The problem

The expensive answer is usually the second-best one

47%

of an admitted patient’s time in the emergency department is spent boarding after the decision to admit

Industry figure, not an Adelo Consulting result. Source: Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance 2022 survey, reported by ACEP.

Capacity constraints almost always present as a building problem or a staffing problem. Underneath, they are usually a flow problem: discharges that cluster after 3 p.m., OR blocks held by surgeons who no longer use them, boarding that starts in the ED but originates on 6 West, and an observation population nobody owns.

We measure the system as it actually runs, not as the policy describes it — then rebuild the operating rhythm that holds the gain after we leave.

Capacity you already own, released.

What we do

Capabilities in operations & performance.

Patient flow and throughput

Discharge process redesign, care progression rounds, escalation pathways, and the daily operating cadence that makes them stick.

Length of stay and capacity management

Avoidable-day analysis, barrier tracking, geographic cohorting, and observation and status management.

Perioperative and procedural performance

Block utilization and release policy, first-case on-time starts, turnover, prime-time capacity, and surgeon scheduling behavior.

Emergency department operations

Front-end redesign, split flow, boarding root cause, left-without-being-seen and door-to-provider performance.

Labor productivity and cost

Productivity standards, span of control, premium labor and agency reduction, and non-labor spend where it is genuinely available.

Command center and capacity governance

The structures — daily huddle, capacity escalation, transfer center — that turn one-time improvement into a permanent operating rhythm.

What we target

Outcomes we scope engagements against.

These are the results we design toward and measure. We commit to targets in writing at the start of an engagement, and we report against them honestly — including when we miss.

We do not publish client results we cannot substantiate or attribute. Targets on this page describe engagement design, not guaranteed outcomes.

  • Discharge order and departure times moved earlier in the day
  • Boarding hours and left-without-being-seen reduced
  • Prime-time OR capacity released without new rooms
  • Premium and agency labor spend structurally reduced
  • An operating cadence that holds the result after we leave
Engagement models

Three ways to start.

1

Diagnostic2–4 weeks

A focused assessment with a written finding and a ranked set of actions. Fixed fee, defined scope. Most relationships start here because it is a low-risk way to find out whether we are useful.

2

Sprint8–16 weeks

A defined improvement engagement against a named target — throughput, denials, turnover, survey readiness. We work alongside your team rather than around them, and we transfer the method as we go.

3

Embedded6–18 months

Interim leadership or sustained transformation support. Our leader carries real accountability in your operating structure, with a written mandate and measurable commitments.

Frequently engaged by