As nurses and nursing executives meet later this week in Indianapolis at the 43rd Annual Meeting & Exposition of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, Kronos is showcasing its workforce management system as a means to save money and improve clinical care.
The Chelmsford, Mass.-based healthcare information technology vendor says it has helped Illinois-based Centegra Health System save more than $1.6 million in labor costs by automating the time and attendance and employee scheduling processes. The savings, officials say, come from the elimination of agency use and a reduction in overtime of about 30 percent.
“Kronos plays an important role in helping us optimize our key asset – the workforce – and subsequently enables us to enhance quality care, growth and financial outcomes,” said Susan Murphy, chief nursing officer of the two-hospital system. “The savings of $1.6 million is a significant gain through Kronos but we equally value improvements in employee empowerment, which Kronos supports as well.”
Centegra, which also operates two immediate care centers, six primary care facilities, a cancer care center and two fitness centers, had used paper-based schedules, according to officials, and relied on agencies for as many as 2,000 hours per month, or roughly 10 full-time employees. Officials said the process was not only expensive, but inefficient, with a lack of consistency in adherence to and enforcement of pay policies and practices.
With Kronos, Centegra officials are pursuing magnet designation from the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center.
“Centegra Health System is an innovator and takes all the right steps toward nursing development and has been consistently recognized as one of the best quality care providers in the nation,” said Brian Graves, Kronos’ global practice leader of healthcare. “We are extremely pleased with our continued partnership and the results we've helped the organization achieve.”
Kronos’s healthcare offerings, which are marketed to acute and long-term care facilities as well as hospitals, focus on time-keeping, HR management, payroll management, workforce analytics, employee scheduling and absence management. Among its clients are All Children’s Hospital, Catholic Health East, the WellStar Health System, Trinity Health and the North Shore-LIJ Health System.