Back to: Clinical Center home page < Profile 2005

Doing more with less

It is possible to make operations more efficient — to do more and better with less — only if the people who do all the work remain committed to excellence. Clinical Center employees are doing the best job possible despite increasing demands and limited resources.

Operations in 2004 were particularly challenging, as the Clinical Center continued its efforts to decrease its use of full-time-equivalents (FTEs, or slots for full-time federal employees) from 1,947 (in FY2003) to 1,852 (in FY2004). The result was a 4.9% reduction (95 FTEs). FTEs were reduced through a targeted hiring freeze. During the same period, the patient census increased significantly: Inpatient days were up 7.6%, outpatient visits were up 9.4%, and the average daily census was up 6.4%. Clinical Center employees are learning to do a better job by conscientiously becoming more aware of patients’ wants and needs and of their fellow employees’ need for recognition when hard work is done. Under a customer service initiative launched in 2001, most Clinical Center employees participated in customer service training over an 18-month period. Many departments implemented quality improvement projects that improved patient care and satisfaction.