Riverside's Data-Driven Approach to Boarding: VACEP's 2025 Leadership Summit

At the 2025 Annual Conference in February, emergency medicine leaders from across the Commonwealth participated in our inaugural Leadership Summit, hearing from a number of seasoned speakers who manage emergency departments and emergency medicine operations.

Among the speakers: Dr. Elena Garrett, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Riverside Health System in the Tidewater, who shared Riverside’s novel approach to decreasing boarding in the system’s emergency departments. She was joined by Dr. Todd Parker, Riverside Executive Medical Director and VACEP past-president.

Emergency Department boarding is an ongoing crisis impacting patient safety, hospital efficiency, and financial stability. In this presentation, Garrett shares real-world strategies that helped Riverside dramatically reduce boarding times, improve patient flow, and enhance hospital-wide coordination.

What you’ll learn in their presentation:

• How data-driven solutions like NEDOCS scoring improved patient flow

• The power of transitional beds (hallway beds) in inpatient units

• How a discharge lounge helped clear ED beds faster

• Improved transport logistics to reduce discharge delays

• The role of hospital leadership & system-wide collaboration in solving boarding

• Key takeaways for hospital administrators, emergency physicians, and healthcare leaders

Riverside’s results?

• Boarding hours dropped from 72,000 in 2023 to 38,000 in 2024

• 8% increase in ED volume—yet more efficient patient movement

• 36 new transitional beds created across hospital units

• Significant reduction in unnecessary patient transfers