Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center Institution type: 400 bed hospital. Western United States Source: Manager, Access Center Transfer center details: Centralized medical access center that coordinates all patient transfers into the hospital. This medical access center serves as the central access point for all patient transfers to the health system. The access center considers the following information for each call that comes in. - Physician availability - Clinical diagnosis - Bed availability - Transport method - More Challenge: Consolidate various divisions. The current patient transfer system was developed in December 2006. The medical access center incorporated the following divisions to create one single point of access for critical patients. . Life Flight dispatch . Physician on call scheduling . Physician Consultation resources . Urgent patient admissions . Bed control Create a flexible system. Protocols were written and in-services were held to inform physicians and other hospital staff of the new center. Standards of operation needed to be solid, yet flexible to fit the needs of the community. Great care and coordination needed to be present right from the start. Return on Investment . The medical access center has provided this hospital with one central point for all incoming patient transfer activity. . Physician response time to the access center allows for decisions to be made sooner. . Since installation, the volume of coordinated transfers rose on average of 16% EACH MONTH.