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UW Health SMPH

Management and Education Services for Healthcare (MESH)

Contact
 

Management and Education Services for Healthcare (MESH)

MESH@uwhealth.org

(608) 265-0123

(608) 263-3593 (fax)

Management and Education Services for Healthcare (MESH) is a patient- and family-centered acuity classification and staffing system designed to identify what makes each patient's care unique. UW Health's MESH team is currently providing services at organizations of all sizes throughout Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, and Eastern Minnesota.
 
What is MESH?
 
The Web-based MESH software supports unit-specific nurse staffing based on patient acuity, census variability and desired staff skill mix while supporting The Joint Commission staffing effectiveness standards.
 
MESH functions as a translator. Care provided at the bedside is translated into a numerical format for use by finance, quality and leadership:
  • Supports staff education and competency, physician credentialing information, as well as quality, safety and regulatory compliance reporting
  • Supports customer service initiatives and creates the ability to benchmark with comparative organizations
  • Evidenced-based practice is the framework for growth to improve patient outcomes

Four Modules

  1. PCSS (Patient Classification and Staffing System): Staffing tool for medical/surgical, obstetrics, pediatric, rehab and intensive care units. Incorporates projecting of known events such as admissions, discharges, education, projects, etc.
  2. Emergency Department Log: Electronic log provides access to data and identifies historical trends by time of day and day of week. Incorporates patient acuity and length of stay for benchmarking. Includes quality indicator reporting on returns to Emergency Department, transfers, AMAs and Emergency Department minutes/hours empty for physician stand-by time and much more.
  3. OPSS (Outpatient Scheduling and Staffing): Daily schedule inclusive of procedure type, projected and actual admissions, length of stay, unplanned admissions, no-shows, cancellations, pre-op teaching and follow-up phone calls.
  4. BHAS (Behavioral Health Acuity and Staffing): Multidisciplinary staffing tool for inpatient behavioral health units. Incorporates projecting of known events such as admissions, discharges, education, projects, etc.

Implementation Support/Inter-rater Reliability and Benchmarking

  • Tailoring system to your patient population and care philosophy
  • On-site training to partner nursing, nursing leadership, quality, finance and administration as a team
  • Follow-up consultation services and annual users conference for networking opportunities
  • Semi-annual audits completed online in January and July to validate inter-rater reliability
  • 28-day in-depth, semi-annual data collection periods for benchmarking which is a valuable performance improvement tool that has the potential to significantly improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness and directly impact the quality of healthcare services

Note: Only organizations that participate in the semi-annual audit competency validation are included in the Benchmarking reports.