Hospital Participates in PSU Engineering Capstone Project

JERSEY SHORE—Penn State University engineering students are required to complete a capstone design project their senior year, and Jersey Shore Hospital is stepping up to help.

Jersey Shore Hospital along with dozens of other businesses and agencies recently presented projects to the engineering students for them to choose as their capstone project. Because there were more presentations than student groups, only the most interesting and elite projects were chosen.

Jersey Shore Hospital’s project entails industrial engineering students taking a close look at workflow and the streamlining of processes within the hospital after implementing electronic medical record systems.

As Jersey Shore Hospital prepares to implement electronic medical records within the hospital and the physician offices, many questions concerning equipment, staffing, resources, and patient flow will ultimately arise.

“We are essentially letting the engineering students study the new workflow design that will be created once the electronic medical records are introduced,” said Karen Zinobile, chief nursing officer. “We are anxious to see their thoughts and reactions to our processes, and are excited to learn how we can improve healthcare delivery.”

The project will be a semester long in length, with the students making visits to the hospital to study and make recommendations. At the end of the semester, the students will present their findings to Jersey Shore Hospital.