Nursing Matters 2008 Spring - St. Mary Medical Center

State Grant Supports Leadership Development TrainingA $325,000 grant from Pennsylvania GovernorEd Rendell’s Job Ready Program will fund trainingfor 24 clinical lead/supervisor RNs through theBucks County Workforce Investment Board. Thesix-session program will focus on the empowermentof self and others through positive-basedleadership.The Bucks County Workforce Investment Boardreceived the state grant to start an industrypartnership training program for employers ofthe long-term care industry. As part of PennsylvaniaGovernor Ed Rendell’s Job Ready Program,industry partnerships help pay for training of incumbentworkers while also enabling companieswithin the industry to become more competitive.To assist in this endeavor, the Bucks CountyWorkforce Investment Board asked the BucksCounty Long-Term Care Consortium, of which St.Mary Medical Center is a long-standing member,to take the lead in establishing a training program.From left to right:Maureen Ferguson,Dwight Hartman, LindaGaul, Paula Zeglin,and Mary MacDonaldparticipate in a recentleadership developmenttraining session.Training sessions are coordinated through theNursing Education Department. nSafety Update: National Patient Safety GoalAs part of its ongoing efforts to maintain thehighest levels of patient safety and to achieve fullcompliance with the Joint Commission’s nationalpatient safety goals, St. Mary Medical Center hasadopted the nationally recognized format knownas SBAR for hand-off communications betweenhealthcare providers. SBAR stands for Situation,Background, Assessment, and Recommendations.The purpose of the Joint Commission’s nationalpatient safety goals is to promote specificimprovements in patient safety. For more than12 years, the Joint Commission has evaluatedreportable medical errors, and concluded fromroot cause analysis that communication was thetop contributing factor of medical error and thatat least 50 percent of these communication problemsoccurred during “hand-off.”The phrase “hand-off communication” refersto a real-time process of passing patient-specificinformation from one caregiver to another orfrom one team of caregivers to another for thepurpose of ensuring the continuity and safetyof the patient’s care. Multiple patient hand-offsoccur in healthcare settings during the transfer ofpatient care responsibilities. Specific examples thatdemonstrate the points in the process where thetransfer of responsibility occurs include, but arenot limited to, the following:nnnnnShift change or breakFrom physician to nurse, nurse to physicianReport from one nursing unit to another foradmission or transferCritical laboratory and radiology resultscommunicated from one healthcare professionalto another nurse or member of thehealthcare team.From one hospital to another“Hand-off” focuses on the patient, not thepeople. Standardized formats allow all parties tohave a common expectation of what is going tobe communicated and how the communicationis structured. The standardized formats also allowall parties the ability to ask questions and verifyinformation. nn Patient agen Gendern DiagnosisThe SBAR ApproachS – SituationB – Backgroundn Medical historyn Allergiesn Sensory impairmentn Vital signsA – Assessmentn Isolation requiredn Skin Assessmentn Medications givenn Dressings/Casts/Splintsn Tubes/Catheters/Drainsn Proceduren Mental statusn Family locationn Religion/culturen Interpreter requiredR – Recommendationsn Specific care required immediately or soonn Special equipment neededn Pending lab or X-ray resultsn Consults/Orders

AdvancingOur Skills andKnowledgeCongratulations to the following nurses forearning certifications in orthopedics:n Karen Bender, RN (MSM)n Agnes Gill, RN (MSM)n Bridget Musse, RN (MSM)n Debra Palisca, RN (MSM)n Bridget Rehfuss, RN (MSM)In addition, St. Mary Medical Centercongratulates the following nursing leadersfor their recent accomplishments:n Pam Ledger, RN, MSN, CNA,Administrative Director of Surgical Services,who received certification as an ambulatorysurgery administratorn Mary Agnes Fox, MSN, RN, CNAA-BC,Director of Critical Care, who was electedpresident of Southeastern PennsylvaniaOrganization of Nursing Leaders (SEPONL)n Patricia Poserina, RN, (ICU), who earneda master of nursing degree from ImmaculataUniversity nGuardian AngelsThe following Nursing colleagues wererecognized recently through the St. MaryMedical Center Foundation’s Guardian Angelprogram:n Eileen Bolickn Patty Burnsn Frank Chiricon Chris Derrn Zahra Eshaghin Jessy Georgen Christopher Gleasonn Tiffany Hamiltonn Nicole Hellyern Luisa Jablan Trish Kaspern Mini Koshyn Anna Luffn Daniele Nuceron Sophy Sabun Franny Schiegeln Dotty Sparichn Steve WestWelcome Aboardn Cheryl Rottmayer, RN, has joined St. Mary as the new Nurse Manager for the Intensive CareUnit. She has more 20 years of combined experience in management, critical care, and emergencynursing. Rottmayer received her nursing degree from Oklahoma State University and herbachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma.n Kimberly Leip, BSN, OCN, is the new Breast Health Navigator in the St. Mary Breast Center. Leipjoined St. Mary six months ago as Nurse Manager of the Clinical Decision Unit. She comes to St. Maryfrom Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton in New Jersey. Leip, who is an oncologycertified nurse, earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the College of New Jersey.n Robin D’Ambrosio, RN, has joined St. Mary as the new Stroke Coordinator. Robin previouslyworked at Nazareth Hospital, where she was instrumental in establishing its stroke program.She earned four awards from the American Stroke Association for her successes at Nazareth.D’Ambrosio received her nursing diploma from St. Agnes Nursing School and her bachelor’sdegree in nursing from Immaculata University. nOur Healing MinistryMina Bhatt, RN (MG2), recently volunteered for a community service project alongside Bindu C.Kansupada, MD, and various other healthcare colleagues from surrounding hospitals. The BAPSCharities Health Screening Fair was held in the fall in Levittown. nSpirit of Nursing Distinctionin Excellence Award NomineesMarge Koch, Dr. John Mueller, Tara Gallagher, Patty Dolbow, RonSimpson, Gail Hadley, and Karen Felters congratulate Dixon Cuff(seated) on MG4.Dr. George Cautillicongratulates ColleenKamasa from MSM.Stella Hett, left, and Mary Rita Lewis, are RR&RCouncil members assisting with the planning ofNurses’ Week.Nursing Matters is published collaboratively by the Marketing & Communications Department and St. Marynursing colleagues. Submit news items to vreed@stmaryhealthcare.org, paledger@stmaryhealthcare.org, orcmeyers@stmaryhealthcare.org.BridgetRehfuss,RR&R chair,congratulatesMelissaBielesch fromMS1A.