ER Inspector NORTHWEST MEDICAL CENTER-SPRINGDALENORTHWEST MEDICAL CENTER-SPRINGDALE

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Updated September 19, 2019

This database was last updated in September 2019. It should only be used as a historical snapshot.Researchers can find more recent data on timely and effective care in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ hospitals datasets and guidance about hospital regulations.

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ER Inspector » Arkansas » NORTHWEST MEDICAL CENTER-SPRINGDALE

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NORTHWEST MEDICAL CENTER-SPRINGDALE

609 west maple avenue, springdale, Ark. 72764

(479) 751-5711

68% of Patients Would "Definitely Recommend" this Hospital
(Ark. Avg: 71%)

1 violation related to ER care since 2015

Hospital Type

Acute Care Hospitals

Hospital Owner

Proprietary

ER Volume

Very high (60K+ patients a year)

See this hospital's CMS profile page or inspection reports.

Patient Pathways Through This ER

After a patient arrives at the emergency room, they are typically seen by a doctor or medical practitioner and then either sent home or admitted to the hospital and taken to a room. A small percentage of patients leave without being seen. The chart below shows on average how long each of these pathways take. Lower numbers are better, and all times refer to the average length of time people waited.

Arrives at ER
1% of patients leave without being seen
4hrs 34min Admitted to hospital
6hrs 49min Taken to room
2hrs 4min Sent home

All wait times are average.

Detailed Quality Measures

Here is a more in depth look at each quality measure, compared to state and national averages for hospitals with very high ER volumes. Experts caution that very small differences between hospitals for a given measure are unlikely to correspond to noticeable differences in the real world.

Measure
Average for this Hospital
How this Hospital Compares

(to other hospitals with similar
ER volumes, when available)

Discharged Patients
Time Until Sent Home

Average time patients spent in the emergency room before being sent home (if not admitted).

2hrs 4min
National Avg.
2hrs 50min
Ark. Avg.
2hrs 43min
This Hospital
2hrs 4min
Impatient Patients
Left Without
Being Seen

Percentage of patients who left the emergency room without being seen by a doctor or medical practitioner.

1%
Avg. U.S. Hospital
2%
Avg. Ark. Hospital
3%
This Hospital
1%
Admitted Patients
Time Before Admission

Average time patients spent in the emergency room before being admitted to the hospital.

4hrs 34min

Data submitted were based on a sample of cases/patients.

National Avg.
5hrs 33min
Ark. Avg.
4hrs 27min
This Hospital
4hrs 34min
Admitted Patients
Transfer Time

Among patients admitted, additional time they spent waiting before being taken to their room (sometimes referred to as "boarding time.")

2hrs 15min

Data submitted were based on a sample of cases/patients.

National Avg.
2hrs 24min
Ark. Avg.
2hrs 15min
This Hospital
2hrs 15min
Special Patients
CT Scan

Percentage of patients who arrived with stroke symptoms and did not receive brain scan results within 45 mins.

15%
National Avg.
27%
Ark. Avg.
25%
This Hospital
15%

Violations Related to ER Care

Problems found in emergency rooms at this hospital since 2015, as identified during the investigation of a complaint. About This Data →

Violation
Full Text
APPROPRIATE TRANSFER

Aug 31, 2016

Based on clinical record review and interview, it was determined the Facility failed to complete the Patient Transfer Record for five (#2-#6) of six (#2-#6 and #8) patients reviewed who were transferred to another Facility.

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Based on clinical record review and interview, it was determined the Facility failed to complete the Patient Transfer Record for five (#2-#6) of six (#2-#6 and #8) patients reviewed who were transferred to another Facility. The failed practice did not ensure the patients were fully informed of transfer process. The failed practice had the potential to affect all patients transferred to another Facility. The findings follow: A. Review of Patient #2's Patient Transfer Record on 08/31/16 revealed the Date/Time Accepted to the accepting Facility was blank. B. Review of Patient #3's Patient Transfer Record on 08/31/16 revealed the Nursing Report Given To and the Nursing Report Given By were blank. C. Review of Patient #4's Patient Transfer Record on 08/31/16 revealed the Referring MD (physician), Patient's/Patient's Representative Signature and Date/Time and the Signature of Transferring Physician were blank. D. Review of Patient #4's Patient Transfer Record on 08/31/16 revealed the Receiving Hospital Contacted (Date/Time), Person Authorizing/Accepting Transfer, Title of Person, Date/Time Accepted, Receiving MD, Phone, Contacted (Date/Time), Accepted (Date/Time), Section 2, Section 4, Patient's/Patient's Representative Signature and Date/Time of signature were blank. E. Review of Patient #5's Patient Transfer Record on 08/31/16 revealed the Receiving MD's Phone number, Contacted (Date/Time), Accepted (Date/Time) and Nursing Report Given To were blank. F. Review of the policy "Transfer of Patients Including Trauma Patients Policy" provided on 08/31/16 revealed the following: "Transfer of Patients to Another Facility: Before the patient leaves NHS (Northwest Health Systems), the Nurse will: a) Contact the transfer center when appropriate b) Contact an appropriate nurse at the receiving Facility to provide adequate and timely report on the patient's condition, and to verify bed/staff availability in the receiving hospital. c) Complete the "Patient Transfer Record". Send a copy of each with the patient. The original should be retained on the NHS patient chart. Documentation should include: 1. The name(s) of the NHS personnel who contacted the receiving Facility. 2. The name of the receiving facility. 3. Any physician-to-physician contact between the two hospitals. 4. The fact that the receiving hospital stated that it had available space for treatment of the patient. 5. The fact that the receiving hospital stated it had available qualified personnel for treatment of the patient. 6. The fact that the receiving hospital agreed to accept transfer of the patient and to provide appropriate medical treatment. 7. The name and title of the consenting party at the receiving hospital. 8. The position or responsibility of the consenting party at the receiving hospital. 9. The date and time of the consent of the receiving hospital. 10. The information given to the receiving hospital concerning the patient's suspected diagnosis (include any suspected or known infectious processes), condition, mode of transportation, expected time of arrival, etc. a) The hospital or health care Facility will send information (as noted in #10 above) with patients transferred to NHS. 11. Complete the Nursing Discharge summary and all other appropriate documentation on the patient. 12. Inform patient of transfer details, and reinforce physician's explanation of rationale. Re-assure patient that his/her established care will continue after the move to another facility." G. The findings of A, B, C, D and E were confirmed in an interview with the Director of Quality on 08/31/16 at 1005.

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Notes

“Average time” refers to the median wait time (the midpoint of all patients' wait times). References to “doctor or medical practitioner” indicate a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant. CMS reports the CT scan quality measure as the percentage of patients who received a scan within 45 minutes. We have reversed that measure so that all measures follow a “lower is better” pattern.

Additional design and development by Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei.

Sources

All data comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Detailed quality measures at the hospital, state and national level were last updated September 2019. Most data was collected between October 2017 and October 2018. Data on ER-related violations is from January 2015 to June 2019.

Additional Info

How We've Updated ER Inspector | Download ProPublica's Emergency Room Planning Toolkit | About This Data

Don’t See Your ER?

In some cases we aren’t able to identify the exact location of a hospital, so it doesn’t appear on our mapped search results. However, it may still be in our database – try looking for it in the list of hospitals on each state's page.

In other cases, the hospital is missing from our database because it doesn't have an emergency department.

In other cases, the hospital is missing from the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data. There are a couple of reasons why a hospital isn’t included in CMS data: it may not participate in Medicare, or it may share a certification number with another hospital (common across large hospital systems).

If you notice a hospital missing from our database, please first check if you can find it on CMS' website, and that it is listed as having an ER. If so, please email us with the hospital name and address.