University of Kansas Health System Emergency Department – Legacy Campus
Kansas City, Kansas
University of Kansas Health System Emergency Department – Legacy Campus
The University of Kansas Health System Emergency Department-Legacy Campus houses the forensic program, which has grown from one full-time nurse in 2022 to four in 2024. That year, the forensic team completed 457 consults, representing a 198 percent increase from 2023. Forensic committee members are on hospital abuse prevention and human trafficking committees.
The team also worked with its forensic nurses to launch the pilot program dubbed E-SAVE, which provides employee support after a violent event. The forensic nurses participate in the Workplace Violence Court Support Committee, and in 2024, the forensic program coordinators provided in-person court support to seven ED staff nurses.
Also at the Legacy Campus ED, significant work is ongoing to improve care for patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. More recently, the team added a best practice advisory that alerts the nurse when a repeat lactate level is needed. Repeat lactate compliance maintained at 100 percent for 2024. This ongoing work has led the department to maintain 90.1 percent compliance with all CMS guidelines for 2024 and a sepsis mortality rate of 0.7-0.75, which is in the top 25 percent of hospitals.