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Posts Tagged ‘American Nurses Association’

A win for patients: PVH, MCR take home national nursing quality awards

Posted in Awards, Employee engagement, Patient safety, Quality improvement, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 27, 2011 | 1 Comment »

We’re in health care to take care of people and our community. It’s pretty simple.

So when the American Nurses Association, which keeps the healthcare industry’s only database that helps other hospitals and healthcare providers nationwide make improvements in nursing and patient safety, says your two hospitals are among five nationally that consistently deliver outstanding nursing quality that improves patient care and safety, that’s a big win for our patients and our community.

That’s exactly what happened in Miami this morning, when the ANA announced that Medical Center of the Rockies and Poudre Valley Hospital were among five U.S. hospitals receiving the NDNQI Award for Outstanding Nursing Quality. MCR earned the award for community hospitals, while PVH earned the award for teaching hospitals.

The award recognizes the top five of more than 1,700 hospitals nationwide that report results to the database. The database allows nursing units to compare their performance to similar units at other hospitals at the local, state, regional, and national levels. Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, patient falls with injury, infections acquired as a result of hospitalization and nurse turnover are among indicators tracked.

“The common traits of the award-winning hospitals are strong leadership, teamwork, commitment to ongoing improvement in patient care quality, continuous staff education and efficient use of resources,” said ANA President Karen A. Daley.

PVH, maybe not coincidentally, was the first hospital to receive the award after it was created in 2008. This was PVH’s fourth consecutive year receiving the award.

Medical Center of the Rockies, which isn’t even four years old yet, earned the NDNQI award for the first time. The PVHS Facebook page has a picture of the happy first-time recipients.

Congratulations to PVH and MCR, to the nurses and staff that make them the incredible hospitals they are, and most importantly to our patients and community, who are the reason we come to work each day.

Rulon

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Joint Commission at Medical Center of the Rockies

Posted in Patient safety, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Corporate accountability, Awards, Magnet, tagged , , , on December 3, 2010 | 1 Comment »

The Joint Commission is the organization which is tasked with evaluating hospitals throughout the world.  Representatives show up without notice at hospitals throughout the world to inspect how care is provided.  This process provides an unbiased assessment of hospitals, and assures patients and government officials of the standards of care within a hospital.

As luck would have it, The Joint Commission survey team came to Medical Center of the Rockies on Tuesday morning, and left Thursday afternoon.  As you would expect, the comments about MCR were very positive.  In fact, one of the survey team commented that if they lived closer, they would come to MCR for their care!  How about that! :)   In fact, they even said to a group of employees, “if you are thinking of leaving MCR, don’t! We see facilities across the country, and this is one of the most beautiful we have ever visited.” Very nice of them!

Although I know it is a sensitive topic, they also complimented PVHS on our flu vaccination policy, saying that it was clearly in the best interest of the patient, and mirrored identically The Joint Commission flu vaccination policy which they recently adopted as well.

Congratulations to the staff at MCR for being so prepared.  This means that both MCR and PVH are Joint Commission accredited organizations, both are designated by The American Nurses Association as Magnet facilities, both are Baldrige Award winning organizations…and the list goes on.  Northern Colorado is well served by the dedicated staff of the entire Poudre Valley Health System!

Rulon

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Nurses do much more than care

Posted in Employee engagement, Magnet, Patient safety, Patient satisfaction, tagged , , , on July 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

The top story in the recent edition of the American Nurses Association’s SmartBrief focuses on “The Many Roles of Today’s Nurses” and features comments from Craig Luzinski, chief nursing officer at Poudre Valley Hospital.

The article clearly outlines how nursing has changed over the years, and the many important roles today’s nurses play in our community’s health.

Nurses do much more than care for patients at the bedside, in the clinic, on the phone or community setting. According to Craig, who in 25 years of nursing has seen dramatic changes, nurses provide clear and comforting leadership to the patient and family during the patient’s care program.

Nurses are also teachers and counselors, helping others understand the often complex health issues they face. Without the time nurses spend teaching and reassuring patients, family and colleagues, America’s health care system would certainly be more confusing and frightening.

As Craig and this article point out, nurses are very competent risk managers, helping organizations identify problems before they happen and, thus, keeping costs down. When I watch our nurses at work, I truly believe this. They are so good at connecting with their patients and families, and so adept at communicating with physicians and other care providers, it amazes me. It’s no surprise PVH has been a Magnet hospital since 2000.

I predict that the nurses’ ability to connect with others will be the glue that holds the health system together as we face the many challenges of health reform. In addition to providing dedicated care to the injured or ill, nurses are excellent at helping keep communities healthy. This concept is a huge focus in health reform legislation …keeping people out of hospitals and clinics, and more focused on a healthy, productive life. It’s the driving force behind the Community Case Management Program that earned PVH the Magnet Prize in 2009.

I can’t close without acknowledging the hard work of the PVHS nursing staff. They are unbelievable! I am so proud to work with each and every one of you, and thank you every day for your commitment to your patients, families and colleagues.

Nurses do care for us — and they do so much more.

Rulon

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National, state nursing leaders attend PVH’s Nursing Magnet Award celebration

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 12, 2010 | 2 Comments »

I want to talk a little bit more about the Community Case Management program at Poudre Valley Hospital that I mentioned in yesterday’s blog about our Avatar awards (you can watch a video about the program here). 

That program won the 2009 Magnet Prize, and PVH was honored to have national and state nursing leaders attend its Magnet Nursing celebration last week. 

More than 130 people attended the event, which recognized 29 Magnet Nurse nominees, and the crowd included Dr. Jeanne Floyd, executive director, American Nurses Credentialing Center; Dr. Debbie Hatmaker, president, American Nurses Credentialing Center, board of directors and vice president of the American Nurses Association; Roy Simpson, vice president of nursing, Cerner Corporation; and Lola Fehr, president, Colorado Nurses Association board of directors. 

ANCC visits PVH

ANCC visits Poudre Valley Hospital

Dr. Floyd, Dr. Hatmaker and Mr. Simpson were visiting PVH as result of the PVH Community Case Management program receiving the 2009 Magnet Prize. In his remarks to those in attendance, Mr. Simpson said that “By winning the Magnet Prize, PVH has set the platinum standard for excellence in nursing practice and innovation and differentiated itself from other organizations.” 

Mr. Simpson, representing the Cerner Corporation, is the sponsor of the Magnet Prize. In addition to the recognition PVH received $25,000, which is being used to enhance the Community Case Management Program and support the development of a “tool kit” which will help other organizations create a program similar to the one at PVH. 

Dr. Floyd, Dr. Hatmaker, and Mr. Simpson also met with community case managers and went with case managers to client visits to get a first-hand experience of the program’s impact those clients’ lives. 

Rulon

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