Nursing Update 2009 - 2010 - Yale-New Haven Hospital

TrAnsformATIonAL LeADershIP
success of rounding with
staff nurses
Each week, members of the Nursing Cabinet
– the hospital’s nursing
leadership – receive valuable feedback
from one unit’s entire interdisciplinary
team as they walk the floor and meet with
staff and patients.
During this time, staff nurses tell cabinet
members about topics such as equipment
needed for increased patient safety, how
an additional computer would decrease
the time spent documenting information,
compliance progress or a job well done by
staff or an individual.
Do you have what you need to do your
job? Tell me a little bit about your patient.
Such open-ended questions elicit key
information about what is important so
nurse leaders can address the issues of
the staff nurse. Cluster leaders and Staff
The Nursing Cabinet at YNHH includes (front row, l-r): Patricia Span, RN, director, Center for Professional
Practice Excellence; Leslie O’Connor, APRN, director of nursing, Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital; Carol
Kupec, RN, director of nursing, Emergency Services; Sue Fitzsimons, RN, PhD, senior vice president, Patient
Services; Diane Vorio, RN, vice president, Patient Services; Ena Williams, RN, director of nursing, Perioperative
Services; Francine LoRusso, RN, director of nursing, Heart and Vascular Center; and Cathy Stevens, RN, director
of nursing, Women’s and Infants Services. In the middle row are (l-r): Bertie Chuong, RN, director, Ambulatory
Services Division; Kathy Kenyon, RN, director of nursing, Medicine; Catherine Lyons, RN, clinical program
director, Smilow Cancer Hospital; Nora O’Keefe, Staff Nurse Council co-chair; Heather Miska, RN, Staff Nurse
Council co-chair; and Carol Just, RN, director of nursing, Surgery. In the back row are (l-r): Stephanie Bilskis,
RN, practice administrator, Community Health; Sherri Barnhill, RN, coordinator, Nursing Safety and Quality;
and Cheryl Hoey, RN, director of nursing, Pediatrics. Missing from photo are: Lori Hubbard, RN, Magnet
coordinator; and Janet Parkosewich, RN, DNSc, interim nurse researcher.
Nurse Council members are frequently
part of rounding, which helps to more
widely disseminate awareness of emerging
patient safety and quality issues.
“We want to hear directly from the staff
nurses about their challenges, concerns
and questions and to hear about their
successes improving the quality of care
for our patients,” said Diane Vorio, vice
president, Patient Services. “Rounding
provides us with an excellent opportunity
to facilitate needed changes more quickly
so the nurses can focus on patient safety
and satisfaction.”
nurses strengthen, improve
practice within heart and
Vascular Center
Yale-New Haven Hospital Heart and Vascular
Center is Connecticut’s largest and
most comprehensive provider of heart
and vascular services, including adult and
pediatric cardiac operating rooms, interventional
laboratories, rhythm management
facilities, advanced imaging services
– nuclear, CT and MRI, and a Chest Pain
Center.
Because of its reputation for excellence,
Yale-New Haven attracts some of
Y A L e - n e w h A V e n h o s P I T A L 3