In March, the Oncology Unit implemented an innovative plan to reduce patient falls – a Fall Prevention Contract. This contract, signed by nurses and PCTs during the unit Skills Day, states in part that staff members agree to participate in bedside SBAR report, to stay with patients while they are in the bathroom and to remain in their assigned patient areas.

In no time at all, both patients and staff have reaped the rewards of this contract: there were no falls during the entire month of April!

And since then, when patients have become unsteady and needed assistance, a PCT or nurse has always been within arms reach, ready to assist. 

On the Oncology Unit, patient education is stressed, with planned teachings about safety whenever patients are admitted or transferred to the unit. Staff members work to be proactive by suggesting, “Let’s get up to the bathroom now,” when completing hourly rounds, instead of simply asking patients if they need to use the restroom at that time.

In addition, the unit revamped its hourly rounding sheets to include check-off boxes to remind nurses and PCTs to make sure each bed only has three side rails up and to check that bed or chair alarms are in place when appropriate.

Great job, Oncology! Your commitment to patient safety and nursing quality deserves recognition.

Nora Rawson, PCT, and charge nurse Heather Hyland, RN, are all smiles about 32 “fall-free days” on the Oncology Unit.

March for Life, March for Hope, March for Babies.

Thousands of people came out to show their support and to advocate for premature babies during the March of Dimes March for Babies walk on May 5.

AAMC’s NICU had a great staff turnout, including nurses and therapist, their families, and leadership. Our team ambassador, Zoe Toro, now 5 months old and daughter of Stephanie Toro, RN (AAMC NICU nurse and mom), was present and cute as ever. That’s Zoe on the right, read more about her here. We were delighted that several other AAMC NICU graduates, who were once preemies and are now getting oh, so big, were there with their parents, as well.

Five thousand walkers trekked four miles through Baltimore and raised more than $700,000 for premature babies. The AAMC NICU team alone raised nearly $7,000 in donations, which placed us #1 amongst hospital teams and in the top 10 overall! These funds go to important research and various programs that help premature babies begin healthy lives.

A special thank you to all of those who donated to this cause and supported the walk, including our Wellness and Health Promotion Department, who helped to make our AAMC team bright and visible in our fresh white Energize t-shirts!

This was our first time participating in the March of Dimes walk and we look forward to topping the turnout — as well as the donations — in the years to come.  -Brittany Mona, RN, MSN, NICU Staff Nurse

Shining examples of nursing quality are all around us! At AAMC, we work through our quality structure – which has its heart at the unit level and is supported by the service line and organization quality structure. Through the implementation of evidence-based practice, we achieve the excellence we are striving for. 

One way we measure quality is with our nurse-sensitive quality indicators which are reported on a quarterly basis by each unit. These outcomes are directly affected by our nursing practice and include:

•  patient falls 
• hospital acquired pressure ulcers
•  blood stream infections
• catheter-associated urinary tract infections
• ventilator-associated pneumonia
• restraint use
•  pediatric IV infiltrations
• specialty-specific indicators.

Did you see MSU’s table at the Professional Fair last week? Their poster outlined their method of decreasing the number of catheter-associated urinary tract infections on their unit. This is excellence in nursing quality! 

Other methods we use across the hospital? Standardized handoffs (SBAR), research, bedside scientist grants, innovation, collaboration, hourly rounding, huddles, and debriefs – just to name a few.

Way to go, AAMC Nurses! Your commitment to your patients and nursing excellence is a shining example of how nursing quality makes a difference.   -Rita Linnenkamp, BSN, RN

The Excellence Award and Scholarship winners were announced just minutes ago. Below, the news you’ve been waiting for… post your shout outs here!

Excellence Award Winners 2012

New Knowledge, Innovation, and Improvements: Observation Unit

The Richard & Janet Davidson Nursing Award Extraordinary Advances in Patient and Family-Centered Care: MSU

Outpatient and Pathways Technicians and Technologist: Tracy Thompson – Outpatient Infusion Center

Hospital Pavilion Technicians and Technologist: Ana Twitty – Endoscopy

Clatanoff Technicians and Technologist: Cheryle Holmes – Mother/Baby

Surgical Services Technicians and Technologist: Steve Zebron – HP OR

Structural Empowerment – Preceptor: Melanie Lee – Peds

Structural Empowerment – Mentor: Carol Brumsted – Vascular Access

Structural Empowerment – Educator: Melody Kennedy – PRCU/IR/CCL

Transformational Leadership – Manager/Director: Ann Marie Pessagno

Transformational Leadership – Charge Nurse: Holly Sowko – HVU

  Read the rest of this entry »

The smiling faces of our nurses — it s a beautiful thing! See for yourself.

Click here or use the Photos link on our nursing web page to view all the Nurses Week events so far, including the Professional Fair, educational seminars, the 30 Themes in 30 Minutes with Sherry Perkins, and Certification Social pictures. Make sure to check back each day, there’s more to come!

Here’s a sneak peek…

Ready… set… go! The RN Satisfaction Survey went live today. We want to hear from you — our goal is 100% participation. Click here to access the survey directly 24/7!

After completing the survey, eligible RNs may obtain meal vouchers and be entered into the drawing for a Target gift card by doing the following:

• Print certificate of participation, write your name on the certificate and place in collection box on unit.

• Print certificate of participation, write your name on the certificate and drop off the certificate in the offices of Jane Lucia (Nursing Administration, 1^st Floor Hospital Pavilion North) or Holly Greever (Emergency Administration, 1^st Floor Hospital Pavilion South).

*The RN Satisfaction Survey is totally confidential. Please note that with these two options, there is no way to link a person’s responses on the survey with their certificate – the certificate shows only that the survey was completed. If a certificate with no name is recieved, we are unable to track where the meal voucher should be sent.*

• If you would prefer not to write your name on the certificate of participation, simply print it out and hand deliver to Jane Lucia or Holly Greever. A meal voucher will be given directly to you at that time.

All eligible RNs must turn in their certificate of participation by May 30 in order to receive the meal voucher for participation.

For more on the RN Satisfaction Survey, visit http://www.aahs.org/aamcnursing/. Questions? Please contact Holly Greever at hgreever@aahs.org or x1145.

A letter from a patient’s husband: he recently lost his wife, but remembers the care she received at AAMC. In this beautiful affirmation, we see how our staff touched the lives of this family.

I am writing to express my extreme appreciation for everything that the AAMC staff did to help my wife during her recent illness. During her two stints at AAMC, my wife received superior care from the doctors who treated her.

As importantly, everyone – from the nurses to the techs to the therapists and other staff displayed an attitude of care and compassion that put our family at ease and let us know that everything that could be done for my wife was being done. We were treated to extreme acts of kindness and caring that truly went above and beyond the call of duty.

Though my wife ultimately lost her battle with lung cancer, I will forever remember the way AAMC’s staff treated her. It was as if they were all caring for one of their own family members, and I can’t think of a higher compliment.

Thank you again for all you did for our family, and for what you do for countless other families around the area.

The raffles, gifts, seminars and light-hearted spirit of Nurses Week make it one of the highlights of our year. At AAMC, we celebrate this special week to thank and recognize our staff, as well as acknowledge the contributions that nurses make every day in our local and global community. 

This year, Nurses Week is May 6 to May 12. Click here to check out the special events planned for the week. This may be our best Nurses Week ever!

What does Nurses Week mean to you? Why do you celebrate? Is there a certain special nurse you would like to thank? An experience you’ve had that exhibits the spirit of Nurses Week? Please share!

And to our staff – for all you do, thank you! You rock.

On your mark… get set… the RN Satisfaction Survey is just one week away!

When we last conducted this survey in 2010, our response rate was nearly 100% – one of the highest in the nation. Let’s continue to work together to make our hospital and all of our care environments a great place for nurses to work and thrive. 

By participating in this survey, you will help us assess where we are now and where we need to go in building the future of nursing at AAMC. Your responses are completely confidential and there are incentives to participate – such as cafeteria vouchers and weekly drawings for a Target gift card. Click here to view the survey poster.

Help to celebrate all of the things we are doing well and also highlight areas in which we can improve. Many current improvement ideas came directly from our 2010 RN Satisfaction Survey, read more about this here: RN Satisfaction (what’s 2-2-2 got to do with it?)

Your opinions count, your voices matter. We need to hear from all of you.

Questions? Contact your unit PNC representative or Holly Greever at hgreever@aahs.org.

Check out these great nutrition apps!

Thousands of diet and nutrition apps are available for phones and tablets — so many, in fact, that there are apps to find apps! The American Academy of Nutrition reviewed the 10 top-rated free iPhone apps for weight management, here are the top three. To view the complete list, visit www.eatright.org/media

#1  Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitness Pal  – The nutrition analysis features will make this app your best nutrition friend.  Adjust goals, enter caloric intake (food) and output (exercise), add to the food library and check the progress screen to track how you’re doing. You can build your eating plan according to your personal nutrient needs. Tutorials are helpful for first-timers.

#2  Calorie Counter: Diets & Activities – This classic food diary tracks calories, water, fitness and the time each food item is consumed, in addition to total fats, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol, saturated fat and fiber. Create your own diet and physical activity plan and use and Integrated Body Tracker for monitoring progress. The visual of the food intake layout is appealing and easy to use. This app is great for tracking food and exercise while trying to lose weight, maintaining a certain weight or controlling diabetes.

#3  Calorie Counter by MyNetDiary – This app tracks food, exercise, weight and all the nutrients listed on a Nutrition Facts label. It also includes daily inspirational articles, healthy recipes and an easy-to-understand Help section. Once you register, this is a great user-friendly app that can help you log what you eat each day.

The use of apps is just another tool available to facilitate successful, permanent diet change and can be use in conjunction with a Registered Dietitian to achieve the best outcomes. Happy apping!

Thanks to blog contributor Maureen Shackelford RD, LD, who works with high-risk patients undergoing cancer treatment in AAMC’s Decesaris Cancer Center. Maureen also speaks at community events and support groups, and educates patients on nutrition and disease management/prevention in the Wellness Department and Outreach Center.