nursing - PinnacleHealth System

Trained and Prepared... continued
notified first, and then the charge nurse coordinates the activities for the transport and notifies respiratory therapy. The
weight of the individuals on the flight are reportedand taken into consideration by the pilot, along with weather
conditions, distance of the flight and amount of fuel needed for the transport. This all takes place in a matter of minutes.
The NICU bedside nurse in flight are: Susan Brackbill, Darcy Cramer, Tina Daniels,
Heather Davis-Fisher, Sue Dwyer, Jessica Gentile, Michalena Levenduski, Sandi Marx-
Beckett, Kim Nardis, Tammy Novinger, Melinda Paul, Brooke Pribilla-Hentz, Donna
Wicks and Tina Willier.
Neonatal resuscitation is most effective when performed by a trained and coordinated team.
PinnacleHealth has that trained team—prepared for any delivery when the need for
resuscitation comes as a complete surprise.
PinnacleHealth First Annual Quality Conference -
The Never Ending Story
Robin Albert, RN
On October 5, 2009, the PinnacleHealth Nursing Quality Council held its first Annual Quality Conference. The day
was filled with PinnacleHealth nurses sharing quality care practices provided to their patients. Sherri Matter,
CNO, provided welcoming remarks. Sherri has over 26 years of experience in nursing. Her leadership style
continually pushes for the “voice” of the bed-side nurse to be heard in the decision making process. Keynote
Speaker, Joan Silver, VP, Organizational Quality & Performance Improvement, presented “Really,” which
provided actual quality and safety experiences within PinnacleHealth. The format included humor and exercises
promoting discussion and interaction with the audience. Joan spoke on areas such as, “Why do we make mistakes,”
“How every error has a sequence of events leading up to the error,” and “The evaluation of our next step in quality
and safety.”
Quality Council members, Elizabeth Barrick, BSN, RN, ONC, (Chair), Cindy Hallman, BSN, RN, CMSRN, (Co-
Chair), and Rebecca Pontius, RN, CCRN presented “Past, Present, Future.”, “The Birth of the Quality Council,”
“Back to Basics” and “Chasing Zero.” They described the present functions of the council and how changes in
Medicare reimbursements will affect the future of the Quality Committee. Laureen Mihelich, BSN, RN and
Kristin McManus, RN presented a “Quality Initiative: The New Falls Prevention Program.” The new components
of the Falls Prevention program for those patients at risk were explained, along with the state key philosophy “All
Hands on Deck.”
“Using Lean Six Sigma to Improve Clinical Quality and Patient Experiences” was presented by Amy Helmuth,
MS, RN, director, Performance Improvement. Lean Six Sigma is a methodology for performance improvement
that focuses on reducing process waste and errors to meet performance requirements and customer expectations.
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