Hupdate -- December 13

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

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Volume 24 Number 25 December 13, 2013

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With its two-time Magnet designation, the highest number of Beacon units in the country, and a very long waiting list of nurses wanting to work here (well over 400 at this point), HUP nursing is considered one of the best in the area. But this scenario is a far cry from what Victoria Rich, PhD, chief nurse executive, found when she came on board in 2002. The Health System was recovering from a near miss with bankrupcy. Significant staff cuts throughout had taken their toll. The hospital’s vacancy rate for nurses was 30 percent; the turnover rate was 25 percent.

“How do you raise morale in a nursing culture with a double digit vacancy rate and a high rate of contract nurses who were not invested in the organization?” asked PJ Brennan, MD, chief medical officer and senior VP for UPHS, at one of Rich’s many “farewell” parties. “You recruit a chief nurse with conviction, a passion for patient care, someone with a heart who cares about her people, and an uncanny operational knack.”

Rich’s first act was to set up direct lines of communication between her and her nurses, asking IS to give each a UPHS email address. Then, she worked with HUP executive director Garry Scheib — and a generous donation from the Board of Women Visitors — to create the Nursing Network Center. “I was slowly setting up the infrastructure — building the frame for the house, so to speak— so we could continue to move forward.”

(Continued on page 2)

` Victoria Rich (c.) with the staff of Rhoads 3,6,7 and Dulles 1 at one of the many "farewell" parties held for her.

New Helicopter Strengthens PennSTAR Abilities ..................2

Antiques Show Benefits Resuscitation Medicine............3

Enhancing the Arrival Experience ....................3

Heartfelt Thanks .......................3

Helping People All the Time ....3

ID Badge Center Expands Hours .........................4

HUP Receives Multiple Awards .......................4

inSidE

Rich E x P E r i E N c E

t H E She has helped move all of

us to always ask, ‘What is the right

thing to do for the patients and

their families?'

— garry Scheib, HUP Executive Director

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Over the next several years, HUP nursing evolved under Rich’s steady hand. She partnered with Brennan to create Penn Medicine’s Blueprint for Quality, our mandate to improve patient outcomes and safety. An important component was the Unit-Based Clinical Leadership team, which she considers one of her top three accomplishments at HUP. “Everyone has to believe he or she has something to contribute,” she said. “This is the way care should be given — in partnerships with doctors, nurses, pharmacists … the entire health-care team. It’s the future.” Many hospitals around the country have since established UBCLs but “we were one of the first, absolutely.”

Another top accomplishment: HUP’s two consecutive Magnet accreditations which “embrace all the building we did and its sustainability.” Fewer than seven percent of all registered hospitals in the United States have achieved this recognition of nursing excellence.

Last but not least: hiring only nurses with a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree. Rich was again ahead of her time when she did this in 2006. Today, all hospitals in the Philadelphia area hire only BSNs; 92 percent of HUP’s nurses have at least a BSN. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine issued a report on the future of nursing and one of its recommendations was that by 2020, 80 percent of all nurses must have a BSN. Rich has been chosen as a state leader working towards this goal in Pennsylvania.

Rich has always been a strong advocate for patients as well as nurses. Indeed, she led the way in creating the Patient and Family Advisory Council and also worked to develop HUP’s nursing cultural diversity committee. “She has helped move all of us to always ask, ‘What is the right thing to do for the patients and their families?’” Scheib said.

Not surprisingly, Rich has received recognition from many national and international groups for her leadership in nursing. “Victoria is a visionary,” Scheib said of his colleague and friend. “Her legacy here will be the outstanding care our patients receive.”

Rich may be leaving her position at HUP but she is far from retiring. She’ll continue teaching in Penn’s School of Nursing and will also serve as a consultant for the American Nurses Credentialing Center, helping health-care facilities obtain Magnet designation. Still, “I can’t imagine not being here. This is my family. I’ve never felt like this in any other place.”

nEw HEliCoPtEr StrEngtHEnS PennStar abilitiES A new PennSTAR helicopter joined the powerful fleet which has transported more than 37,000 patients since the flight program’s creation in 1988. In this calendar year alone, the five helicopters and one ground Specialty Care Transport ambulance have carried more than 3,000 patients to life-saving care.

According to flight nurse Tom Levins, CCRN, CFRN, the newest helicopter (an EC-145) is the largest of the fleet which “greatly enhances our ability to transport sicker patients.” The larger platform allows the flight crew better patient access and the ability to provide more advanced life-saving therapies, such as ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). In addition, the aircraft is equipped with state-of-the-art aviation technology.

“This is a powerful, well-equipped helicopter,” said PennSTAR 1 lead pilot Terry Hawes. “We’re grateful to the hospital for purchasing it.”

PennSTAR’s fleet of helicopters is based throughout the Delaware Valley, Lehigh Valley and South Jersey region.

When Victoria Rich leaves her position as chief nurse exexcutive later this month, she’ll take with her some very special memories:

• PJ Brennan, MD, sending her flowers every year on Nurses Day.

•Rounding with Bernett Johnson, MD, (HUP’s former chief medical officer who died in 2009) and Al Black, chief operating officer at HUP.

•Holding the pep rally for the first Magnet accreditation. “There was so much excitement in what we were doing.”

•Chuck Aitken, assistant executive hospital director, getting the huge fish tank from the ED waiting room for the Nursing Renewal Center. “It doesn’t get any better than someone doing that for you.”

• “Seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces” at HUP’s six Magnet Galas, which have contributed approximately $250,000 to outreach efforts. “They were all such wonderful celebrations.”

BestMemories

(Continued from cover)

Rich E x P E r i E N c E

t H E

` Chuck Aitken with Rich at the opening of the Nursing Renewal Center. Aiken was responsible for getting the fish tank moved from the ED to the Center.

` Flight paramedic Adam Masiuk, (l.) and Tom Levins in the new PennSTAR helicopter, which will greatly enhance their ability to transport patients.

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EnHanCing tHE arrival ExPEriEnCE The ED waiting room is undergoing a face lift which will not only update the area but lead to improved patient care. When completed, the renovation, which started in September, will result in four triage rooms (as opposed to the current two) and three stretcher bays, up from just one. The waiting room will have additional seating and be divided into two sections: one with a TV and one with a quiet area. The restrooms will also be refreshed, said Phillip Gaspari, operations manager of Emergency Medicine.

Starting around the week of Christmas or a little earlier, part of the Ravdin lobby will serve as a temporary waiting room for the ED, allowing construction on the waiting room itself. The area between the escalator and the windows will be walled off; only those coming through the main ED entrance (and the security checkpoint) will have access to this area. “During construction when we have the temporary waiting area, hospital staff will not be able to regularly enter or exit the hospital through the ED entrance.”

The temporary enclosed space in the Ravdin lobby will have both a nurse and security guard 24/7. A support associate will be there 12 hours a day, he said. The project’s anticipated completion is in February.

BestMemories

Heartfelt Thanks The purpose of my note is to express

the incredible professionalism, clinical competency, and compassion of all the staff [on Rhoads 3], particularly the nursing staff. I have worked in health care for 30 years and all the members of the team are exceptional people/providers. The unit secretaries, environmental services, nursing assistants to the skilled nursing staff and physicians are to be acknowleged…. The nursing staff and their care could serve as a scientific paradigm for the standard of care all providers should strive to demonstrate.

antiqUES SHow bEnEfitS rESUSCitation mEdiCinE Nationally, fewer than 10 precent of cardiac arrest victims survive. But thanks to Penn’s cutting-edge bench-to-bedside research and therapies, local survival rates for these patients have increased to 45 percent. Now, $577,000 in proceeds from the 2013 Philadelphia Antiques Show will help bring cardiac-arrest and post-resuscitation care at Penn to the next level, saving even more lives.

The money will help create new emergency resuscitation bays devoted solely to advanced cardiac resuscitation and post-cardiac care. “Your support provides a greater chance of survival for cardiac arrest pateints,” said Jill Baren, MD, chair of Emergency Medicine, at the check presentation. “Resuscitation medicine is a young specialty but it’s on the leading edge of emergency medicine therapies.”

“This show celebrates the advances at Penn Medicine,” said CEO Ralph Muller. “Knowing we’re making a difference in the lives of our patients.”

natalie warner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rhoads 1

india Kearney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Guest relations

Chris ojeda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccU

desonia mapp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccU

annie Chapman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ravdin 9

Jamie Hawkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silverstein 12

Jodi Sandos . . . . . . . . . . . . . radiation Oncology

ayana Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .radiology

Kryshe butler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .radiology

Sahar Hyseni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .radiology

dannette lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .radiology

Karen alvarez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rhoads 2

theresa fletcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rhoads 3

Carrie marvill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rhoads 7

tara owens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rhoads 7

nicole miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Founders 12

Cindy tobolski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MicU

Claudia obanor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silverstein 11

ronald Emerson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Security

Charles washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Security

isaac mcneill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . transport

woodie bowie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . transport

Helping People all tHE timECongratulations to July’s winners of the Helping People All the Time raffle.

` (L. to r.) David F. Gaieski, MD, director, Quality Management Program; Katharine Eyre, chair of the 2013 Antiques Show; Jill Baren, MD; and Ralph Muller.

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HUPdateEditorial Staff Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer

trissy Harding Designer

adminiStration Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs

ContaCt HUPdatE at: 3535 Market Street, Mezzanine Philadelphia, PA 19104

phone: 215.662.4488 fax: 215.349.8312 email: [email protected]

HUPdate is published biweekly for HUP employees. Access HUPdate online at http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate.

HUPdateEditorial Staff Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer

trissy Harding Designer

adminiStration Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs

ContaCt HUPdatE at: 3535 Market Street, Mezzanine Philadelphia, PA 19104

phone: 215.662.4488 fax: 215.349.8312 email: [email protected]

HUPdate is published biweekly for HUP employees. Access HUPdate online at http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate.

HUP rECEivES mUltiPlE awardSHUP received the Mission: Lifeline Bronze Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success in implementing a high standard of care, which improves survival and outcomes for patients suffering the most severe form of heart attack called STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction).

The Joint Commission, in conjunction with the AHA, has awarded HUP the Advanced Certification in Heart Failure. Achievement of this certification demonstrates long-term success in improving outcomes for patients diagnosed with heart failure. HUP is Philadelphia’s first hospital to be so recognized.

The AHA and American Stroke Association awarded HUP the Get with The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes HUP’s commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

lEarn morE aboUt HUPAll Employee Meetings provide a great opportunity to talk with HUP’s leaders and ask questions. The next one will be held:

Date: Tuesday, January 7

Time: 8:30 to 9:30 am

Location: Medical Alumni Hall

id badgE CEntEr ExPandS HoUrSEveryone who works at HUP — eg, employees, students or contractors — needs an ID badge. This requirement helps provide a safe environment but has also significantly increased the demand for badges. Indeed, more than 14,000 people came to the ID Badge Center last year alone.

To help make access to the Center more convenient for all shifts, Security has expanded its hours of operation. The Center is now open 7 am to 7 pm, Monday through Friday (closed daily between 3 and 4 pm).

Two Security staff members will now process ID requests: David Arcidiacono, Badge Center coordinator, and Deneica Liverpool, Badge Center technician.

Important: Everyone needs to have the following information to get an ID card:

• A completed and authorized Photo ID form with your full legal name. Forms are available from department business administrators.

• Current valid state/government picture ID, such as a driver’s license or passport.

If you have any questions, please contact the ID Badge Center at 215.349.5593.

HUPdate winS PEPPErPot awardFor the second consecutive year, HUPdate won a Pepperpot Award from the Public Relations Society of America, in the “Newsletters” category. Congratulations to the Department of Communications and the Creative Services Division of Marketing on this accomplishment!


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Taking Time Out to Talk ..........2

Roundtable ................................3

Free Skin Cancer Screening .....................3

Partners in Rehab .....................4

Shortakes ..................................4

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Taking Time Out to Talk ..........2

Roundtable ................................3

Free Skin Cancer Screening .....................3

Partners in Rehab .....................4

Shortakes ..................................4

Volume 24 Number 15 July 12, 2013

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INsIde

‘Patient’ Care Reaches New Heights .............................2


Keep Your Bike Safe from Thieves ......................................3


It’s Now a Little Easier Being Green in West Philly .................4

Running for Cystic Fibrosis .....4

team work equals Patient-Centered Care The Victoria Rich Patient Satisfaction Award is presented to a unit that provides world-class patient care, translates research, consistently measures outcomes to evaluate patient satisfaction initiaves, demonstrates teamwork, and partners with interdisciplinary teams to address patient- satisfaction initiatives. Dulles 6 captured the award this year. Nurse manager Mary Rogers described the unit’s award-winning strategy:

“In our current health-care environment, nursing units are continually searching for innovative ways to improve communication with our patients. In May 2012, Dulles 6 implemented a change-of-shift report between incoming and offgoing nurses at the bedside that includes the patient in the discussion. Noting large gains in all areas of HCAHPS — including communication with nurses, communication with physicians, and medication teaching — we partnered with our providers, unit-based clinical pharmacist, SW/CRC, and PT/OT to begin daily interdisciplinary coordination of care rounds at the bedside. This initiative began in November.

“We have seen significant increases in all of our HCAHPS scores for the fiscal year, and patients have verbalized feeling much more connected to their care. We continue to meet as needed to make adjustments to make the rounds as meaningful as possible to all involved.”


award-wINNINg E x c E l l E N c E IN huP NursINgThis year’s Nurses Week Award Ceremony recognized the accomplishments of many

nurses, including HUP’s 2012-2013 Daisy Award winners and the UPHS Nursing Excellence

Award winners from HUP and CPUP.

In addition, several nurses received special recognition for going above and beyond in

patient care.

` The staff of Dulles 6 received this year’s Victoria Rich Satisfaction Award for implementing changes to improve patient-centered care on their unit.


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INSIDE

Volume 24 Number 9 May 3, 2013

The Impact of Health-Care

Changes on Penn Medicine ....2

Annual Total Compensation

Statements: Now Online! ........3


Free Trees for Penn and

UPHS Staff & Faculty ...............4

Survey Says ..............................4

What do all these hospital employees have in common? They are ‘second victims’ of a tragic

patient outcome. For years, many have suffered in silence, trying to retain the expected stoic facade.

But, now, at HUP, a new program will pro-actively provide immediate ‘emotional’ first aid to

those who need it.Lingering Feelings of Inadequacy

Studies show that health-care providers often have strong feelings of guilt or inadequacy

following an unanticipated bad outcome or medical mistake. “They feel responsible and may

see it as a personal failure,” said Jill Huzinec, RPh, director of Patient Safety, who’s leading the

initiative. A recent survey of HUP employees mirror these results. Nearly one-third reported

experiencing personal problems after an event. Even more concerning: 30 percent seriously

contemplated leaving their profession as a result of the event.

“It’s a stigma in the medical profession; you don’t get upset ,” she said. “You just go on to care

for the next patient. But how can a provider help someone else when he or she is suffering

emotionally?”While most staff are resilient and will recover after a traumatic event, “this program is essential

for those adversely affected by it.”

Huzinec said the new program — Care for the Care Provider — will be available to any

employee who might be emotionally traumatized by an event: all disciplines, all departments,

all shifts. And it will be available 24/7. “No one should have to wait till Monday to talk about

their emotional distress related to an event that happened on Saturday night.”

The program will also support those who have experienced violence in the workplace, such as

employees who have been attacked by patients or family members. “They’re all victims.”

It’s a stigma in the medical profession;

you don’t get upset, but how can a

provider help someone else when he or

she is suffering emotionally?

FIRST AID

E M O T I O N A LA trauma nurse faces the tragic loss of a young patient close to his own son’s age.

A transporter must bring an infant who died in the Neo-ICU down to the morgue.

A pharmacist hears that his patient had an anaphylactic reaction to a

medication. He discovers the medication allergy was documented but not

acknowledged during the patient’s admission.

A housekeeper learns that a long-time patient she has grown close to has coded

and is now in an intensive care unit.


` Offering emotional support to a staff member after an adverse

event (enacted above by Kirsten Smith, MSN, clinical nurse

specialist and Angelo DeFeo, BSN, of Dulles 6) is a key

component of HUP’s Caring for the Care Provider program.


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Volume 24 Number 22 November 1, 2013

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Each year, Volunteer Services recognizes one person who has gone above and beyond the normal responsibilities of a volunteer. At this year’s annual volunteer celebration, the 2013 Volunteer Outstanding Achievement Award went to Len Schultz.

Schultz came to HUP in 2009 but knew he wanted to volunteer here five years earlier, when he was still working fulltime as an engineer. Accompanying his wife to HUP on her “medical sojourns” over the years, he had noticed “an amazing combination of science and humanity. She was treated like a queen when she was here. Now I know that everyone is.”

His initial volunteer post was as a greeter/transporter at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine but he wanted to be more a part of the clinical side. His move to the Emergency Room in 2010 turned out to be a perfect fit for both him and the staff. “When Len first came to volunteer in the ER, I thought he’d last two days,” said Jim Pisaturo of Emergency Medicine, kiddingly. “Now we think, ‘Thank God he joined our team!’”

Schultz’s responsibilities have grown beyond those of a typical ER volunteer, such as taking patients for tests and bringing blood samples to the lab. He simplified and then rewrote the orientation for ER volunteers and was soon handling the orientation himself. “Len’s training of ER volunteers is the best I have,” said Donna Griffith, director of Volunteer Services.

He also joined HUP’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, working on many of its initiatives. One was a task force examining the problem of lost patient belongings. He worked with the ER staff to determine how patient possessions were handled and then made a flow chart of the process (“which is what engineers do!”) to determine what needed to be changed. “So far in FY14, we’ve had only one report of lost items in the ER,” he said, stressing that “hard work by many people solved the problem.”

Len’s training of

ER volunteers is

the best I have.


` Congratulating Len Schultz (c.) on receiving the 2013 Volunteer Outstanding Achievement Award for his work in the ER are (l. to r.) Heather Matthew, Phil Gaspari, Jennifer Barger, Donna Griffith, Jimmy Pisaturo, and Thea Burke.

volUntEEr of tHe yEar

Changing Times in Nursing ....2

Newest CAREs Grant Winners .....................................2

Changing the World One Word at a Time .................3

Aitken Receives Outstanding Engineer Award ........................3


Cancer Survivor, Transplant Recipient, Ironman! .................4

Dependent Eligibility Audit .....4

inSidE

` deneica liverpool and david arcidiacono will be able to process ID badge requests more efficiently and with shorter waiting times thanks to extended hours.

Documents

Hupdate -- December 13