2011 Nursing Annual Report - FINAL.pub - South Shore Hospital

ImprovementsSTABLE Program Comes to SSHUnder the leadership of Lisa Rengucci, RNC, MS,IBCLC, Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Mother &Infant Unit, we were able to bring the STABLE programto SSH. This internationally recognized programis designed for nurses, doctors, respiratorytherapist and EMT’s to recognize and stabilize atrisknewborns until they have reached the appropriatelevel of care. To date, 30 of our colleagues aswell as several of our community partners havebeen STABLE certified at SSH. In December wewill offer the STABLE cardiac program. Both programswill be offered twice a year going forward.Updated DNR Policy to IncludeLimited Code MeasuresIn 2011, South Shore Hospital updated its policyregarding “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR) Orders andadded a new “DNR and Limited Code Procedure”for all areas except for the Neonatal Intensive CareUnit (NICU). While many people know what “DNR”means, it is mistakenly used for a variety of otherorders as well. Color‐coded bracelets now providevisual confirmation of a patient’s code status.Every eight hours, the nurse must verify that thecorrect band and clip are still in place by verifyingthem against the most recent physician order, andthen document this in the nursing interventions.This initiative was led by a multidisciplinary teamheavily populated by nurses, and builds on the patient‐centeredwork to support families at the bedsideduring a code.Maternal Special Care Unit OpensIn March of 2011, the Maternal Special Care Unitwas opened on the second floor of the Emilsonbuilding, contiguous with other obstetrical servicesfor optimal quality, clinical coverage, and patientflow. This unit is designed to support high risk antenatalpatients of any gestational age and highrisk post partum patients. The unit is equippedwith 10 monitored beds for both fetal monitoringand cardiorespiratory monitoring and is staffedwith trained high risk antenatal registered nursesable to provide the necessary care.Each registered nurse is required to be certified inthe Neonatal Resuscitation Program, which providesemergent care to newborns, and AdvancedCardiac Life Support for adults. Our daily censushas continued to rise over the last few months (anaverage of 6 patients per day in the past 6 months)as the awareness grows that this critical service isnow available to the community and patients donot need to be transferred to other facilities forcare.Colleagues continue to enhance this service byscheduling events and celebrations for their longtermpatients. During Hurricane Irene, for example,the nurses hosted a “Hurricane Party” withcake, decorations and music. This provided a welcomediversion for the patients, who often stay 2to 12 weeks.54