Ashlea Herrero & April Belle

On Monday, September 30, UAB Clinical Simulation and the Center for Patient Flow hosted the Z-bed Optimization Tabletop Sim. In order to increase capacity for our patients, Z-beds or virtual beds are being considered at UAB. The objective of the sim was for participants to gain a better understanding of the complexities of utilizing Z-beds in a hospital setting and the importance of systems thinking, innovation, and making data driven decisions in the operations of a healthcare organization. The idea of the sim is to 'survive' a simulated 12-hour shift managing one of several hospital departments (acute care, emergency department, surgery/PACU, critical care, OCDU and AHU) by making decisions about patient flow and the usage of z-beds. The 12 simulated hours of gameplay revealed many different aspects of the realities that influence clinical and administrative staff on a daily basis and how to collaborate across departments to achieve system goals. The experience ended with a debriefing that tied many of the themes to real life applications and considerations for patient flow and activating z-beds.