2006 nur - PinnacleHealth

force 8
Consultation and Resources
force 9
Autonomy
Joey Hocker,
RN, NICU (1971)
“There are many
satisfactions from being a
nurse. The general idea that
I am in a very honorable
profession and nurses
are generally held up as
good and honest people
is satisfying. Nursing is
both science and art. This
makes it both challenging
and satisfying. But for
me personally, I am both
honored and humbled
to have a positive impact
on families during a
stressful time of their lives.
Nursing has given me the
opportunity to help families
grow in the face of crisis,
even if sometimes the
outcome is not what was
hoped or planned.”
Pearl of
Wisdom:
Continue to learn and grow—
not only as a nurse, but as
a human being. Always be
amazed at the strength and
goodness of the human spirit.
Clinical nurse specialists
(CNS) provide valuable
consultation to staff
nurses to enhance evidencebased
practice and promote
clinical excellence. Nurse experts
throughout the system provide
leadership and guidance in the
areas of nursing informatics,
performance improvement,
outcomes management, infection
control and wound care. Advanced
practice nurses make a tremendous
contribution to assuring safe,
quality outcomes for our patients as
well as advancing the professional
development of nurses at
PinnacleHealth.
Deb Schafer, CNS, Labor and Delivery,
provided in-services to the North
9 Women’s Inpatient Unit to present
the new AWHONN (Association
of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and
Neonatal Nurses) guidelines and terminology
for reading electronic fetal
monitoring strips. Practice was revised
according to the new guidelines and
competency testing was provided to
all staff nurses who are responsible for
performing this skill.
Trish Bennett, CNS, CTICU has led
the evidence-based practice changes
to update antibiotic use guidelines for
surgery and glycemic control for CABG
patients. Trish also worked with the
nurses and residents to improve the
process of running a code by holding
“mock” code drills.
Sarah Harne-Britner, CNS, Kim
Fowler, CNS, and Trish Bennett,
CNS are project leaders for the Beta
Site Project involving ZYNX, Siemens
and PinnacleHealth in “Plan of Care”
development. This project incorporates
innovative electronic capabilities with
evidence-based care planning.
Sarah Harne-Britner, CNS started a
study group on CINT to help prepare
nurses to take the cardio vascular certification
exam.
Kim Fowler, CNS has been the mentor
for the Nurse Practice Council and also
for the Nurse Fellowship recipient, Lisa
Fox. Kim is a facilitator for the Research
Roundtable and also helps to mentor
unit based Practice Committees on
Main 1 and West 1.
As wound, ostomy, continence nurses,
Lynn DeMartyn, Melissa Stolley and
Marge Matthews provide expert
consultation for wound and ostomy
care, education to nurses and physicians,
and disseminate best practice as
speakers, writers and poster presenters
at conferences across the country. They
provided in-services to train 100 nurses
to use the Wound VAC and become
resource nurses on their respective
units. In addition, Lynn served as a preceptor
to train two WOCN nurses from
other hospitals in the role of WOCN
nurse.
Peer Review is an
important part of
nursing autonomy at
PinnacleHealth.
The nurses in CTICU took the initiative
to attend a conference on communication
and to purchase two books to help
them learn more about implementing
effective, meaningful peer review.
Nurses are empowered to identify
issues for change and innovation to
improve the work environment and
patient care. For example, nurses on
CINT’s Practice group had concerns
about the blood glucose levels of
patients on their unit. This concern
fueled a new diabetes initiative that
resulted in tighter glucose control for
patients. The work environment on
Main 10 has been enhanced through
the efforts of a unit-based Work Life
Committee who organized celebrations
for Neuro Nurses and Orthopedic
Nurses Days, as well as community
outreach activities such as Adopta-Family.
These kinds of activities
strengthen the team as a whole and
help staff to participate in meaningful
recognition.
Nurse Heroes
Among Us
November 11, 2007 was the 35th running
of the Harrisburg Marathon. It
also was the day that PinnacleHealth
ICU nurses saved a man’s life. When
Karen Zeplin, RN agreed to coordinate
the medical support team for the
marathon, she expected to treat dehydration,
minor scrapes, and electrolyte
imbalance—not a heart attack. When
Karen and fellow ICU nurse Michelle
Gouhin, RN, heard the urgent call,
“Runner down!” they rushed to start
CPR on a 42-year-old runner. After five
cycles of CPR, an automated external
defibrillator shock and another round
of CPR, the man was revived and taken
to Harrisburg Hospital. A few days after
surgery, he walked out of the hospital,
grateful for the excellent care he
received from the staff in the Cath Lab,
the OR, CCU and CINT.
Humbled and grateful for everyone’s
help, Karen says, “I feel very fortunate
to have been at the right place at the
right time. Because we were there,
this man is still alive. Nothing is more
rewarding than that.”
In addition to Karen and Michelle, the
other nurse volunteers included: Penny
Frownfelter, Sue Langan, Cathy
Druckenmiller, Kim Sutherland, Ann
Wolf and Brenda Black.
PinnacleHealth
Marathon Volunteers
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