March/April 2015
The Kenmore Kronicle A Newsletter for the Nursing Staff at Kenmore Mercy Hospital
Master Movers Starting Training
Advice from a Tree • Stand tall and be proud • Remember your roots • Drink plenty of water • Be content with your natural beauty • Enjoy the view
The Move With Care safe patient handling program makes its debut at Kenmore Mercy Hospital this summer.
Nursing Leadership Message Your Shared Governance committee has provided meaningful and fun input into our 2015 Nurse’ Day celebration. I hope you all can join us on May 5 in the Community Room for our annual luncheon. The theme this year is “The Power of Nursing.” Throughout the week, we plan to have vendors, the blessing of hands and hand massages! As we celebrate you, our heroes, we want to feature images of what you do outside of Kenmore Mercy Hospital. Email photos and a brief description to Roxanna Schuler at rshuler@chsbuffalo.org. Watch for more details about Nursing Week activities! With gratitude to all, ~ Cheryl
Leading up to the July 28 go live date, training will be rolled out, first to Master Movers, then all associates involved in the movement or transfer of patients. These Master Movers will take part in extensive training to learn the latest safe patient handling techniques, as well as how to operate a variety of patient lift, transfer, and mobility equipment. In turn, they will then support other associates who are involved in the transfer and movement of patients, including nurses, therapists, aides and transport personnel. Kenmore Mercy’s Nursing Master Movers will be: Tiffany Andolino, RN - Emergency Department Jillian Dobson, RN - Medical Rehab Unit Kristyn Durick, RN - Intensive Care Unit Russell Duerr, NA - Surgery Theresa Donohue, NA - Ambulatory Surgery Penny Fire, NA - Operating Room Nancy Gargas, NA - PACU/Recovery Sylvester Garden, NA - 2 West Debbie Henderson, NA - Medical Rehab Unit Jillian Hess, NA - 2 West Tracy Hudson, NA - Medical Rehab Unit Benedetta Indubbi, NA - Emergency Department John Ingraham, RN - 2 West Melissa Kowalski, RN - Operating Room MaryJane Lodico, RN - Medical Rehab Unit Natalie Lomoriello, RN - 3 East James McQuade, NA - 2 West Donnell Manuel, NA - 2 East/2 South Michelle Marella, RN - Intensive Care Unit
Jason Meder, RN - Operating Room Deborah Micholas, RN - 2 East/2 South Marcia Powers, RN - Emergency Department Danette Reed, NA - Ambulatory Surgery Maria Richardson, RN - Intensive Care Unit Maria Roberts, RN - Emergency Department Amy Sirianni, RN - 3 East Caroline Sweeney, RN - Operating Room Dawn Tronolone, RN - Float Kelly Wagner, RN - 3 East Denise Walker, NA - 2 West Kathleen Walsh, RN - Intensive Care Unit Susan Wasielewski, RN - 2 East/2 South Delores Watkins, NA - 3 East Allison Willet, NA - Intensive Care Unit Susan Zawadzki, NA - 2 West
Master mover training begins on April 21. General training will begin on June 3.
Remember to watch Nursing Notes on the Intranet for more news!
2014
The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognize this hospital for achieving 85% or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Performance Achievement indicators for consecutive 12 month intervals and 75% or higher compliance with 5 of 8 Get With The Guidelines Stroke Quality Measures to improve quality of patient care and outcomes in addition to achieving Time to Intravenous Thrombolytic Therapy ≤ 60 minutes in 50% or more of applicable acute ischemic stroke patients (minimum of 6) during one calendar quarter.
Coming & Goings Welcome New Team Members The following indiviuals joined the nursing team in March and April. March Cassandra Clossum, NA - Intensive Care Unit Bridget Gregory, NA - Medical Rehab Unit Kayla Hoffman, RN - 2 West Kaitlyn Kamera, NA - 2 West James McQuade, NA - 2 West Kristen Nazaruk, RN - 2 West Paige Vogel, NA - 2 West April Felicia Julius, NA - Medical Rehab Unit Laura Babbit, RN - 3 East Leigh Shufran, RN - Intensive Care Unit Shakira Warren, NA - 2 West
GI Nurses Host Education Event In recognition of Colon Cancer Aware-
ness Month in March and Gastrointestinal Nurses and Associates Week, the GI nurses hosted a Gastrointestinal Education Day on March 23. The event featured Timothy Adams, MD, a colorectal surgeon, who addressed colon cancer, followed by Theresa Jackson, RD, who spoke about healthy lifestyles. Staff members were also available in the lobby throughout the week to talk with interested individuals about colorectal Azadeh Hasson-Tehrani and Marie cancer and gastrointestinal diseases, such Sullivan spent time talking with a number of visitors. as diverticular, colitis, and Crohn’s, by offering information on risk factors, prevention strategies, treatment options and nutritional considerations. They also conducted a 50/50 split club raffle; $210 was donated to Helping Hands.
Retirements Thank you to the following nurses for their dedicated service to Kenmore Mercy Hospital. Rosemary Fletcher, RN, Ambulatory Surgery, will retire in April. Celebrate with her 35 years of service during a retirement party on April 30 at 2 p.m. in the Community Room.
Surgical Nurses Help Spine Patients Overseas Nurses from Kenmore Mercy’s Surgery Department — Jacob Walck, RN, Jan Vosburgh, RN, and Rachael Achtziger, RN — and David Vogt, MD, anesthesiologist, traveled to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic this March as part of a World Spine Outreach mission trip.
Patricia Vitthuhn, RN, Ambulatory Surgery, retired after 42 years of service on March 17.
They were among 28 volunteers from Buffalo, New York City, Salt Lake City, and Florida. The volunteers screened 35 potential patients, 24 of which received corrective scoliosis surgeries.
Lucy Quinlan, RN, Endoscopy, retired on April 14 after 12 years of service.
Jan recently celebrated her seventh year as president of World Spine Outreach.
Monitor Tech Position The 3 East Patient Care Unit recently added a new position, unit clerk/monitor technician. In addition to some unit clerk duties, this individual provides 24/7 monitoring of patients on telemetry. They observe cardiac monitors, document and report changes in cardiac rhythm or heart rate, and report details to the charge nurse. This is a welcome addition ot the unit and helps promote safe patient care.
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Congratulations The following nursing members completed the Catholic Health New Manager CORE Program recently: Anne Hedges-Creighton, director of Nursing, Perioperative, and Chris O’Mara, manager of Care Management.
Kenmore Mercy’s Pathway to Excellence Leading Others Kenmore Mercy Hospital was recently invited to speak at the annual New York State Organization of Nurse Executives and Leaders (NYONEL) conference about its successful journey to nursing excellence through achieving the American Nurse Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Pathways to Excellence designation.
DNR Policy Question Addressed by Risk Management
Kenmore Mercy is one of only two hospitals in New York State currently designated by the ANCC as a “Pathways to Excellence” facility.
A recent question arose on the correct procedure for DNR orders and documentation. A physician performed the informed consent portion of the process and the nurse was a witness to the discussion.
The conference is attended by chief nursing officers and nursing division/ deparrtment leaders from across the state, and nurses in leadership roles outside of the acute setting.
The physician then entered the DNR order into Soarian. The nurse was asked to have the patient sign the DNR consent form.
A one hour-long presentation was given by Catherine Mulawka, MSN, RN, MBA, to more than 30 nurse leaders from across the state. The session detailed the hospital’s journey from the initial decision to apply, to how it chose the ruby slipper theme, to how bedside nurses participated on various committees, and to how our document came together seamlessly through the joint efforts of nurses throughout Kenmore Mercy Hospital.
When the nurse brought the consent form to the patient, the patient stated, “I want to wait for my family to arrive.” So, now we have an order in the computer that the patient was a DNR, but no signed consent form.
Questions posed by attendees focused on how the massive amounts of data required are gathered and stored, as well as asking about the various means by which nurses were educated and kept up to date on the project, and what tangible and intangible benefits resulted from the achievement.
Based on this situation, one of our Catholic Health risk management representatives replied:
Earning the Pathways to Excellence designation is a remarkable achievement for nursing at Kenmore Mercy Hospital. It is an honor to Kenmore Mercy Hospital nursing that their collective achievement was the focus of so many nurse leaders across the state who hope to replicate our success. Congratulations!
If the patient now does not want to sign the form and instead wishes to wait for their family before signing, this would constitute a revocation of their initial verbal consent to a DNR. The patient can revoke the DNR by verbally notifying the physician in the presence of another adult witness or via a signed/dated written statement. The physician is obligated to cancel the DNR via an order to revoke DNR. I would just make sure that the patient is directly asked if they now chose to revoke the DNR until discussing things with family. A DNR consent can be made verbally if properly witnessed – it would not matter that it was entered into the chart before the form was executed. However in this instance I don’t think “how” the original consent was given matters because it appears that the patient now wants to wait before signing off.
Please refer to the full policy for more information on this process.
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In July 2013, Kenmore Mercy Hospital celebrate receipt of the Pathway to Excellence Award. It was the first hospital in Western New York to achieve this distinction after undergoing a rigorous process. Nurses Mary Kay Izzo, RN, Kristen Parisi,RN, and Mary LaMartina, RN, accepted the award on behalf of all Kenmore Mercy’s nurses.
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Nursing Tips HIV Counseling & Testing
All individuals between the ages of 13 and 64 must be offered an HIV screening test in accordance with NYS guidelines for HIV testing when, a patient is in the emergency room, or is admitted as an in-patient or is seen in a primary care clinic associated with the hospital. Prior to screening testing for HIV, the individual must read (or have read to them) the information contained in the “Key Messages About HIV” (CSC form # 9847) required by the Public Health Law and be given sufficient opportunity to have questions addressed and then either agrees or declines to be tested. The patient can verbally agree or decline to be tested; this should be documented in the medical record. The physician who has discussed the HIV screening with the patient must document the patient’s verbal consent to the screening test on the “HIV Counseling Note” (CSC #9675 found on Compliance 360 forms section) or may document the same on
Have you heard about the Big Dots? Kenmore Mercy Hospital’s Big Dots, its 2015 priorities are Associate Engagement, Patient Safety and Experience, Nursing Excellence, Surgical Services, Orthopedics and Musculoskeletal Campus of Excellence, Operational Effectiveness, and Clinical Integration.
The “BIG DOTS”: Kenmore Mercy’s 2015 Priorities Patient Safety & Experience
Associate Engagement
Surgical Services Orthopedic & Musculoskeletal Campus of Excellence
Clinical Integration
Nursing Excellence
Operational Effectiveness
Learn more about the Big Dots at the Associate Forum sessions that begin on April 27 and run through May 11. Check the schedule below to find a date and time that works for you.
Please refer to the full policy for more information on this process.
As a reminder, any one can call for a Rapid Response if they believe an individuals health and safety is at risk. Dial ext. 55555.
Observation Status
Did you know that you can identify a patient’s level of care by checking the color of the their name on the spine of their medical record. Observation patients have their name on a red binder sleeve card.
Medication Doses & Kilograms
The doses of some medications are weight based in kilograms. With this in mind be sure you are entering the weight correctly. It will make a big difference if you enter a weight in pounds but you mean kilograms visa versa. Take a moment to check that what you have entered is accurate.
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Hitting a Home Run:
Kenmore Mercy Hospital & You
Spring 2015 Associate Forums Come see how our all-star team is doing this year! Enjoy baseball themed snacks! Get in the drawing for great prizes like Bison tickets, a Kenmore Mercy Louisville Slugger, fleece jackets and baseball caps.
Community Room Monday, April 27 Tuesday, April 28 Wednesday, April 29 Friday, May 1
1 - 3 p.m. 5 – 7 p.m. 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 3:30 – 5:30 a.m.
Monday, May 4 Thursday, May 7 Friday, May 8
5 – 7 p.m. Noon – 2 p.m. 10 a.m. – Noon
Tuesday, May 12
3:30 – 5:30 a.m.
ADMIT ONE
Rapid Response