Story from Staff Update

Clinical scheduling updates coming soon

From the Oct. 31, 2025 issue of Staff Update:

Starting in January, our clinics will begin moving to a new standardized scheduling model designed to improve patient care and safety, strengthen teamwork, and create more predictable routines for staff. The new model introduces consistent shift times and patient schedules across clinics, with staff working in dedicated pods to support collaboration and balance workloads.

These changes are the result of months of effort by a project team that included DTs, nurses, and others from across NKC. The new model addresses feedback from staff surveys, including the desire for steadier schedules, uninterrupted breaks, and to work with the same teammates more often. It also aims to reduce the need for overtime or low census and lower our costs per treatment – ensuring we can continue providing high-quality care for all our patients.

We’ll roll out the new schedule in three phases, beginning with the Kent, Kirkland, and SeaTac clinics. Starting with just three sites allows the project team to fine-tune the process before expanding to other clinics. All clinics will use the new schedule by May.

“We’re proud to be part of the first phase,” said SeaTac Clinic Manager Kelly Donnelson, who is part of the project team. “Change can be hard, but I think this will help plan our days better and let us spend more time on patients instead of managing last-minute scheduling challenges.”

Patients may see small changes in their appointment times – typically 15 to 30 minutes earlier or later – but staggered on- and off-times will reduce wait times, and having teams work in pods means patients will see familiar faces more often, strengthening relationships and continuity of care.

For staff, hours may shift slightly as we move to standard nine-hour schedules. Managers will meet with employees well before the transition to review and match new schedules as closely as possible to current ones. Benefits eligibility won’t change, and staff who want extra hours will have opportunities to pick up additional shifts. The scheduling model also better balances morning and evening shifts, and should reduce the need for low census.

“As a floater, I worked at just about every size of clinic, so I’ve seen what works well and what can make the day harder,” said Kevaney St. James, a dialysis technician and member of the project team. “I think the new schedules will make a big difference in how smoothly things run. I’m especially excited about the pod structure – it’ll help us work together better and keep things more consistent for patients.”

Clinic managers will share more details in upcoming team meetings ahead of each clinic's transition. The project team is also hosting upcoming Q&A sessions – clinical staff can watch for meeting invites:

• Monday, Nov. 3, 1-2 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 6, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 12, 4-5 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 14, 1-2 p.m

You can submit questions in advance here. We'll add the questions and answers to the FAQ document. We’ll also post the recordings from the Q&A sessions on K-Net.