TeleTracking & Upstate: Driving Operational Excellence and Efficiency through Partnership and Innovation

Upstate’s journey of expanding its throughput operations is a testament to the organization’s commitment to driving efficiency, empowering staff, and demonstrating the value of technology investments. From a small office during the pandemic to a state-of-the-art off-site Throughput Operations Center (TOC) in 2025, the growth of Upstate’s operations reflects the power of strong leadership, a collaborative vision, and the support of TeleTracking’s operational platform. Through its partnership with TeleTracking, Upstate has proven the financial return on investment (ROI) of its operations platform, helping them better serve patients while optimizing internal processes. This rapid transformation continues to position Upstate for future success, including the vision of a regional transfer center to support hospitals across Central New York. 

• Initial Phase (Small Office): Upstate identified a systematic problem with ED overcrowding/boarding and each hospital was handling their own bed placement. They launched their first small office to centralize bed placement and in 2021, implemented TeleTracking’s operational solutions to manage bed capacity.  

• Expansion (Dedicated Facility): Within a year, Upstate outgrew the office and moved to a larger basement space, accommodating nine workstations. This new facility incorporated the transfer center RNs, patient transport dispatcher, and the environmental services dispatcher into the same room as the bed placement team.

• Current State (Offsite Center): In February of 2025, Upstate opened a new state- of-the-art offsite Throughput Operations Center (TOC), underpinned by TeleTracking’s Operations IQ® Platform, which manages transfers and bed placement across their three hospitals (Downtown, Community and Golisano Children’s Hospital). The TOC integrated transfer center nurses, bed placement, patient transport, and EVS. The center also includes a workstation for EMS and will eventually house telehealth nurses and case managers. The TOC is equipped with advanced technology, including 22 live-feed monitors and 28 computer stations. TeleTracking provides real-time operational status across the entire health system, including capacity demands, bed census, open beds, and patient transport status making it possible for staff to strategically manage operations from a central location.  

Four Key Success Factors: A Partnership That Works 

Maria Romano, Clinical Executive at TeleTracking, identified four key factors that contributed to Upstate’s success in optimizing throughput operations: 

1. Strong Leadership and Organizational Structure 
   Upstate’s executive leadership, from the CEO to the CNO, CMO and Deputy Director of Nursing, are committed to supporting and empowering their throughput leaders, Kyle Choquette and Tracy Briguglia. This strong, top-down support played a crucial role in the creation and development of their throughput center. 

2. Collaborative Goal Setting and Vision 
   TeleTracking and Upstate worked hand-in-hand to set clear quarterly and stretch goals. The teams regularly manage metrics such as: transfer acceptance/decline rates, efficiency metrics for patient movement, reaching target turn times and discharge compliance. Their collaborative efforts involved consistent monitoring, planning, and a shared vision for the future—including the development of a regional transfer center for the Central New York hospitals. 

3. Perseverance Through Challenges 
   Upstate’s launch of TeleTracking’s solutions during the pandemic presented significant challenges, from staffing shortages to environmental factors. Despite these obstacles, the team remained focused and resilient, continuously improving their service and throughput operations. 

4. Demonstrated Financial and Operational Success 
   Through an ROI analysis, Upstate demonstrated substantial financial gains and improved operational efficiency. The success of TeleTracking’s platform allowed Upstate to fund a full transport team at their Community Hospital, add a new position – Manager of Throughput Operations, and ultimately build the new Throughput Operations Center. 

The Future of Upstate’s Operations: Regional Transfer Center and Beyond 

Looking ahead, as Maria Romano continues to partner with the Upstate team, she is excited about the next steps for the health system and the broader healthcare landscape. “Upstate’s approach to improving throughput and quality of care, was focused on empowering leadership and fostering ownership. They set clear goals, proved their value, and were rewarded with increased resources. This ‘your goals will give you more’ strategy has driven continuous improvement year after year,” Maria states. “Upstate has ensured no patients will wait for the effective and timely care they need.” With a regional transfer center in the works, Upstate’s vision for the future will continue to evolve, and with the strong partnership with TeleTracking, will further strengthen its position as a leader in healthcare operational excellence.  

About Upstate 

Located in Syracuse, New York, Upstate is the only academic medical university in Central New York and serves a 19-county clinical catchment area with a population of more than 140,000.  The Upstate University Health System serves 1.8 million people, often the most seriously ill and injured, and includes Upstate University Hospital (415 licensed beds), Upstate University Hospital at Community Campus (314 licensed beds) and Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital (71 licensed beds).