Critical Care Nursing Commons^™

Reduction Of Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (Cauti) In A Critical Care Setting, Deborah Jackson, Lindsey Lucas, Shawn Taylor, Jonathan Archibald, Stephen Tyzik, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common type of healthcare associated infections. Seventy five percent are related to indwelling urinary catheters. These infections come with increased morbidity and mortality risk. A team of intensive care providers at a large academic tertiary medical center initiated a quality improvement project to reduce the number of CAUTIs.

Baseline data established the total number of catheter days and CAUTIs by month. A subsequent root cause analysis was completed and several counter measures were developed to include a KPI implementation to track that all intensive care providers are educated in CAUTI and creation of …

Implementation Of Trauma Service Guideline For The Use Of Phenobarbital In The Management Of The Non-Icu Trauma Patient At Risk Or Experiencing Severe Alcohol Withdrawal, Joseph Rappold, Julianne Ontengco, Stephen Tyzik, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

The trauma service in a large academic tertiary medical center admits a large proportion of patients with the secondary diagnosis of alcohol use disorder. Given the successful use of phenobarbital in the critical care unit for withdrawal prophylaxis and treatment of acute withdrawal, a quality improvement project was established to create and implement guidelines for the non ICU patient.

A root cause analysis demonstrated several issues to include inconsistent clinical decision documentation. As a result, several countermeasures were initiated to address the various issues.

Post implementation of countermeasures, a decrease in the amount of severe alcohol withdrawal as well as …

Intensive Care To Intermediate Care Bridge Program, Natasha Bartlett, Sally Langerak, Lindsey Lucas, Jonathan Archibald, Tayla Robbins, Miranda Thompson, Patrice Tetu, Calla Hastings, Megan Garland, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Ruth Hanselman, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

To deliver the highest quality of care across the continuum, a large academic tertiary medical center envisioned a project that would provide an internal source of cross trained nurses for their medical intensive care unit (SCU2) and their medical intermediate care unit (R4/IMC/AVU). The hope for this program was to improve communication and collaboration between nurses and enhance the care that they provide to patients and their families.

A highly qualified team of nurses was established to create a performance improvement project. The overall goal of this endeavor was to build a more collaborative relationship between the units and ultimately …

Increasing Bedside Medication Safety In An Intensive Care Setting, Natasha Stankiewicz, Jonathan Archibald, Scu 2, Mark Parker, Stephen Tyzik, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

A PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FOR INCREASED BEDSIDE MEDICATION SAFETY

The convenience of having certain medications directly available at bedside has long been a priority for a medical intensive care nursing team in an academic tertiary medical center.

However, it was apparent to new staff and leadership that there was a lack of awareness and interest in securing medications within the department. This posed a risk to patients, families, visitors and colleagues.

Baseline metrics on patient safety were collected and a root cause analysis was conducted. Countermeasures included increased education of medication safety as well as a instituting a KPI which …

Improving Revenue Capture And Patient Safety In An Icu Setting, Natasha Stankiewicz, Laura Lewis, Jonathan Archibald, Mark Parker, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Ruth Hanselman, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

IMPROVING REVENUE CAPTURE AND PATIENT SAEFTY IN AN INTENSIVE CARE SETTING

Materials management department is responsible for restocking chargeable supplies in an intensive care unit (ICU) at an academic tertiary medical center. Staff confusion as to what items were considered chargeable often led to low supply par levels resulting in delays of critical patient care.

Using baseline metrics, a team of caregivers created several performance improvement goals to increase nursing compliance with appropriate supply charging. The results of a root cause analysis spearheaded the development of a KPI that encompassed staff education, lost charge tracking and charge supply labeling.

Post …

1600 Rn, Jonathan Archibald, Natasha Stankiewicz, Mark Parker, Elizabeth Ridel-Dermanelian, Sandy Ridel-Dermanelian, Amy Stafford, Shawn Taylor, Deb Jackson, Alana Trottier, Roger Maynard, Bonnie Boivin

Maine Medical Center

Due to a changing employment arena, healthcare organizations are hiring more new graduate RNs into acute care units. MMC’s usual process is to put new hires into night shift. Historically, night shifts have less resource availability. These combined factors left staff feeling unsupported; patient care could be compromised when less support is available to those in the beginning of their careers.