faculty members in our department in the project and as authors on this paper and the increasing involvement of engineering faculty and students in our community"s sustainability efforts.
Engineer, M. Sc. and PhD candidate (Old Dominion University), with 9+ years of experience in business and government environments. Experience with STEM related initiatives both at the k-12 level and Higher Education; with main focus on strategies for improving student engagement and performance. Additional experience working with Faculty on the integration of Instructional Technologies in the classroom. Major strengths in innovative problem solving; modeling and simulation (mainly for business analysis and government consulting); operations research and decision sciences (risk analysis, investment valuation under uncertainty, financial engineering). Additional skills in optimization, statistical analysis and systems engineering.
and Technology. She holds a PhD in engineering management, from the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR). Her research interests include strategic partnering in global supply chain networks, supply chain curriculum development, virtual teaming in a global marketplace, and sustainable energy management systems.
His research interests include scheduling, operations research, and modeling and simulation in health care and energy planning. He has participated in several funded projects through various sources such as NASA, the Department of Homeland Security, NSF, and the Colombian Research Institute. He also have several years of experience working as a consultant for pharmaceutical and energy companies in the U.S.
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