Nursing Update 2009 - 2010 - Yale-New Haven Hospital

we work hard to ensure a pleasant work
environment. As a result, we have virtually
no staff turnover and that translates
positively to our patients.”
nurses lead recycling efforts
in Ambulatory services
Division
With virtually no recycling in their building
18 months ago, nurses in YNHH’s
Ambulatory Services Division have since
taken recycling in the one-day surgery
center to heights that could put some
municipalities to shame.
Located in a non-hospital-owned building,
the nurses began recycling plastic
bottles, cans and newspapers. Then they
turned their attention to waste in the
clinical areas to determine what could
be safely reused. They creatively involved
groups as diverse as the Newington (Connecticut)
Humane Society and local art
teachers. Both groups now use the paper
that once wrapped surgical trays.
Darlene Cox, RN, Post-Anesthesia Care
Unit, led the recycling efforts. She also
found a new intravenous solution bag
that didn’t require an outer plastic wrap,
which had created significant amounts of
discarded plastic.
Pediatric Intensive Care unit bloodstream infection rates
Through collaboration with the National association of Children Hospitals and Related Institutions,
the Pediatric Intensive Care unit was able to decrease bloodstream infections by introducing
interventions to improve the quality of care given to patients. The unit went a remarkable 326 days
without an infection.
Infections / 1000 device days
8
8
7
7
6
6
5
5
4
3
2
1
0
Nurse Certification Day is a popular event for YNHH nurses. Hundreds attend the all-day information fair to
meet with the hospital’s certified nurses and learn more about getting certified or recertified themselves.
Here (l-r) are: Rosanna Tangredi, RN, Heart and Vascular Center Cardiac Intensive Care Unit; Mary Davis, RN,
Cardiac Unit; and Belen Hilario, RN, Medical Intensive Care Unit, share information about certification with
Mary Pierson (second from left), RN, assistant patient service manager, Heart and Vascular Center Cardiothoracic
Step-Down Unit.
■ PICu
■ NHSN median
■ NHSN 25th percentile
■ NHSN pooled mean
1/06 2/06 3/07 4/07 1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 1/10
quarter / year
“The staff benefits by using this product
because it eliminates a step in our
procedures,” Cox explained. “Everyone
has embraced the recycling efforts, and
some have gotten involved beyond their
eight-hour days.”
PICu goes 326 days without
bloodstream infection
For 326 days last year, the number of patients
with bloodstream infections in Yale-
New Haven Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric
Intensive Care Unit (PICU) was zero.
“This life-saving achievement is a
result of PICU nurses reliably implementing
best practice ‘care bundles’ – a group
of practices that, when applied together,
result in substantially greater improvement
for our patients,” explained Susan
Reynolds, RN, patient service manager,
PICU. Since becoming part of the National
Association of Children’s Hospitals and
Related Institutions collaborative in July
2008, the hospital’s PICU nurses
can compare diagnoses and procedures
used by 50 other children’s hospitals and
institutions to increase their compliance
and improve patient care. The collaborative
is a multi-year initiative focused on
preventing catheter-related bloodstream
infections in the PICU, which will save
lives, prevent infections and conserve
healthcare dollars. ■
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