Modernizing Scheduling and Cutting Costs in a Pediatric Specialty Center

Summary & Results

A center focused on bleeding and clotting disorders at a large children’s hospital was using an outdated scheduling system that produced inaccurate schedules and limited department growth. After replacing their 18-year-old Microsoft Access database with Lightning Bolt Scheduling, they:

• Saved nearly $100,000 annually in FTE costs
• Reduced scheduling tasks by 190+ hours per month
• Improved federal grant reporting capabilities
• Expanded the solution to hospitalist and pharmacy departments

About the Organization

This children’s hospital system has one of the only pediatric Level I trauma centers in its state. It has a mixture of hospitals, primary clinics, rehabilitation sites, and specialty care centers. The work with bleeding and clotting disorders happens within a federally funded hemophilia treatment center with over 100 providers (MDs, APPs, and RNs). It’s one of the only centers among surrounding states that exclusively treats pediatric patients.

Challenge:

An Outdated System Unable to Keep Pace with Growth

The center relied on an 18-year-old Microsoft Access database originally designed to track research studies when they had only 5 physicians and 5 RNs.

“As we grew and this Access database aged, it became a very error-prone process,” said the center’s Director of Ambulatory Services. “If [providers] wanted a day off, they could try to put their request in the database, but chances are it wouldn’t stick.”

Key issues impacting efficiency and satisfaction included:

• No Provider Autonomy: Cumbersome time-off requests and no remote schedule access
• Lack of Transparency: No mobile access or email distribution of schedules
• IT Constraints: Risk-averse IT team with multi-year delays for new technology
• Resource Limitations: No available IT resources for new solutions
• Cumbersome Grant Reporting: Difficulty generating accurate reports for federal funding

Solution:

Finding the Right Fit in Lightning Bolt

After evaluating multiple scheduling solutions, the Director’s team picked Lightning Bolt based on their specific requirements:

• Enterprise partnership with PerfectServe’s clinical communication and patient engagement solutions
• Automated scheduling for complex needs
• Customizable visibility and user-friendly interface
• Accurate reporting capabilities
• Minimal technical requirements and system integrations
• Cost effectiveness

"The level of support was incredible … every expectation was met," the Director said.

Implementation Approach: Achieving Success with Limited IT Resources

With a resource-intensive EHR rollout already underway, the hospital system had no project manager available for the Lightning Bolt implementation. The Director was given some pretty simple guidance: "If you can manage this [yourself], you can start tomorrow."

The Lightning Bolt team provided hands-on support as the Director led the project alone. With experience supporting thousands of similar groups, they covered his needs despite limited IT resources, getting him operational in just three days.

The implementation followed a strategic approach:

1. Physician and APP schedules first, then support staff
2. Monthly and yearly schedule templates for varied shift patterns
3. Custom views for different user groups
4. Custom reporting for shifts, procedures, and time off
5. Specialized reporting for federal grant compliance

For federal grant funding, effort certification tracking is crucial. With a dedicated technical consultant, Lightning Bolt generated custom reports that improved tracking accuracy, enabling 13 more team members to be properly accounted for in the grant process.

Results: Saving 100+ Hours a Month and $100,000 a Year

Before Lightning Bolt, administrators spent three to four weeks creating three-month schedules, with additional 8-10 hours weekly for adjustments. After implementation, the benefits were substantial:

Time Savings:                    

190+ hours

per month recovered

Financial Return:
Saved approximately                    

$100,000

annually in FTE time

                           Improved Access:Schedule visibility for all stakeholderswith custom views         

                           Provider Autonomy:Self-service schedule managementwith credential safeguards              

                           Calendar Integration:Work schedules synced withpersonal calendars                        

                           Enhanced Reporting:Better federal funding compliance                        

                           Strategic Focus:Leadership time redirected to priorities                        

                           Improved Culture:Better time-off management

Conclusion

By implementing Lightning Bolt, this children’s hospital system transformed their scheduling from an outdated, manual system to an efficient, automated solution. Benefits extended beyond time savings to provider autonomy, accuracy, staffing optimization, and federal compliance.

As they prepare for their Epic implementation, Lightning Bolt continues supporting their pediatric specialty care mission. The organization plans to integrate Lightning Bolt with Epic when the new system is in place, extending the benefits of efficient scheduling enterprise-wide.

 "It’s been a world of change. We’re no longer working in a clunky system."  

- Business Supervisor

Calculation of ROI

The organization calculated their return using three key metrics:

• Total hours saved monthly on scheduling tasks
• Dollars saved in FTE time based on role-specific hourly rates
• Value of reallocating hours to high-value, top-of-license projects

Key Success Factors

The team attributes their success to five essential factors that allowed other departments to achieve similar results:

1. Clear Requirements: Identifying must have features before vendor selection
2. Change Management: Encouraging staff adoption of new technology
3. Expertise Utilization: Leveraging internal project management skills
4. Vendor Partnership: Close collaboration with the Lightning Bolt team
5. Phased Approach: Starting with key providers before expanding

 "As we began to add our RNs and support staff, it became more helpful for providers to see who they’re working with. It gave more transparency to who was there and what they were doing."  

- Director of Ambulatory Services

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