TORRANCE, Calif. – While most American’s are trying to increase their movement this time of year, employees at Providence Little Company of Mary Torrance have actually decreased physical activity as a result of a new initiative with Trace; and made it to their benefit!

Torrance Pharmaceutical staff identified the fact that after one year of walking the 6ft. distance to the fax machine and back they logged an impressive 30 miles. Thirty miles that translates into time that could have been better spent helping patients. Now that they have implemented Trace technology, more specifically FaxCert that captures images of the faxes they send and automatically re-dials a fax number until it is no longer busy; the staff at Torrance has found that their average of 38 faxes per day has become significantly more manageable.

Part of the road towards implementing Trace was paved through the hospital’s Stewardship Suggestion program, a way of encouraging employees to discover and share opportunities to improve operations. The ideas they generate through the Stewardship program have helped individuals as well as entire departments instigate change and spread the news. Providence Mission Leadership Office is sponsoring the Stewardship Suggestion program in an effort to reduce wasteful practices, make better use of resources, and improve outcomes.

The suggestion to expand the Trace implementation to other departments came from Leslie Gault, RN, a Pre-Admitting nurse who has been using Trace in the Pre-Admitting department. She had already discovered the time, toner and paper she saved by using the Trace system to receive, store and send faxes. Her suggestion came as the result of being surprised that more departments weren’t already using the software.

Leslie Gault, RN at ProvidenceGault’s idea has now grown to both Pharmacy and Physical Therapy. After using Trace, the physical therapy department has found they are able to access patient information more quickly through Tracker, saving both time and energy.

The hospital’s Master Change Facilitator, Nick Scott, said that Trace provides “a harmony of accessibility that translates easily from one department to another.” Nick is eager to roll out Trace in other departments, especially after a smooth deployment in the first several departments. “Trace is a perfect example of the kind of results we hoped to achieve through this program.”

About Little Company of Mary

Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance is a 436-bed hospital located in the heart of Los Angeles’ South Bay communities. The hospital has been providing medical care since 1960 and admits over 17,000 patients each year.