Certified Nurses Day™ is March 19 - Mission Health

News for and about Mission Nurses • Volume 6, Number 3 • March 2010
Certified Nurses Day is March 19
Congratulations to all Mission Hospital
nurses who have attained a national
specialty certification!
Certified Nurses Day was recently
established as an annual celebration to recognize
the contribution that certifications
bring to excellence in patient care. March
19, the birthday of Margretta “Gretta”
Madden Styles, was chosen as the date of
commemoration. Gretta Styles is known as
the “Mother of Nurse Credentialing” for
her pioneer work in the study of nurse
credentialing in the 1970s.
Steps to taking the exam
Bryanna Gibbs, RN, BSN, PCCN, Chair
of the newly formed Nursing Professional
Development Council, said that promoting
national specialty certifications is a priority
for the council. She devised a tool to assist
nurses in taking the necessary steps to
choose a certification, study and successfully
take the exam.
Arrive at the exam prepared and confident!
Graphic by Bryanna Gibbs, RN, BSN, PCCN, Chair of the
Nursing Professional Development Council
Mission Women Go Red! Mission staff members
volunteered on February 18 to offer morning
and evening sessions of cardiovascular health
risk screening, nutritional guidance, and educational
information to nearly 250 female hospital
employees.The awareness campaign was sponsored
jointly by the Heart and Women’s Service
Lines. Seated left to right are Debbie Kirkman,
RN-BC, BSN, Cardiovascular Outreach; Sarah
Hinson, Community Health Enhancement; Kathy
Bryson, RN, Utilization Review; Val Pulsifer,
RNC, NUS, Mother/Baby; and Irisha
Pomerantzeff, Russian Interpreter. Standing are
Brett Mills, CNA, Staffing Pool; Linda Y. Smith,
RN, MSN, IBCLC, CNS for Neonatal,Women’s,
and Mother/Baby; Kathleen Leake, RN, ED Chest
Pain Observation Unit; Lisa Wilcocks, RNC,
Mother/Baby; Frank Castelblanco, RN, Heart
Regional Services; and Fern Webb,Tobacco
Addiction Specialist.

Professional Fairs at MCS and ASC
MCS nurses who are members of the Marketing and Communications for Nursing Excellence
Committee wear their “Messenger” hats as they talk with other staff members about the collaboration
of all disciplines in providing excellent care to patients and their families. Left to right are
Cindy McJunkin, RN, BSN, SANE-A, SANE-P; Angela Baldwin, RN; Savonya Gilliam, BA, Social
Worker; Amanda Smith, RN; and Karen Brown, Café Manager.
Nursing Professional Practice Fairs
were held at Mission Children’s Specialists
(MCS) on February 4 and Asheville
Surgery Center (ASC) on February 9.
Sponsored by the Marketing and
Communications for Nursing Excellence
Committee, these fairs provided information
about nursing excellence and shared
decision making councils and committees
throughout the organization. Nine posters
were displayed showing details of the
councilor model, the major hospital-wide
councils, education assistance, and the services
of the Integrative Healthcare department.
Two more fairs will be held in April.
Attendees to all four fairs who stop at all
stations to have their passports marked
will be eligible for prize drawings.The
grand prize is a paid trip for one nurse to
the 2010 Magnet ® Conference in October
in Phoenix, AZ.
Mark your calendars for April 19,
Memorial Campus A649, and April 23 SJ
Campus Quality Room.Times for both
dates are 0730 - 0930, 1130 - 1330, and
1730 -1930. Snacks will be provided.
Research
Conference
Poster Presented
I presented my research regarding
“Blended vs. Lecture
Learning: Outcomes
for Staff
Development” as a
poster presentation
at the Southern
Nursing Research
Society Conference
in Austin,TX, on
February 3-6.The
conference was
attended by 650 nurses and offered a
showcase for presenting current nursing
research. Presentations and posters were
grouped with similar topics providing an
opportunity to meet and discuss with
authors/researchers. Awards and grants
were presented for various research
projects.
The conference was attended by
nurses from all southern states ranging
from the East coast (Florida,Virginia,
Washington, DC) to Texas. Most large
schools of nursing were represented with
much of the research completed by PhD
nurses or doctoral students.Topics were
very diverse ranging from studies of sleep
disorders with dementia to oral secretion
management of patients with an endotracheal
tube. It was truly inspiring and
impressive to note the quality and depth of
research completed by nurses!
– Heidi Sherman, RN, BSN
Staff Development Coordinator
Nursing Mission and Vision
Mission Statement:
Mission Nursing - Promoting Health and
Wellness; Providing Compassionate,
Quality Care.
Annette Racer, RN, (left) and Beth Justice, RN, (right) stop by the Practice Fair posters at ASC to
discuss nurse involvement in promoting excellence in professional practice and patient care.
Vision Statement:
Mission Nursing - A Nationally
Recognized Model of Professional Nursing
Practice Committed to Excellence.

Nurses Have an Important Role in the Budget
Nurses
involved in the daily
delivery of care to
patients and their
families have a
frontline influence in
budget conservation
and expenditures,
according to Vice
President and CNO
Kathy Guyette,
MSN, RN, CNA-BC.
She emphasized
that nurses’ decisions
and input have
an important
impact on hospital
operations, ranging
from the use of
supplies to staffing
budgets and money
spent for capital resources.
Prudent use of supplies for patient
care and unit office materials means paying
close attention to ensure excellent care
and prevent waste. Nurses are encouraged
to present suggestions for cost saving
measures.Tonya Schroder, RN, Nurse
Educator I for Pediatrics, recognized the
potential to streamline supplies used in
pediatric emergencies and increase efficiency
in accessing those supplies. After a discussion
with the Pediatric Code Team,
nurses began a reorganization of supplies.
This project will result in a great reduction
of expenses.
Don Davidson, Business Manager,
works closely with nursing directors and
managers in the analysis of revenue and
expenses. He urges nurses to “take care
that all patient supplies are accurately
charged.”
Kathy P. Kelley, RN, (left) discusses classifying her patients in QuadraMed
with Nursing Unit Supervisor Robin Noland, RN. Both nurses work on
the Pulmonary Medicine Care Unit and Pulmonary Medicine Step-down.
Procedure and supply charges impact
the monthly responsibility reports of all
unit managers. Items such as department
supplies, specialty beds, agency sitters, education
and travel, and repair and maintenance
expenses are all listed on each unit’s
monthly responsibility report. Don
explained that careful attention to both
departmental expenses (money going out)
and accurate entry of charges (money
coming in) places the hospital in a better
position to acquire new equipment for the
care of our patients.
“Nurses have a vital role in budget,”
says Brenda Shuford, RN, Management
Systems Coordinator. While some hospitals
use patient head counts to determine
staffing numbers on each shift, Mission
Hospital uses QuadraMed.This classification
system is based on patient acuity and the
workload in providing patient care. Each
nurse evaluates the needs of their patients
in order to choose indicators, which reflect
care needs.
Heart Days Poster Winners
• People’s Choice: Beta Blockers by Jill Howell, RN, Nurse Clinician for
Surgical Services
• First Place: Patient Teaching – Heart Path staff members Gail Stephens, RN;
Virginia Fox, RN; and Cathy Gibson, PH. I ASSISTANT
• Second Place: Managing Geriatric Delirium by Cathy Hebert, RN, MSN, CNS
for Geriatrics
• Third Place: Sim-Man by Bonnie Oliver, RN, American Heart Association Nursing
Education Specialist I; Jill Rabideau, RN, Medical/Surgical Pool, Nursing Support
Services; and Lora Deitz, RN, Nursing Unit Supervisor for Nursing Support Services.
“Bedside nurses taking the time to
classify patients and choose appropriate
indicators drive the day to day budget,”
says Brenda. Nursing unit supervisors then
use the QuadraMed calculations to establish
the number of nursing staff needed
each shift.Their compliance with bringing in
more nurses or flexing them off affects
budget that day, as well as the long term.
Brenda explained that QuadraMed
data throughout the year is used to project
staff needs and budget for the upcoming
year. Selection of accurate indicator classifications
and observance of recommended
staffing impacts individual nursing units, as
well as the whole organization.
Bob Purgahn, manager of Biomedical,
stated that input from about 120 nurses
helped shape the final selection of a capital
budget item, the installation of the Rauland
Responder 5 nurse call communication system.
“By a three to one margin, the nursing
staff preferred the Rauland system (compared
to two other systems) based on its
“ease of use,” excellent technological features,
and their favorable experience with
the Rauland Responder 4 on the Memorial
Campus,” says Bob. While the Rauland system
was mid-range in expense compared
to the other two systems,“the 17=year
history of the Rauland systems indicated a
low cost to maintain the equipment and
high level of reliability,” he added.
Installation of the system on both campuses
will be completed in about 18 months.
While the focus of bedside nurses is
to provide excellent care for their patients,
their sphere of influence reaches beyond
the patient’s room to selection of supplies
and equipment, budget meetings, and services
offered to our community and region.

Announcements
• Thank You Asheville Hospitalists!
Mission Hospital nurses are very grateful
to the Asheville Hospitalist physician
group for their recent $1000 contribution
to the Nursing Education Fund.
“We've tried to make this an annual
gift to thank the nursing staff for the work
they do in caring for our patients,” said
Scott Joslin, MD, Clinical Director of the
Asheville Hospitalist Group.“ We are very
appreciative for their dedication and have
the opportunity every day to see all that
Mission nurses do to support the health of
our community. Our thanks go to the
entire nursing staff at Mission for their dedication
and hard work.”
• Nursing Councilor Model logo of
Shared Decision Making Councils on
MOD
You can see photographs of the chairs
and co-chairs of the major hospital-wide
councils plus links to the MOD page for
each council: Nursing Governance Board;
Nursing Research; Nursing Informatics;
Nursing Practice; Nursing Professional
Development; Nursing Quality; and Nursing
Administration.
From the MOD home page, use Quick
Links to find Nursing Resources.Then
choose “Nursing Shared Decision Making
Councils” on the right side of the screen.
• Great 100 Nominations deadline
April 15
Nominate deserving Mission Hospital
nurses to receive this prestigious statewide
award for nursing excellence. Go to
www.great100.org for details and nomination
submission.
• Guidelines for Abstracts, Posters,
Speakers, and Articles for Publication
on MOD
Submissions by all nurses to conferences
and nursing journals and all nursing
students for school presentations must follow
an approval process.The steps are to
be completed in order:
1. notification to your supervisor
2. approval by Risk Management
3. approval by the Chief Nursing
Officer
4. implementation of Mission brand
standards for posters and Power Point
presentations
5. submit for consideration to
conference or journal or presentation
for nursing school.
For a one-page listing of details go to
MOD > Departments & Services >
Marketing & Communications for Nursing
Excellence > Poster Guidelines.
• NC Board of Nursing Nominations
deadline April 1
Go to www.ncbon.com > 2010
Election of Nurse Members to nominate
your worthy colleague for one of three
openings: one Nurse Educator from an
ADN or Diploma Program, one Staff
Nurse (RN) position, and one LPN.
• Nurses who recently attained
national specialty certifications
Michele Dupyawon, RN, of Adult
Medicine – Medical-Surgical Certification
Ralph Mangusan, RN, of CVPC –
Progressive Care Certification
Five nurses passed the Gerontological
Nurse Certification Exam;
Carla Ballard, RN, General Surgery
Celena Garrett, RN, Endoscopy
Debbie Hensley, RN, Women’s Surgical
Jessica Martin, RN, Neurosciences
Aileen Nerona, RN, Asheville Specialty
Hospital
• Emergency Department National
Poster Presentation
Emergency Department (ED) staff
members presented a poster at the
February Emergency Nurses Association
Leadership Symposium in Chicago – Susan
Jarvis, RN, MSN, Administrative Director of
Emergency Services; Sheila Radcliff, RN,
BSN, Manager; Karen Blair, RN, BSN,
Manager; and Stephanie Whitaker RN, BSN,
CEN, Nurse Clinician. Jason Hunt, MD, also
co-authored the poster called “Is Your ED
in the PITT?” PITT refers to Physician
Integrated Triage Team.
• Staff Achievement
Katrina Buckner, LPN, of the Olson
Huff Center Medical Practice, passed the
NCLEX and is now a RN.
Research
Call for Posters
Nurses have two opportunities to
submit posters for upcoming presentation
events:
Research Fiesta May 5
• Research and Evidence-based Practice
posters from your units.
• Submit topic by April 5
• Submit completed poster by April 28
• Ask for poster supplies, if needed
Nurses Week Poster Showcase May 6-12
• Any type posters presented at
regional or national conferences
• Submit topic and poster size by
April 19
• Submit poster for display by April 30
The poster showcase will alternate
between cafeterias on both campuses
Submit yours by contacting Kathy
Daley, RN, MSN, CCRN-CMC-CSC,
CPAN, Clinical Nurse Specialist for
Research. Email Kathy.Daley@msj.org or
call 213-0779
Nursing News is Produced for the
Nurses of Mission Hospital,
Asheville, NC
Cherry Odom, RN,
Writer/Editor/Photographer
Nursing Documentation
Coordinator
Email comments/submissions to
cherry.odom@msj.org.
Carole Donnelly, Layout
© 2010 Mission Health System

Council Reports
VP and CNO Kathy Guyette, MSN, RN, CNA-BC (left), and Jeanie
Bollinger, RN, BSN, CCRN, CSC, of Cardiovascular ICU (right), presented
a Nursing Excellence Ambassador Award to Thresa Lukacena, Media/
Office Tech for Nursing Practice, Education and Research (center).
Nursing Governance Board (NGB)
Thresa Lukacena, Media/Office Tech for Nursing Practice,
Education and Research, received a Nursing Excellence
Ambassador Award from Vice President and CNO Kathy Guyette,
MSN, RN, CNA-BC, at the February 17 monthly meeting of the
NGB.Thresa was recognized for her efforts in establishing a MOD
page for the Shared Decision Making Councilor Model logo with
links to the major councils MOD pages.
Topics discussed were:
• Retreat planned for March 17 for nursing directors,
managers, and NGB members
– Collaborative all-day event to discuss growing
the Magnet ® culture
– Report from directors about the status of shared
decision making councils in their areas
– Gap analysis report related to meeting Magnet ®
expectations
• Nursing scope of practice
• Major council reports
Future agenda items are:
• NGB bylaws
• Nursing Strategic Plan development
• Certification goals
• Hospital Peer Review
Nursing Research Council (NRC)
The highlights of the February 17 monthly meeting of NRC
are listed below.
• Research Fiesta on May 5th
– At least five oral presentations for dissemination of
completed research projects plus evidence based
practice and research posters will be included.
– More poster submissions are encouraged.
• Debbie Skolnik from the MAHEC Library presented
Nursing Research links on MOD, MAHEC and Internet
resources. Online access to the MAHEC Library is available
by completing the AHEC Digital Library form on
www.mahec.net/library.
• NRC Bylaws
– Active membership requires attendance at 75% of
meetings
– Update needed to distinguish ad hoc from voting
members
CJ Smart RN, BSN, Genetics Center and Brenda Smith RN,
BSN, Women’s Surgical Unit, submitted their proposal and plan to
start their staff education next month about the Impact of
Education on Confidence Level of Nurses Caring for Families
Experiencing a Pregnancy Loss.
– Co-chair Lisa Clark, RN, MSN, CPAN, of PACU
Nursing Informatics Council (NIC)
Following are the highlights of the February 11 monthly
NIC meeting:
• Janice Brown from Infection Control presented an isolation
update and asked for input about the best MOD location for
the new material. Recommendations about the information
and MOD location were given.
• Pat Standifer, RN, asked for assistance in documenting
“current state” surrounding medication administration.
• Nancy-Jo Wirman, RN, MSN, MBA, MHIM, Manager of
Nursing Informatics, presented to the group and asked for
suggestions concerning Advance Directives.
Other items in progress
– Changes in the Adult Geriatric Admission History
Form
– Review of a discharge check list for nurses in Depart.
– Chair, Karen Ward, RN, BSN, Nursing Informatics
Nursing Practice Council (NPC)
The February 11 monthly NPC meeting covered the
following topics:
• Dawn Neuhauser, RN, Manager for Oncology, and Dr. Julian
Ferris presented the “No Venipuncture Order,” which will
preserve venous access for potential dialysis patients. Pending
Medical Administrative Council (MAC) approval, nursing has
agreed to pilot the order.
• NPC collaborations with pharmacy have begun to review
current state and future compliance with appropriate
witnessing and documentation of medication dose wasting.
• Insulin U-500 Dosing high risk/low volume issues under
review. Follow-up with Diabetes Resources and Pharmacy
still in progress.
• Pharmacy presented information on new safety syringe
caps. NPC recommended Pharmacy request agenda time at
next NAC meeting and present this information to educators.
• Float Guidelines currently listed in MOD will move to
individual units listed under Departments and Services.
A generic Purposeful Rounding statement will be added to
each department’s guidelines.
– Co-chair Myra Blackwell, RN, BSN, NUS for Spine Center

Nursing Professional Development Council (NPDC)
Highlights from the February 11 monthly meeting of NPDC are as
follows.
• Certified Nurses Day is March 19. The council discussed
ways to celebrate and acknowledge Mission nurses who are certified
in their specialty.
• Discussed the development of the council bylaws and
webpage.
• Encouraged council members to perform a learning
needs assessment on their respective units.
• Photos of the council in action were taken; a group photo
is now posted on the MOD page for this council.
– Co-chair Gina Hallstrom, RN, CMSRN, of 8 North
Nursing Quality Council (NQC)
In the February 17 meeting of the NQC, the following items
were outlined:
• Juanita Miles, RN, Labor and Delivery, who is on the IVIEW
design team, presented a preliminary view of some screens
and functionality of IVEW.
• Cathy Hebert, RN, MSN, CNS for Geriatrics, discussed the
revised Urinary Catheter Protocol.
• Dr. James Whitehouse of Asheville Infectious Disease
Consultants reviewed the process for determining a
nosocomial infection marker (NIM) at Mission.
– Facilitator Janie Fielder, RN, MSN, NNP-BC, the CNS for
Nursing Quality and Performance Improvement
Nursing Administrative Council (NAC)
During the January 26 monthly meeting of NAC, the following
topics were discussed:
• Nursing Excellence and Meeting Magnet ® Expectations
presentation
• Guidelines for approval of Abstracts, Posters, Speakers,
& Articles for Publication
• Managers’ newsletter requirements
• MERIT behaviors
• Training center changes for BLS and ACLS
• Progressive and Critical Care Education Programs
• National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators
(NDNQI) pressure ulcer data
• IView design
Pen-in-Hand Group’s First Meeting
The Writing for Publication Special Interest Group has added
a hands-on component for nurses who wish to practice writing in
a supportive atmosphere.The Pen-in-Hand Writing Group now
meets for one hour immediately following the quarterly meeting
of the Writing for Publication group. Julie Bell, MS, RN, the Clinical
Nurse Specialist for Pediatrics, volunteered to lead the Pen-in-
Hand group in quarterly writing exercises.
The Writing for Publication group offers opportunities to discover
resources, give each other support and bring ideas/questions
for discussion and input. Both groups are open to anyone
who is interested in writing for healthcare related publications.
The next meeting of the Writing for Publication Special
Interest Group is May 17, 2010 in A649 from 1430 to 1600,
immediately followed by the Pen-in-Hand group in the same room
from 1600 to 1700.
To be added to the group email list for these groups, email
cherry.odom@msj.org.
Nurses are busy writing at the first meeting of the Pen-in-Hand Writing Group. Julie Bell led the group in an exercise using common objects to prompt
written expression of the first thoughts that come to mind. Such exercises are meant to inspire nurses to evolve their everyday writing into articles
about excellence in patient care and nursing projects which occur on their units. Left to right are Jackie Houtman, RN-C, MA, OCN, Oncology; Barb
Marsh, RN, BSN, MHS, CPAN, Nursing Education Specialist II; Linda Y. Smith, RN; SN, IBCLC, CNS for Neonatal,Women’s, and Mother/Baby; C J Smart,
BSN, RNC, Genetics; Kathy Daley, RN, MSN, CCRN-CMC-CSC, CPAN, CNS for Research; and Julie Bell, MS, RN, CNS for Pediatrics.