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Pink Bracelet Project
ANNUAL ASPAN CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS CHANGING PRACTICE TO PROMOTE PARENTAL VISITATION IN THE PEDIATRIC POST-ANESTHESIA CARE UNIT Susan N. Kamerling, RN, MSN, BC, Linda Cunningham Lawler, RN, BSN The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Parental visitation in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) is surprisingly not a standard of care at most institutions. Parental presence in the PACU at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) was historically inconsistent and limited. It was recognized that consistent and relatively unlimited parental presence in the PACU was needed to better meet the CHOP commitment to provide family-centered care. Under the leadership of the Family Services Coordinators and the Periperative Family-Centered Care Committee, staff worked to promote parental visitation in the PACU. Through education, multidisciplinary collaboration, ongoing support and dissemination of related data, parental visitation in the PACU increased from 44% in January 2004 to 90% in January 2007. For the successful implementation of PACU visitation, all involved disciplines need to be part of the planning, implementation and evaluation process. As staff become increasingly knowledgeable about the theoretical advantages of parental visitation, comfortable with parents at the bedside, and experience first-hand the benefits to patients, families and staff, parental visitation in the PACU can become a firmly embraced standard of care.
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‘‘NURSES WIELDING THE PURPLE CRAYON’’ Deborah Turk-Adams, RN, BS, Theresa St. Gelais, RN Problem Identification: Prioritization and organization of patient information were identified as inconsistencies in postoperative reporting causing frustration, wasted nursing time and jeopardized patient safety. Objective: Evidence-based practice and National Patient Safety Goals compliance provided impetus to develop a standardized communication tool thereby improving communication effectiveness between caregivers. Process of Implementation: Relevant areas of report information were identified by nursing staff via survey. Handoffs, utilizing SBAR format, were trialled in limited areas leading to re-evaluation and modification. Staff were educated via posterboards. Nursing documentation process changed to facilitate handoff. Statement of Successful Practice: Direct feedback from nursing staff and Shared Governance Council representatives shows positive response and increased confidence in staff that all pertinent information has been reported to maintain best practice. Statement of Positive Outcomes: Purposeful communication has improved patient safety and nursing satisfaction with the organization of information into one readily available standardized tool. Implication for Perianesthesia Nurses: Nurses having an active role as patient advocates improving the safety of patient care through the use of effective communication tools.
PINK BRACELET PROJECT
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN DAY SURGERY
Lori Colvin Sanders, BSN,RN,CPAN Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
Sylva L. McClurkin, RN, CAPA, Project Leader Simin Ansari, RN, BSN, CAPA, Lillian Bailey, RN, BSN, CAPA, ANM St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital – Houston, Texas
Sedated patients are vulnerable because they are not able to warn staff if an extremity is ‘off-limits’ for blood pressures and venipunctures. Currently, we mark the chart with a sticker, but often when a patient arrives in our area the physician still has the chart. I developed the Pink Bracelet Project to advocate for patients who have had a mastectomy or lymph node dissection as treatment for breast cancer. We surveyed at risk patients admitted for procedures unrelated to their cancer treatment about their fears of developing lymphedema. We then applied a ‘No VP/BP’ hot pink bracelet to the affected extremity and surveyed them again to ascertain if the bracelet had reduced their fear. Patient feedback was overwhelmingly positive. One patient wanted to meet the nurse ‘‘who had such a wonderful idea’’. After title pilot program was complete, a returning patient refused to go to her procedure until she had her pink bracelet. We are currently using a revised assessment tool to measure patient outcomes and levels of fear. Preliminary results show patients to have a significant reduction in fear of developing lymphedema.
Customer satisfaction has been the focus of health care institutions. Quality initiatives that are patient driven promote customer satisfaction. According to Schweitzer ‘‘There is a growing number of consumers becoming proactive with researching and selecting their own healthcare options, a new era of ‘‘customer service’’ is now in play at hospitals and other healthcare facilities’’. In order to survive the competition, it is essential for a hospital to reach out to its customers. The actions are geared towards the promotion of the patient’s well being that results in patient satisfaction. Such actions involve fulfilling the patient’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Data has been collected from 150 patients or family members. A set of 11 questions mostly taken from the NCR Picker Satisfaction Survey was given prior to discharge. The results provide important ‘‘real time’’ information to our unit, allowing for evaluation and revision of present actions based on survey results. The results will be used to design an interventional research study to determine the specific actions that enhance the customer service provided in Day Surgery.
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‘‘NURSES WIELDING THE PURPLE CRAYON’’ Deborah Turk-Adams, RN, BS, Theresa St. Gelais, RN Problem Identification: Prioritization and organization of patient information were identified as inconsistencies in postoperative reporting causing frustration, wasted nursing time and jeopardized patient safety. Objective: Evidence-based practice and National Patient Safety Goals compliance provided impetus to develop a standardized communication tool thereby improving communication effectiveness between caregivers. Process of Implementation: Relevant areas of report information were identified by nursing staff via survey. Handoffs, utilizing SBAR format, were trialled in limited areas leading to re-evaluation and modification. Staff were educated via posterboards. Nursing documentation process changed to facilitate handoff. Statement of Successful Practice: Direct feedback from nursing staff and Shared Governance Council representatives shows positive response and increased confidence in staff that all pertinent information has been reported to maintain best practice. Statement of Positive Outcomes: Purposeful communication has improved patient safety and nursing satisfaction with the organization of information into one readily available standardized tool. Implication for Perianesthesia Nurses: Nurses having an active role as patient advocates improving the safety of patient care through the use of effective communication tools.
PINK BRACELET PROJECT
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN DAY SURGERY
Lori Colvin Sanders, BSN,RN,CPAN Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
Sylva L. McClurkin, RN, CAPA, Project Leader Simin Ansari, RN, BSN, CAPA, Lillian Bailey, RN, BSN, CAPA, ANM St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital – Houston, Texas
Sedated patients are vulnerable because they are not able to warn staff if an extremity is ‘off-limits’ for blood pressures and venipunctures. Currently, we mark the chart with a sticker, but often when a patient arrives in our area the physician still has the chart. I developed the Pink Bracelet Project to advocate for patients who have had a mastectomy or lymph node dissection as treatment for breast cancer. We surveyed at risk patients admitted for procedures unrelated to their cancer treatment about their fears of developing lymphedema. We then applied a ‘No VP/BP’ hot pink bracelet to the affected extremity and surveyed them again to ascertain if the bracelet had reduced their fear. Patient feedback was overwhelmingly positive. One patient wanted to meet the nurse ‘‘who had such a wonderful idea’’. After title pilot program was complete, a returning patient refused to go to her procedure until she had her pink bracelet. We are currently using a revised assessment tool to measure patient outcomes and levels of fear. Preliminary results show patients to have a significant reduction in fear of developing lymphedema.
Customer satisfaction has been the focus of health care institutions. Quality initiatives that are patient driven promote customer satisfaction. According to Schweitzer ‘‘There is a growing number of consumers becoming proactive with researching and selecting their own healthcare options, a new era of ‘‘customer service’’ is now in play at hospitals and other healthcare facilities’’. In order to survive the competition, it is essential for a hospital to reach out to its customers. The actions are geared towards the promotion of the patient’s well being that results in patient satisfaction. Such actions involve fulfilling the patient’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Data has been collected from 150 patients or family members. A set of 11 questions mostly taken from the NCR Picker Satisfaction Survey was given prior to discharge. The results provide important ‘‘real time’’ information to our unit, allowing for evaluation and revision of present actions based on survey results. The results will be used to design an interventional research study to determine the specific actions that enhance the customer service provided in Day Surgery.