Microscope is a newsletter written by and for

the employees of WakeMed. Our goal is to provide

employees and friends of WakeMed with the most

up-to-date news on all of the hospital system’s activi-

ties. The Public Relations department thanks all of the

employees who contributed to this publication.

We welcome comments and suggestions on this

publication and its content. Call (919) 350-8120, e-mail

microscope@wakemed.org, or write Microscope,

Wake Med Public Relations Department, 3000 New

Bern Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27610.

Coleen Smith, Moira Dutton, Editors

Leslie Keefe, Design

WakeMed Employees, Photos

©WakeMed Public Relations, November/December 2010

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

WakeMed Health & Hospitals

3000 New Bern AvenueRaleigh, North Carolina 27610

To help you plan ahead, this calendar lists upcoming system-wide events, training classes and community events. For complete details and fee information, visit the WakeMedWeb. Please send calendar submissions to the Public Relations department or e-mail microscope@wakemed.org.

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CALENDARO F E V E N T S

news for employees and friends of wakemed

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

MASQUERADE JEWElRy SAlESponsored by The Volun-teers at WakeMed Raleigh Campus & Masquerade Sale – Tuesday, December 7, from 7 am to 4 pm in the Andrews Center, Rooms 1

& 2. Payroll deduction (with name badge), cash and charge accepted.

WiNTERFEST 2010Monday, December 13, 9 am to 4 pm, in the Cary Hospital Conference Center; and Thursday, December 16, 8 am to 4 pm, in the Andrews Center, Raleigh Campus – WakeMed fair for arts, crafts, baked goods and other creative products. Get a jump on holiday shopping!

VOlUNTEER ORiENTATiONRaleigh Campus – Monday, December 6, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, and Wednesday, December 15, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Both sessions held in Conference Dining.

Cary Hospital – Tuesday, December 7, from 5:30 to 9 pm, and Tuesday, December 14, from 8:30 am to noon. Both sessions held in the Conference Center.

NURSiNg EDUCATiONThe Medicine of Compassion – Offered at various times and locations. Register on Learning Link using code NE014-9073.

WAkE AHEC CONTiNUiNg EDUCATiONPreceptors Workshop – Monday, November 29, 8 am at Granville Health System, Oxford

Webinar: Understanding Family Obesity: What Works – Wednesday, December 1 at noon

Pharmacology and the Dental Patient – Friday, December 3, 8:45 am at the McKimmon Center, Raleigh

Strategies for Effective Medical Communi-cation – Saturday, December 4, 9 am at the R. David Thomas Center, Durham

The 22nd Annual leo M. Croghan Confer-ence on Developmental Disabilities – Monday, December 6, 8:30 am at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center, Durham

OSHA and North Carolina infection Control Methods – Tuesday, December 7, 5:45 pm at the Andrews Center

New Drug immunization and HiV Update Fall 2010 – Friday, December 10, 8 am at The Solution Center, Durham

Nitrous Oxide Sedation – Friday, December 10, 8 am at the Andrews Center

Health law and Ethics 2010: impact on Patient Care – Monday, December 13, 9:25 am at the McKimmon Center, Raleigh

HiPAA and Confidentiality for the Dental Team – Friday, December 17, 8:45 am at the McKimmon Center, Raleigh

STAFF DEVElOPMENT & TRAiNiNgEnroll in any of the listed classes via Learning Link or ask your manager/supervisor to e-mail SDRegistration@wakemed.org with your name and employee number, and course name, date(s) and time(s). For information, visit the WakeMedWeb or call ext. 08306. Please note: Some classes require an introductory course or satisfactory completion of an assessment test.

Computer Training

Excel intermediate (Code=CTEXM) – Wednesday, December 1 & Thursday, December 2, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, Raleigh Campus, MOB, SD&T Classroom #4

Employee Development

Diversity, inclusion and Cultural Compe-tence (Code=SDDE) – Tuesday, December 21, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, Raleigh Campus, MOB, SD&T Classroom #3

Management Development

Team Development (Code=MDTM) – Mon-day, November 22, 8:30 to 11:30 am, Raleigh Campus, MOB, SD&T Classroom #3

Management Orientation (Code=MDMO) – Wednesday, December 15, 8 am to 4:30 pm, Raleigh Campus, MOB, SD&T Classroom #1

Downtown Raleigh’s Premier Primary Care Physician Practice

Wake Specialty Physicians - City Center Medical Group will open soon in downtown Raleigh, 2 Progress Plaza building at 150 E. Davie Street. Services will include internal medicine, adult health care, chronic disease management, women’s health care, preven-tive medicine, urgent care, physical exams, vaccinations and more. Same day appointments will be available - call 919.834.5299. Parking will be free and convenient.

WakeMed Earns Two National Distinctions for ServicesProud to be the Only Certified Stroke Center in Wake CountyCongratulations to WakeMed Stroke Team members at Raleigh Campus, Cary Hospital, North Healthplex and Apex Healthplex. Once again they met the criteria to be recertified by The Joint Commission as Wake County’s only Stroke Center. This means the care offered across the WakeMed system meets or exceeds primary guidelines for assessment, diagnosis and treatment of stroke. Community members also have access to a dedicated TIA Center, where patients having mini-strokes or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are quickly evaluated and treated. Thank you to our multidisciplinary team of professionals who have an unrivaled dedication to stroke prevention and care.

First in the State to Achieve Heart Failure AccreditationRaleigh Campus and Cary Hospital are pleased to be the first in the state to earn Heart Failure Accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. To earn this accreditation, caregivers from Wake County EMS to

WakeMed’s Emergency Depart-ments, Heart Center, inpatient units, Heart Failure Outpatient Program and Home Health, among many others, demonstrated coordinated care and a commitment to heart failure patients. Together, this team of professionals helps ensure that patients with heart failure receive the best care and education to help them stay well and enjoy a good quality of life.

SPOTLIGHT ONWakeMed’s 2010 Circle of Excellence Award RecipientsRead about this year’s Circle of Excellence award recipients profiled on the center spread of this issue. Nominated by their peers, these employees represent the best of the best at WakeMed. Please help us recognize them for their contributions to our organization.

Two great events in one fantastic evening, featuring live music from the Triangle Youth Philharmonic and Children’s Jazz Ensemble! A special candlelight ceremony will rededicate the WakeMed Love Light Tree, which now stands in the Raleigh Campus Courtyard. Lights and stars on the tree represent donations in honor or in memory of loved ones. We will also dedicate our new Ronald McDonald Family Room for families with children in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Following the tree lighting, we’ll move inside to join Twinkle, the WakeMed Children’s mascot, for ornament-making, holiday goodies and pictures with Santa. Plus, we’ll decorate a tree for the WakeMed Children’s Hospital. It’s all free. To make a donation to the WakeMed Love Light Tree, contact the WakeMed Foundation at ext. 07656 (919.350.7656) or visit www.childrencantwait.org.

Love Light Ceremony & Trim the Tree with Twinkle

Plus, the dedication of our new Ronald McDonald Family Room

Thursday, December 9, 6 to 8:30 pmTree Lighting at 6:45 pm

WakeMed Raleigh Campus Courtyard (just off the Visitors’ Entrance)

RSVP to 919.350.STAR Park in the P1 Parking Deck, and take the visitor bridge to the lobby.

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COMING SOON !

2010 WAkEMED giVES EMPlOyEE CAMPAigN

T h a n k y o u !The 2010 WakeMed Gives Employee Campaign Committee thanks the employees and volunteers throughout the system for their participation in this year’s campaign. Whether you made a contribution or participated in the Mascot Matchup, Basket Auction or Piggy Bank Palooza, you are helping deserving charities that share our mission of caring and compassion for those who need our help.

Thanks also to our 2010 WakeMed Gives Campaign CommitteeCo-Chairs:

Aurora Frein (Pharmacy)

Janine Jones, RN, (Quality & Patient Safety)

Committee members:

Chenise Crump (Human Resources)

Michael Gulley (WakeMed Foundation)

Mary Jo Gurule (WakeMed Foundation)

Tannis Hillis (Rehab Administration)

Amy Hutchinson (Public Relations)

Angela Jones, RN, (Rehab Hospital)

Jessica Jones (Wake AHEC)

Deanna Joyner (Public Relations)

Debbie Laughery (Public Relations)

Tina Morgan (Imaging Services - Cary Hospital)

Jack Radford (WakeMed Foundation)

Elizabeth Rice, RN, (Women’s & Children’s Services Administration)

Becky Scolio (Public Relations)

Joanna Stephanos (Administration - Cary Hospital)

Lisa Toon (Food & Nutrition Services)

Oral Wise (Administration - North Healthplex & Clayton Medical Park)

Piggy Bank ChallengeCampus Police & Public Safety and Quality & Patient Safety accessorized their piggy banks to attract donations for the campaign’s Piggy Bank Palooza. Shown here are “1960s Peace-out Pig” (left) and “Disco Pig.”

Thanks again to everyone for sharing the spirit of the Wake Way beyond our walls, and be sure to look for more photos and campaign totals in the next issue of Microscope.

G I V E S ▲

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PAT I E n T S A F E T Y

House of HorrorsOn October 27, the Center for Innovative Learning, in collaboration with other departments, hosted the annual Patient Safety House of Horrors event, a simulated environment where patient care situations are riddled with safety hazards. Staff toured the environment, and nurses earned one contact hour for identifying 50 or more hazards. Above at the event, Carey Jefferson, Rn, (Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace - Raleigh) with a patient simulator.

New Phlebotomy ProgramWith the opening of the new patient tower on the Raleigh Campus, 3E Cardiovascular Intermediate Care (CVIC) nurses wanted to draw patient blood specimens themselves.

“Often, blood draws are time-sensitive to a patient’s treatment,” said Terri Menzel, supervisor, (Pathology Labs - Phlebotomy). “We understood that nurses needed to have more control over the process.”

Menzel worked with Kim Willis, RN, manager; Sabrina Wells, RN, and Summer Groff, RN, (all of 3E CVIC) to develop a training program that would help nurses and nurse techs learn the best way to draw blood from a patient, as well as the correct processes and procedures to ensure a successful, suitable draw.

“When a blood sample is unsuitable, the patient has to be stuck again. We obviously try to avoid this as much as possible to enhance patient satisfaction,” added Menzel.

To train nursing staff, Menzel and team developed the Introduction to Phlebotomy Concepts course, a four-hour class that teaches participants about drawing a blood sample, including labeling, hemolysis, the order of the draw and basic theory. After completing this course, participants must round with Phlebotomy staff and complete 25 successful venipunctures on patients. All 3E nurses and nurse techs have been trained, and training continues as new staff are added. The program has been so successful that Menzel and her team have opened it up to all Raleigh Campus nursing units that need to draw their own blood. Sign up for the program via Learning Link (course code IPC).

“3E CVIC has been very successful with this process,” said Menzel. “Since the training, the unit has not misidentified any samples. We hope other units will benefit just as much from this training program.”

What an Employee !

kelly Thompson-Brazill, ACNP-C, (Cardiovascular Services Administration) was accepted onto the Society of Critical Care Medicine Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) Committee.

Pamela Schiavone (Imaging Services - Ultrasound - Cary Hospital) went to Haiti in October with the Hope For Haiti Founda-tion to teach ultrasound in a rural clinic.

Clinical psychologist Melissa Johnson, PhD, (WFP - Pediatric Developmental Team) published a chapter in the T.D. Handbook of Infant Development, 2nd Edition (2010, Bremner, J.G. & Wachs) entitled Infant Psychosocial Disorders with co-author Karen Appleyard.

george Clavijo (Facility Services) earned his Certified Healthcare Facilities Manager (CHFM) certification from the American Society for Healthcare Engineers, part of the American Hospital Association.

The following Home Health staff were recognized for perfect attendance for FY10: Jason Bradsher, RN; Wendy Carr; Rita Cubbage; lynn Hammer; Carol Jacobson; lisa Johnson, RN; Marty Moore, RN; Bayani Sagcal; Richard Streib; Barbara Whitehurst, RN; and Cindy Wolfe.

Sharon Caudle, RN, (Children’s Asthma Program) earned her Asthma Education certification this spring.

The Children’s Emergency Department hosted their second annual recognition dinner on October 13. The following peer-nominated awards were given: Team Support - Terri Rodriquez; Clinical Performance - leslie Duren, RN; Greatest Clinical Growth - luke Pierson, RN; and Queen of Fluff and Puff - Christina Priebe, RN.

Captain Jeffery Taylor and First Sergeant Eric Weaver (both of Campus Police & Public Safety) obtained instructor certification from the Crisis Prevention Institute allowing them to instruct WakeMed staff members in non-violent crisis intervention.

At the annual MICU recognition dinner, staff were honored: karyn kalinski, RN, received the Clinical Growth Award; John Elliott, RN, received the Team Support Award; and Aaron Hagen received the Clinical Performance Award. These nurses had perfect attendance in 2009: greg Anderson, RN; Stephenie Mazzella, RN; Donna Mintz, RN; Nicole Perry, RN; and leela Thekkaemuriyil, RN.

Carolyn Swartz, PharmD, (Pharmacy) obtained her recognition as a Certified Anticoagulation Care Provider.

Sheila Veeder, RN, (5C Medicine) received her medical/surgical certification.

linda Powell (5C Medicine) received her phlebotomy certification.

Dmeetria Smith, RN, (CTICU) obtained her CCRN certification.

Scott goodsite (6B Orthopaedics & Oncology) was elected president of the North Carolina Association of Nursing Students.

kristy Salerno, RN, (2 East Medicine - Cary Hospital) earned her medical/surgical certification.

Nicole Morales (Wake Forest Road Outpatient Rehab Center) received her McKenzie certification.

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Focus On NursingNEWS, RECOGNITION AND INFORMATION FOR WAKEMED NURSESSett ing a new s tandard of excel lence in the art and sc ience of nurs ing care and caring.

www.wakemed.org

wakemed NURSING NewS

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The role of the advance practice nurse (APn) at WakeMed and throughout the health care industry continues to grow and gain importance, especially in this era of health care reform. As more people enter the health care system and gain access to coverage, physicians increasingly need the support of mid-level providers, such as physician assistants and APns, to efficiently deliver the highest quality of patient care possible.

“The new economic reality created by health care reform is leading to physician shortages,” said nurse practitioner Jeanne Hutson, nP-C, BC-ADM, (Children’s Diabetes & Endocrinology). “In response, APns can practice in conjunction with the physician to provide daily care for our growing patient population.”

Advance practice nursing is com-prised of four sub-groups: nurse practitioners (nPs), certified regis-tered nurse anesthetists (CRnAs), certified nurse midwives (CnMs) and clinical nurse specialists (CnSs). At WakeMed, there are approximately 240 APns licensed and credentialed

safety firstHow will hand hygiene be measured?Every month, a team of secret shoppers will observe hand hygiene practices across the entire organization, not just the hospitals.

What will be the hand hygiene goal for getting WakeShare? 90 percent

What if i just cleaned my hands a few minutes earlier and the secret shopper didn’t see that? It is important that we make our hand hygiene

practice OBVIOUS. This helps set an example for others, and also leaves no doubt in our patients’ or their families’ minds that we have cleaned our hands. We do this by cleaning our hands in a way that is easy to observe, such as washing,

SafetyFIRST

wiping them dry, or rubbing gel into them as we walk into the room. Each time. Every time. Our patients expect it. They deserve no less.

What if i am not going to touch anything in the room? Many times we enter a patient room without anticipating the need to help them or touch something, and then something changes. It’s not worth the risk of skipping hand hygiene. Remember, it is also WakeMed policy to wash your hands every time you enter or leave a patient’s room.

What should i do if i see one of my coworkers being inconsistent about hand hygiene? Speak up. Remind colleagues that hand hygiene is one of the easiest, most effective ways to protect our patients. That’s why it’s so important for them to see us cleaning our hands every time we enter their room.

Hand Hygiene – Make It a Habit

We all know that the single most important way to reduce the spread of infection among patients is good hand hygiene. Yet, studies reveal that we clean our hands before and after patient contact only 40 to 50 percent of the time. Recently, we sent out a team of “secret shoppers” to nursing units at the Raleigh Cam-pus and Cary Hospital to measure how often staff and physicians appropriately cleaned their hands. The good news? We are doing better than the published literature shows. The bad news? We’re only at 68 percent! We have a lot of work to do to make hand hygiene a top priority.

That’s why hand hygiene compliance has been incorporated into our Quality Outcomes mea-sure for WakeShare and will now represent half (one percent) of the total percentage eligible for this measure. The other half remains tied to percentage of lives saved. This change will help increase hand hygiene compliance rates and reward staff for their efforts. “Secret shoppers” will continue to visit nurs-ing units each month, observing for hand hygiene. Employees should make it obvious that they are wash-ing their hands or using antibacte-rial gel every time they walk in or out of a patient’s room. Read Safety First at right for a Q&A on hand hygiene related to WakeShare.

Meera Kelley, MDVice President, Quality & Patient Safety

HAND HYGIENE & WAKESHAREFAQs

Welcome to the WakeMed family, all new brides, grooms and babies!

Meg Matey (6B Orthopaedics & Oncology) and husband Will welcomed son Nathan on June 8.

Amanda gay, RN, (6B Orthopae-dics & Oncology) and husband Nick celebrated the birth of daughter Ava Laurel on July 8.

Shruti Thakar (Pathology Labs - Apex Healthplex) celebrated the birth of son Manay Jagat on July 14.

Vicki Wood, RN, (4A Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace - Raleigh) and husband Jesse welcomed a baby boy on July 18.

Dianne Ray (Heart Center - EP Lab/Invasive Cardiology) and husband Michael welcomed daughter Skylar Faith on July 30.

Barbie Matroni (3A CVIC) and husband Louis welcomed son Louis Thomas on August 27.

Cicely Hairston-Reynolds, RN, (NCCU) and husband Terry welcomed daughter Delany in September.

Eleanor Erejer, RN, (6B Ortho-paedics & Oncology) and husband Arphil welcomed daughter Apryll Elin on Septem-ber 8.

Sherika English (3A CVIC) was married to Jeffrey Boykins on September 10.

Rachel ingram, RN, (6C Surgery & Trauma) was married to Daniel Ryan Hager on September 11.

Melanie grant (Home Health) was married on October 11.

Amanda Boone, RN, (5B Neuro Intermediate Care) and husband Ethan celebrated the birth of Alexander Vincent on October 12.

Heather Perry, RN, (Staffing Resources) adopted son Samuel Isaiah on October 12.

kristen Robertson, RN, (5C Medicine) and husband Lane welcomed Alayna Isabelle on October 22.

Jennifer Stephens (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) was married to Brian Pope on October 22.

New Additions and Attachments

B r e a S t C a N C e r a w a r e N e S S M O N t h Members of the Facility Services and Engineering teams wear pink to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. Charity golf Outing

Benefits Cary Hospital & Children’s Hospital

The 12th annual Charity Golf Outing sponsored by The Volunteers at WakeMed Cary Hospital in partner-ship with the WakeMed Foundation raised approximately $18,000 to ben-efit programs and services at Cary Hospital and the WakeMed Chil-dren’s Hospital. The Volunteers and the Foundation thank all who made the event a great success, including 118 golfers, 39 cash sponsors and three gift-in-kind sponsors (Panera Bread, RR Donnelley and Overstreet Signs).

Advance Practice Nurses Fill Vital Roleto work here. All APns must have a registered nurse (Rn) certification or bachelor’s degree in nursing as well as a master’s degree in nursing. Trained under the advanced practice nursing model, APns take a holistic approach to patient care and enjoy a great deal of independence in their work.

Nurse PractitionersnPs specialize in patient care within the clinical area of their choice, for example, family medicine, adult health, acute care, pediatrics, neonatology, women’s health, cardiology, endocrinology or geriatrics. nPs can diagnose illnesses; order, perform and interpret diagnostic tests; develop treatment plans for patients; provide education on preven-tive health and wellness; and, depend-ing on state law, prescribe medications (nPs can prescribe medications in north Carolina).

“When a nurse pursues additional education to become a nurse practitio-ner, many opportunities follow,” added Tanya Smallwood, MSn, AnP-C, (Heart & Vascular Services). “nPs can further progress in their careers while gaining independence and developing skills in

a chosen specialty. This profession allows you to move through many realms, putting your talents to work at an even higher level.”

Certified Registered Nurse AnesthetistsCRnAs provide anesthesia to patients in every practice setting, for all types of surgeries and procedures. Before becoming a CRnA, a nurse must have a minimum of one year experience in an intensive care setting. They are respon-sible for the pre-operative assessment of a patient, patient education related to anesthesia options and side-effects, the preparation and delivery of anes-thesia, overseeing the patient’s recov-ery from anesthesia and following the patient’s post-operative course. At WakeMed, CRnAs work by the Anesthesia Care Team approach along with anesthesiologists, and both are employed by American Anesthesiology of n.C. Providing bedside attention, CRnAs care for patients in a very acute setting, immediately before, during and after surgery.

“We work in an intensive, fast-changing environment,” said Julie Brewer,

CRnA, MSn, (Anesthesia Care Team). “Under the supervisory role of the anesthesiologists, CRnAs are given a great deal of autonomy and decision-making responsibilities.”

Clinical Nurse SpecialistsCnSs choose a specialty (i.e. neuro- sciences, cardiology or critical care) and focus on advancing the practice of nursing through research and education.

Introducing Your New WakeMed Staff Nurse Council Chair

Can you believe that 2010 has almost come to an end? It is already time to pull out our winter sweaters and start preparing for the holiday season. But with the end of this year, we will also say good-bye to our current WakeMed Staff Nurse Council (SNC) chair and welcome our new chair into office. On behalf of all WakeMed nurses, I would like to thank Tracey Fillingame, RN, (CVICU), for her dedication and service. It has been a fabulous year, and we have gained much from her leadership. Meanwhile, I am very pleased to introduce to you WakeMed’s new SNC chair, Jennifer Myers, RN, (Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace - Raleigh). Jennifer was elected by fellow SNC representatives and alternates this October, and she will take office in January 2011.

As we prepare to welcome Jennifer into her new role, I am confi-dent that our journey on WakeMed’s Road to Excellence, includ-ing our quest for Magnet designation, will successfully continue. Jennifer has been an active participant on WakeMed nursing committees since 2006 and is currently the chair of Labor & Delivery’s Unit Council. Of her desire to become our newest SNC chair, Jennifer wrote:

“There are many reasons I am interested in candidacy. The most important reason is my strong belief in what our nurse council stands for. I believe the voices of our nurses are essential in improving our hospital system. Nurses are the first line caregivers and have the strongest relationships with our customers. We care for patients and their families daily. We are also closely tied to our physicians. Our voices should be heard and accounted for. I see our Staff Nurse Council as a positive venue for these voices to be heard. I feel that strong leaders are essential in continuing this committee and promoting positive changes throughout our system. I think every nurse in our hospital system should experi-ence the collaboration that goes on when strong team leaders work together to uplift our hospital system. I have worked for several years on the unit level to help establish committees and inspire change. I would be honored to bring my hard work and determination to the Staff Nurse Council in a leadership role.”

Thank you, Jennifer, for your motivation, determination and thoughtful representation of nursing at WakeMed. We look for-ward to welcoming you into your new role and the many exciting things that lie ahead for nursing at WakeMed.

Sincerely,

MaRy aNN WilCOx, MS, RNC, CNaa, BC

Chief Nursing Officer

a message fromMary Ann Wilcox, Chief Nursing Officer [ 2010 National Magnet Conference ]

This October, several nursing leaders and staff nurses attended the 2010 National Magnet Conference of the american Nurses Credentialing Center (aNCC) in Phoenix, ariz. Each nurse’s trip was made possible through generous grants from The Volun-teers at WakeMed Raleigh Campus and Cary Hospital and a grant from the WakeMed Foundation’s Skills Scholarship Program. With the theme A Culture of Caring, the conference allowed more than 6,000 participants, 1,900 of which were bedside nurses, to gather together to:

> identify outcomes that support and sustain a Magnet culture.

> Explore the nurse’s role in global health care.

> Describe nurse-driven innovations that impact patient care.

> Examine prevention in the context of patient care and self-care.

“it was awesome to be in one place with 6,000 other nurses, all there to learn more about the caring culture and all working toward the same goal,” said conference attendee Laurie Redford, RN, (Emergency Department - Cary Hospital). “The setting reignited an enthusiasm for nursing and a realization that we are part of one family, facing the same challenges. One thing i realized at the conference was that WakeMed nurses are already doing great things. However, we need to be more diligent about documenting our journey so we can also present our innovations at conferences in the future.”

a Culture of Caring

For more information on how to document your nursing innova-tions, contact Betty Woodard, RN, PhD, director, (Nursing Research & Evidence-Based Practice), at bwoodard@wakemed.org.

at the National Magnet Conference:Top photo: Laurie redford, RN, (Emergency Department - Cary Hospital); Brigit Piercey, RN, (5C Medicine) and Jill whade, RN, (Nursing Administration).

Bottom photo: tracey Fillingame, RN, (CVICU); Piercey; and Jennifer Myers, RN, (Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace - Raleigh).

The second annual Staff Nurse Council poster session will be held on Thursday, December 16,

7:30 am, at Cary Hospital. This event is an opportunity for

all WakeMed nurses and nursing departments to showcase quality improvement projects and innovations in nursing

care. additionally, Kristen Swanson, RN, PhD, FaaN,

dean of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing and author of the Swanson Theory of Caring, will be a special guest speaker. For more details, contact Jill Whade, RN, (Nursing administration) at jwhade@wakemed.org.

STAFF NURSE COUNCIL

Poster PresentationsS E C O N D A N N U A L

D E C E M B E R 1 6

Special Guest Speaker!

all nurses and nursing units are invited to present new programs and innovations to their nursing colleagues through Nursing Grand Rounds. Shown above are Kelli McLamb, RN, and Kathy Wray, RN, (both of 3a CViC) presenting at the November 9 Nursing Grand Rounds on the “let’s Get Vertical” patient mobility program.

if you are interested in preparing a Grand Rounds presentation, please contact Jill Whade, RN, at jwhade@wakemed.org.

Nursing Grand RoundsA Forum for Learning and Innovation

Upcoming Nursing Grand roundsSessions run from 11 am to noon in the Andrews Center, and are teleconfer-enced to Cary Hospital.

Friday, December 17, 2010 Implementing Family- Centered Care

Friday, January 28, 2011 Stroke

Friday, February 25, 2011 Nursing Documentation

Friday, March 25, 2011 Supporting Children of hospitalized adults

[ c o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 6 ]

Hand Hygiene Photo Contest for Employees, Physicians

and VolunteersSnap some photos of yourself and

coworkers practicing hand hygiene for a new internal poster campaign. Get as silly and creative as you like!

Top pictures will be featured throughout our organization. E-mail photos to microscope@wakemed.

org by Tuesday, December 7.

WakeMed 2010 Circle of Excellence

Award RecipientsPlease join us in congratulating these exceptional employees on receiving WakeMed’s highest award:

kimberly Abshire Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace - Lactation Services As a team leader, Kimberly advocates for breastfeeding to improve outcomes for infants. She educates parents about the importance of breastfeeding and is always researching the newest, safest techniques.

Jonathan Beatty, RN, BSN, CEN, CPEN Emergency Department - Cary Hospital As the point person for disaster management in Cary Hospital’s ED, Jonathan has organized all emergency disaster equipment and coordinates routine equipment checks, maintenance and disaster drills.

Robin Carver, RN, BSN, CiC Infection Prevention Robin is a leader in promoting patient safety through infection prevention. Her efforts often lead to positive changes that impact patient care (i.e. mobile PPE cabinets, hand and respirator hygiene stations, and an electronic infection surveillance system). Robin also led the implementation of rapid MRSA screening for ICU patients and CHG cloth baths.

Siobhan Davis Trauma Services As the only injury prevention representative on WakeMed’s Trauma Services team, Siobhan is a vital resource for other departments. She regularly works at community events to help provide safety and injury prevention educa-tion. Through research and collaboration with community groups, Siobhan represents WakeMed at the highest level of excellence.

Jeanette T. Ellis, RN, CNOR Surgical Services - OR As chair of her unit’s practice committee, Jeanette helped revise the Operating Room count policy to make the practice safer. Jeanette has also evaluated many of her unit’s policies to make enhancements that better reflect best standards of care.

Caroline girardeau, PharmD, BCPS Pharmacy Caroline recently worked on a study to develop different nomograms (dosing proto-cols) for the use of vancomycin to help with patient outcomes. She is striving to publish the study and is eager to share the results with other caregivers. The results of her study will become best practice for all who prescribe this drug.

Rachel gutierrez, RN, BS, PCCN Adult Acute Care Nursing Services - Cary Hospital Rachel works with a wide range of patients, physicians and staff, serving as a clinical administrator, coordinator for the stroke and heart failure programs, and a staff nurse. She is a talented leader who actively promotes safe, high quality, evidence-based care for patients.

Janine M. Jones, RN, MBA Quality & Patient Safety A champion of patient safety, Janine leads multiple teams and initiatives focused on a culture of safety, such as the Patient Safety Resource Team, 2010 Patient Safety Week and the Patient Safety ID Team. An active member of the Safety Events Review Team, Janine advocates for enhanced methods of keeping patients safe.

Jonathan koo, PT Physical Therapy Jonathan has twice administered CPR on a patient after sensing a problem when passing by the patient’s room. As chairman of our

Spinal Cord Injury committee, Jonathan has also helped recognize the need for new equipment and a multi-disciplinary care path to standardize care.

Nora J. lissy, RN, BSN, MBA Clinical Analysis Nora helps departments with initiatives that impact patient care, saving time, money and resources. For Quality & Patient Safety and Case Management, Nora helped develop a daily report for case managers to obtain information on a patient’s status and a report related to reducing readmissions.

Amar P. Patel, MS, NREMT-P, CFC Center for Innovative Learning Since joining WakeMed, Amar has greatly influenced the practice of using simulation and innovative technology to train health care professionals in many clinical settings. He helps design programs and techniques that accelerate learning and create safer patient care.

Beth Rudisill, MHA, lCSW, CCM Rehab Administration Also a recipient in the Fiscal Responsibility category, Beth is an exceptional leader who works hard to ensure rehabilitation patients receive the best care. She formed Rehab performance improvement committees to address patient safety and satisfaction and led an initiative to implement a new documentation system that addresses safety in a multi-disciplinary way.

Tanya Reams Smallwood, MSN, ANP-C Heart & Vascular Services A gifted nurse practitioner, Tanya volun-teered to facilitate the addition of catheter-based therapy to our Primary Stroke Program through research, study and the coordination of discussions among many disciplines. Her work served to further advance stroke care on a path toward a comprehensive stroke program.

kathy Wray, RN, BS 3A Cardiovascular Intermediate Care When Kathy discovered a delay in physical therapy referrals on her floor, she helped develop the multi-disciplinary “Let’s Get Vertical” program for patient mobilization and decreased length of stay. Kathy has presented the program to many hospital groups and serves as a system resource for encouraging patient mobilization.

Rhonda Zillmer, PharmD Pharmacy Also a recipient in the Workforce Excellence category, Rhonda is a co-chair of the Ped- iatric Medication Safety Committee. Her work has led to many improved practices. Rhonda also developed a training/orienta-tion for pharmacists who dispense pediatric medications and helped design a standard pediatric crash cart for the system.

lise Zublena, RD, lDNFood & Nutrition Services - Cary Hospital Also a recipient in the Workforce Excellence category, Lise has vast experience in caring for end-of-life patients. She helped create the Comfort Care Committee at Cary Hospital to ensure this patient population and their families have the best experience possible.

leigh Ammons, RN, BSN, CWOCN Clinical Nursing Resource Services Leigh has a unique way of putting patients at ease and making them feel like family. She has a gift for listening, and has been known to braid a patient’s hair or add a holiday decoration to their room just to make them feel more comfortable.

lyndia D. Bender, RN 4A Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace Lyndia always helps fulfill the needs of patients, families, peers and visitors. Once, a patient revealed to her that she would miss a nursing school exam while in the hospital having a baby. Lyndia got permission to serve as the patient’s proctor so the patient could take the test.

Wanda Bowman, RN, BSN, NE-BC Children’s Hospital A key figure in the Children’s Hospital opening, Wanda examines ways to best meet the needs of patients and physicians. She is a vital resource for her team, whether she is overseeing the pediatric sedation program, giving tours or helping with a patient’s move to another unit.

Helen J. Brown, RN Children’s Diabetes & Endocrinology To enhance patient satisfaction, Helen performs phlebotomy and stimulation testing on patients in the office instead of sending them off-site, as was the process before her arrival. She is also an active participant in her team’s TrialNet study to help prevent type 1 diabetes.

Alex Cheek Food & Nutrition ServicesAlso a recipient in the Workforce Excellence category, Alex ensures every patient is happy with his or her meal by individually discussing food preferences and diet restrictions. To help provide great customer service, Alex suggests new offerings that will aid in meal satisfaction.

Carol Core, RN, BSN, RVT WakeMed Faculty Physicians - Vascular Surgery & Neurovascular Surgery Under Carol’s direction, her practice initiated a process to give follow-up calls to patients after an office visit to elicit ideas for improved service. Regardless if her work extends after hours, Carol immediately follows up on any customer concerns and ensures issues are resolved.

Tonya Durko, RN, BSN, CNRN 5B Neuro Intermediate Care Tonya addresses challenges related to patient care and satisfaction head on. From food to education to family support, Tonya’s goal is to ensure her unit is giving the best care. As chair of the Quality Improvement Committee and a member of the 5B Unit Council, Tonya offers valuable ideas for process improvement.

Barbara Ellis, C/S Rehab Hospital Barbara’s goal is to brighten the spirits of patients and visitors. She wrote and sings a song to announce the end of visiting hours, and patients and visitors regularly report that they enjoy and appreciate the song. As a clinical secretary and nurse technician, Barbara diligently reports patient and visitor issues.

Sharon FitzgeraldHealthworks Also a recipient in the Workforce Excellence category, Sharon volunteers for extra duties to ensure patient and customer needs are met. She helps streamline processes for patients, such as enrollment for the cardiac rehab program and medical nutrition therapy. Recently, Sharon helped organize her team’s office relocation.

kristina Jolley, PT Outpatient Rehab - Alexander YMCA Serving as a physical therapist and supervisor, Kristina is willing to travel to any WakeMed outpatient rehabilitation site to provide needed coverage. She regularly volunteers to help with evening or weekend WakeMed and YMCA community events, and responds to the the Triangle YMCA’s “Ask a Therapist” e-mails.

Tammi O. Jones Nursing Administration Tammi is instrumental in helping nursing lead-ership implement new initiatives that impact patient care through education and celebrating the contributions of nurses (i.e. Nursing Grand

surveys customers regularly, and makes any necessary changes quickly and efficiently. She also makes sure that anyone who is hosting a meeting or event is prepared to use the Confer-ence Center’s systems and equipment.

Trisha Stephens Human Resources - Operations Trisha ensures that employees receive consistent, timely responses to questions about benefits, claims, disability and leaves of absence, etc. When a complaint or suggestion is voiced about any HR process or benefit, Trisha proactively works with her team to find a resolution.

Rusty Taylor Facility Services Rusty uses his creativity and depth of knowledge in maintenance and repair to assist the rehabili-tation therapists. He helps fabricate tools and modify equipment for patients to use during rehab and at home after discharge. This helps many patients improve functional mobility.

Debbie Thompson, PT Outpatient Rehab A talented physical therapist, Debbie puts the patient first. She will go to any length to find resources that a patient needs, always demon-strating genuine concern, compassion and interest. Her colleagues look to her as a resource in chronic pain management techniques and many areas of specialty physical therapy.

Venae Williams Human Resources – Operations Working with short-term and long-term disabil-ity employees, Venae exemplifies excellence in customer service. She goes the extra mile to handle any challenge that is presented to her and is recognized for her attention to detail, compassion and calm demeanor.

leslie Wiseman, PT Physical Therapy As a pediatric therapist, Leslie thoroughly explains treatments and expected outcomes and provides patient education. She finds creative ways to safely give pediatric patients a break from the unit so they can better cope with their injury or illness, such as escorting them to the courtyard for some fresh air.

Brandi Adams Pathology Labs - Cytology After taking responsibility for cytology technical processing, Brandi helped develop protocols for reorganizing the workload to maximize throughput. Her department now operates with enhanced efficiency. Known as a go-to person for cytology, Brandi is excellent at investigating challenges and proposing solid solutions.

Shahrad A. Amiri, RT(R)(CV)(ARRT) Heart Center - Invasive Cardiology Shahrad is committed to caring for our cardiol-ogy patients and was a key leader in developing the Invasive Cardiology lab’s stroke interven-tional program. His skills and knowledge of complex procedures are invaluable. Addition-ally, Shahrad’s dedication to patient care and the clinical aspects of each case in which he is involved is exemplary.

Jessica Ashford Pathology Labs - Transfusion Services A long-time member of her department, Jessica helps educate coworkers on policies and proce-dures. Known as a tremendous leader and trans-fusion service guru, Jessica was instrumental in helping to install and train others on the Soft-Bank system, an electronic transfusion service management system for blood products.

Clifford Bell, MSW, P-lCSW Case Management Clifford is active in representing Case Manage-ment throughout WakeMed and the community. He volunteers to help develop methods for streamlining services and saving costs, and he often takes on the role of advocate and mediator for staff and patients. Clifford was the first social worker in Case Management to accept social work student interns.

Melanie Bliss-Ford Home Health Melanie has helped improve processes for both office and clinical staff associated with her department. She was instrumental in negotiat-ing a contract for new cell phones that offered better service and was more cost effective. A new fax form that Melanie developed ensures that everyone is informed about the nurse on call.

Toni B. Caputo, RNC-NiC Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Toni identifies ways to improve surgical poli-cies, procedures and staff education. She is the NICU surgical committee chairperson and the operating room liaison for her unit. She revised all surgical policies within the NICU and pro-vided education on surgical procedures via notebooks, meetings and an educational blitz.

Ramon Julius P. Castillo, RN, BSN, CNOR Surgical Services - OR Ramon always wants to be better prepared to serve patients, surgeons and coworkers. Part of several WakeMed committees, Ramon is his team’s computer “super-user” for case card management to update requirements for supplies and instruments. This role requires daily vigilance and attention to detail.

Sandra M. Clayton Patient Safety/Risk Management Sandra is a leader with a passion for protecting WakeMed’s interests, staff and reputation. She is the go-to person for liability, resolution and set-tlement issues. She leads quarterly claims meet-ings that include executive leadership, and has participated in many initiatives to improve pro-cesses related to property loss and patient issues.

and is chairperson for the North Healthplex ED Education Committee. As a liaison between ED leaders and frontline staff, Melodie fosters open communication to ensure Service Excellence.

Susan gutierrez, BSN, RNC - NiC Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Susan brings enthusiasm and expertise to the NICU. She improves quality outcomes by fostering collaboration between staff and families. By invit-ing parents to attend NICU nursing councils, Susan helps nurses gain insight on care and service. A leader and mentor, Susan is president of the Triangle Association of Neonatal Nurses.

kristen Hansen, CNA 2 5A Medical Intermediate Care Kristen implemented a teamwork recognition box that allows coworkers to recognize one another for a job well done. She types up all comments bi-weekly to enhance staff camaraderie and morale, never missing an opportunity to also recognize support staff such as Environmental Services.

Angelia Higgs Pathology Labs - Phlebotomy - Cary Hospital Angelia always comes up with ideas to improve processes and customer service. She recently suggested that data about patient blood draws done by unit nurses be recorded on the handheld computers used by clinical service technicians (CSTs). This way, CSTs don’t have to ask the patient, helping to minimize patient disruptions.

lt. kenneth “Mark” Holloman Campus Police & Public Safety Lt. Holloman ensures the safety and security of patients, staff, visitors and property. He intro-duces himself and offers himself as a resource. Able to diffuse challenging situations calmly, Lt. Holloman is his team’s physical fitness coordina-tor and a member of the WakeMed Honor Guard.

Deborah Hyde, CNA 1 Rehab Nursing Staff After being named the lead certified nursing assistant (CNA) on the evening shift, Debbie wanted to bring together her unit’s CNAs so they could focus even more on providing the best patient care. She implemented daily shift huddles for all CNAs which helped foster a sense of team-work and increase patient and staff satisfaction.

Cynthia l. Jones, MBA, MHA, RHiA Medical Record Services This year, Cynthia headed the implementation team for a speech recognition application, work-ing with the vendor and key physicians to program the system and roll it out to Medical Staff. The results are faster turnaround for transcribed reports and better physician documentation for post-discharge patients.

Christie Magdanz, RN, BSN, CCRN Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit As chairperson for the Continuous Quality Improvement Committee, Christie helps imple-ment practices to decrease rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia and blood stream infections. Christie also serves on the Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Commit-tee and is looking for ways to decrease UTIs.

kristin McCourtney, MT (ASCP) Pathology Labs - Microbiology Kristin was the chief architect for the implementa-tion of Microbiology’s new Lab Information System (LIS) to transition to electronic record-keeping for organism information, culture work-ups, reports and billing. She wrote the training material, led training classes and created a com-petency exam to ensure a successful go-live.

Neha Mehta, CT (ASCP) Pathology Labs - Cytology Recognized for her organizational skills and attention to detail, Neha led a project to bring HPV testing for cytology in-house, improving turnaround times in the lab and saving costs. To get the program going, she wrote all of the proce-dures and regulatory materials, performed the validation, ran the statistics and trained staff.

Andrea Naaktgeboren, MBA/MHA, MT(ASCP) Pathology Labs - Core Lab - Cary Hospital Andrea played a key role in improving the process used by the Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace to request an emergent blood product from Pathology Labs. Working on a committee that involved staff from both departments, Andrea helped develop the Emergency Transfusion packet for the quick turn-around of emergency blood product requests.

Quality Outcomes

Unsurpassed Service

Workforce Excellence

F iscal Responsibility

Thanks

Market Development

Steven Comas, CBET Clinical Engineering With safety and efficiency top-of-mind, Steven sought out training in bladder scan repair and certification and encouraged coworkers to join him. This led to savings in time and costs as his team can now provide certification and certain repairs internally. Steven also coordinated his department’s peer training program.

Rebecca Czarnecki, MS, ACE-AFS Wake Forest Road Outpatient Rehab Becky runs our Spinal Cord Fitness Program, the only one of its kind in the area. Through this program and her other responsibilities, Becky develops trusting relationships with patients and families. Becky also volunteers for the North Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association.

Maggie Driscoll, BSN, RN, lNCC Patient Safety/Risk Management Maggie is diligent about researching and speak-ing with other organizations to ensure our patient safety and risk management policies are as efficient and fair as possible. She attends weekly safety events to discuss opportunities for improvement and is never hesitant to act as a department’s resource for questions or concerns.

Mary A. Ellsworth, NT 3 West Medical /Surgical - Cary Hospital Patient care and safety are Mary’s top priorities. With a superior understanding of the unique needs of elderly and mentally impaired patients, Mary always treats her patients with the utmost respect and gentleness. Collaborating with the nursing team, she provides the best care possible.

lisa Ferracane Adult Acute Care Nursing Services Lisa ensures effective processes and communica-tion exist within her department. She was instrumental in developing an audit tool for central line charges and CQI data. The audit form is faxed to her so she can review it for accu-racy. Lisa also develops staff education fliers and created her division’s bi-monthly newsletter.

liz Fowle, RN, BSN, CEN Emergency Department Making staff education and advancement a priority, Liz is the ED representative on the Anticoagulation Therapy Committee, attending meetings on her own time and educating staff on anticoagulation medication. She also serves as a preceptor in the ED.

Melodie goswick, RN, BSN, CEN Emergency Department - North Healthplex Melodie serves as an instructor for BLS, ACLS, PALS and TNSS at all campuses. Within her department, she helped update reference manuals A red star denotes a recipient’s recognition in more than one category.

Rounds, Excellence in Nursing celebrations and leadership retreats). Tammi’s attention to detail and dedication allow her to anticipate challenges and solutions well in advance.

Jonathan kos, RN 1 East Chest Pain Center - Cary Hospital Jonathan’s broad clinical knowledge and exper-tise in cardiology make him a vital resource. Patients and families praise him for the excellent care he provides. One patient said, “Jon was so kind and compassionate. I will never forget the difference he made during my hospitalization.”

Michelle krohn, OTR/l, ClT Wake Forest Road Outpatient Rehab Center Michelle is a role model for exceeding patients’ expectations. One time, a confused patient arrived for an outpatient evaluation at North Healthplex after the therapist had gone home, and though her scheduled hours were over, Michelle offered to drive to North to see the patient.

kristen lawatsch, PharmD Pharmacy Kristen does more than fill medication orders – she always wants to enhance processes. If there is a challenge, she takes care of it with grace and efficiency so nurses can concentrate on patient care. If there is a problem with a unit’s Pyxis machine, she investigates and resolves the issue so that patient care is not disrupted.

Terri Menzel, MlT (ASCP) Pathology Labs - Phlebotomy Terri always thinks about ways to enhance patient care. She recently helped develop and implement the Introduction to Phlebotomy Concepts class for nursing units to collect patient blood samples. The class provides instruction for blood collection and has helped create efficiencies in the process.

Perry Perdue Facility Services As a maintenance mechanic, Perry rounds on nursing units daily to see where his services are needed. A talented handyman, he regularly makes recommendations for improvements and is always willing to come in before or after hours to make repairs or handle a facilities issue.

Crystal Perry, RN-BC Home Health Crystal is a patient advocate and role model for Home Health case managers. She developed a new guideline to identify and treat patients with dehydration (a frequently unidentified co-morbidity that impacts a patient’s ability to recover) and educated staff on the process.

Norma Pigford, RN Rehab Nursing Staff Working with spinal cord injury patients, Norma dedicates herself to giving this unique patient population as much care and support as possible, and trains other staff as well. Norma also helped implement the Rehab best-practice “Nurse Tech Huddles” to ensure nurse techs are updated on the status of all patients.

Jennifer Rising Respiratory Care Services - Cary Hospital Jennifer is a highly competent therapist and patient advocate. She is a resource for physician intensivists and proactively recommends patient care strategies. When the Physician Intensivist Program began at Cary Hospital, Jennifer quickly offered orientation on Respiratory Care Services.

yolanda Sommerville, RN Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Fluent in Spanish, Yolanda often serves as a translator between staff and the families of NICU patients. She helps educate coworkers on the His-panic culture so they can provide enhanced care to Hispanic families. This has played a major role in improved communications with families.

Joanna Stephanos Administration - Cary Hospital Also a recipient in the Workforce Excellence category, Joanna always looks for better ways to serve the Conference Center customers. She

Nominated by their peers, the employees spotlighted in this issue of Microscope represent the best of the best in our organization. These are the men and women who have made a measurable difference in one or more of our five Strategic Plan Goals:

Quality Outcomes Unsurpassed Service Workforce Excellence Fiscal Responsibility Market Development

Carolyn Nantz, RN, BSNImaging Services - Angiography Also a recipient in the Unsurpassed Service category, Carolyn puts her patients first. On one occasion, she came to the ED at midnight to assist a patient with a PICC line because she did not want the patient to have to wait. An active member of her Unit Council, she was a vital resource in helping to develop the Radiology Nurse Code of Conduct.

kristin Peptis, RT(R) Heart Center - Invasive Cardiology Kristin volunteered to be the point-of-contact for the Shift Wizard scheduling transition within her department. The complexities of this project could have been overwhelming, but Kristin handled the project with commitment, patience and a positive attitude. After mastering the new system, Kristin helped educate and train staff.

Juan Powe, NT 2/CS 3E Cardiovascular Intermediate Care Juan exemplifies teamwork and a dedication to patient satisfaction. He is a certified BLS instructor, is working to become an ACLS instructor, and serves as the representative for stroke education for nurse techs. Juan never misses an opportunity to teach others about patient safety practices for the procedures he performs.

Stephen Santiago, CHAA Emergency Department - North Healthplex As a member of North Healthplex’s Shared Gover-nance Council, Stephen promotes compliance to all policies and procedures. He ensures that the patient registration process is as efficient as possible and seeks out ways to quickly resolve billing issues. Stephen does whatever is needed to ensure the collections process is running 24/7.

Winifred Sciocchetti Pathology Labs - Phlebotomy As part of her unit’s hiring committee, Winifred helps guide new hires, ensuring they are trained appropri-ately. She has been instrumental in the development of enhanced workflow processes and facilitated 5S organization in diagnostic testing and the Heart Center laboratory.

Coleen Smith Public Relations Because a large part of Coleen’s job is related to employee and physician communication, she has made it her mission to ensure communication throughout WakeMed happens efficiently and clearly. She helped create the WakeMed Weekly employee e-newsletter, the e-Minute physician e-newsletter and the WakeMed Patient Safety Blog.

Ben Hoch Information Services After Ben was asked to take over management of WakeMed’s data storage systems, he led his team in projecting future growth and evaluating new, improved storage systems that WakeMed could use for the next five years. Ben oversaw the selection and implementation of a new system that has helped save about $590,000.

lynn Eschenbacher, PharmD, MBA Pharmacy Also a recipient in the Quality Outcomes category, Lynn created a pharmacy practice residency training program that allows residents to work at WakeMed and gain experience in evidence-based medication therapy. Programs like this support the integration of pharmacy and patient care. Lynn is also dedicated to recruiting pharmacy specialists to offer more specialized services to patients.

to our 2010 COE Committee Members:

Bob Bos, Environmental ServicesGail Braun, Organizational ImprovementAngie Bullock, RN, STICUAlice Franklin, Food & Nutrition ServicesSusan Hester, Community ServicesSusan Jackson, WakeMed Faculty Physicians - AdministrationCristina Krasny, Interpretation & Translation ServicesChuck Lamothe, RN, Organizational ImprovementSkip Roy, Acute Rehabilitation ServicesColeen Smith, Public RelationsGrover Smith, Pathology LaboratoriesCindy Wells, Wake AHEC Administration

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Above left: Carol White, RN, (Diabetes Management Program) (right) and a Ladies Day participant talk about diabetes, portion control and making healthy food choices.

Above right: Janis Mclaughlin (Outpatient Rehab) (right) conducts a balance assessment.

It’s all about the ladies at this popular annual event! On Friday, October 15, WakeMed held its annual Ladies Day event at Cary Hospital, drawing nearly 300 local women for health screenings and free health seminars. Participants were treated to mini-manicures, yoga and Pilates demonstrations, and health education booths.

Health screenings included those for choles-terol, bone density, carotid artery, skin, foot, carpal tunnel and hearing, as well as blood pressure checks and stroke risk assessments. Local physicians and WakeMed clinicians offered health seminars on such topics as heart disease, incontinence and overactive bladder issues, plastic surgery, female cancers, reflux, menopause, orthopaedics, and how to stay healthy and well as you age. The event’s health education booths allowed participants to speak with WakeMed pharma-cists about their prescription medications and learn more about topics such as depression, diabetes, balance and falls prevention, heart health, breast health and stroke.

Surgical Services - Inpatient PACU welcomes liz Beautz, RN, and Teresa Winters, RN.

Interpretation & Translation Services welcomes iris Flinn, Maria gonzalez Ruiz, Rocio Winger, leticia Reed and Alicia Ellis.

5B Neuro Intermediate Care wishes Renee Frick, RN; Schauren Hinson, RN; and Renee Calkins, RN, a fond farewell.

4A Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace - Raleigh welcomes certified nursing assistants Nicole Brooks and Renee Carter, and clinical secretary Chevon Norwood.

The Inpatient Pharmacy welcomes pharmacy technicians Stacy Boyd and Caroline Sawyer, and clinical staff pharmacist Sejal kansagra, PharmD.

Observation Unit 3 welcomes Afuluchi Okeke, RN; and Observation Unit 1 welcomes Monta Hunter, RN; Sandra Denmark, RN; Catherine Abkar, RN; Jill gaster, RN, and kit Cortez, RN.

CTICU welcomes leslie Reeves, RN; Jennifer VanBaars, RN; Melissa kennedy, RN; and Jessica Nall Sylvester, RN.

6B Orthopaedics & Oncology welcomes leslie Howard, RN; lauren Whitaker, RN; Jessica Mcinnis, RN; Cynthia Akpaka, RN; katie little-Morris, RN; and nursing assistant Scott goodsite.

Wake AHEC welcomes Julie Dillard as a practice support coordinator for the Regional Extension Center and Chanetta Washington as the TraCS outreach coordinator for Student, Career & Research Services.

STICU welcomes Julianne Edwards, RN, and Shawn Morgan, RN.

at Cary Hospital

The Men: Adeyemi Lawal, MD, (WFP - Gastroenterol-ogy); Joel Bernstien, MD, (Kamm McKenzie OB/GYN); Michael Casey, MD, (Wake Nephrology Associates, P.A.); and Sam Chawla, MD, (WSP - Urology).

The Women: Meera Kelley, MD, (WakeMed Quality & Patient Safety) and her daughter Emma; Meg Bernstien, wife of Joel Bernstien, MD, (Kamm McKenzie OB/GYN); Lori Tackman, MD, (Cornerstone Pediatric and Adoles-cent Medicine); Sara Rooker, MD, (WSP - Brier Creek Medical Group); and Michele Casey, MD, (WSP - Falls Pointe Medical Group).

The Key to the Cure weekend also included a Health Day at Saks where shoppers received information on health topics and a Health Screening Day that included cholesterol, blood pressure and bone density screenings. Both days were free and open to the public, and served to help local residents better understand that prevention is key to living a longer, healthier life.

wakeMed’s runway Models

WakeMed Docs Walk the Catwalk for Saks’ Key to the Cure

During the weekend of October 21-24, Saks donated two percent of their sales to benefit Women’s Services at WakeMed. On Friday, October 22, Saks and WakeMed, along with other local sponsors, hosted the second annual Key to the Cure Physician Fashion Show.

With about 70 participants in attendance, the fashion show made for a festive evening as several WakeMed physician friends and their family members “strutted their stuff” on the Saks catwalk wearing the hottest fall designer fashions. All proceeds benefitted Women’s Services at WakeMed.

This October, WakeMed partnered with Saks Fifth Avenue in Raleigh for Key to the Cure, a campaign to help fight women’s cancers.

Advance Practice Nurses(continued from page 2)

They serve as expert clinicians and patient advocates; identify and address gaps in knowledge and skills on the patient care team; and identify opportu-nities to improve patient care, impact the use of resources and affect care delivery. With their time divided into five general areas (clinical practice, instruc-tion, research, consulting, and leadership and mentoring), CnSs aim to implement best-practice standards and evidence-based care among nursing staff.

Certified Nurse MidwivesCnMs provide care for women through-out their lifespan, including labor/birth, prenatal, gynecological and post-partum care. They can also prescribe medica-tions, order lab tests, provide health education, develop patient treatment plans and perform physical exams. The CnM also must work in collaboration with a physician.

“As a provider in labor and delivery triage, I work closely with OB residents and attendings to evaluate and admit or discharge laboring women and/or those with pregnancy complications,” said Jan Moses, CnM, (WakeMed Faculty Physicians - OB/GYn). “As a nurse midwife, I spend a lot of time educating and providing anticipatory guidance. An informed mother makes better health care decisions for herself and her child.”

The APns at WakeMed want to be a resource for all nurses throughout the system. They have recently formed a unique council that will allow them to discuss and collaborate on issues relevant to their practice, and to provide support to staff nurses who are seeking assistance with patient care. For more information, contact Tina Dennis, Rn, MSn, CCRn, CnRn, neuroscience clinical nurse specialist, at cdennis@wakemed.org.

UPDATESWAkEMED FoUnDATion

Raleigh PediatRic associates gives sPecial gift

After touring the new WakeMed Children’s Hospital, staff from Raleigh Pediatric Associates wanted to help further advance the technology available for kids and providers. They raised funds within their Raleigh and Garner offices to purchase two iPods and an iPad for the hospital. They presented these gifts to representa-tives from the Children’s Hospital and the WakeMed Foundation in October. See photos on the Children Can’t Wait Web site, www.childrencantwait.org.

Ronald Mcdonald faMily RooM oPens foR PicU Patient faMilies

This fall, the Ronald McDonald Family Room opens for families of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) patients. With com-fortable couches, a microwave, a washer/dryer, a TV and computers, the room will be a private, relaxing space for family members as they endure a stressful life experience. This room with all of its amenities for families became a reality due to the efforts of the WakeMed Foundation and combined contri-butions of $70,000 from The Volunteers at WakeMed Raleigh Campus and The Volunteers at WakeMed Cary Hospital. Staffed by the Volunteers, the family room will be open daily, 9 am to 9 pm. WakeMed will dedicate the Ronald

McDonald Family Room during a special ceremony coinciding with the Foundation’s Love Light Tree ceremony on December 9.

sUPPeR clUb Raises MoRe than $5,500 foR WakeMed childRen’s hosPital

During October, several downtown Raleigh restaurants hosted dinners to support the WakeMed Children’s Hospital. Organized by the WakeMed Foundation, the Supper

Club Dinner Series raised $5,560. Partici-pating restau-rants were Solas, Café

Helios, Market Restaurant, Zely & Ritz and Sushi Blues Café. All funds will be used toward the second phase of the Foundation’s Capital Campaign to renovate, expand and enhance the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

A T O A S T . A T A S T E .A B e n e f i t f o r Wa k e M e d C h i l d r e n ’ s

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2010 National Emergency Nursing Conference

Emergency Services nurses at the conference (l to r): Lockett, Griffin, Conerly, Curtin, Fowle and aston.

This September, six nurses from the Emergency Services team represented WakeMed at the 2010 Emergency Nurses association (ENa) annual Conference in San antonio, the premier national meeting for this specialty. They presented five different posters reflecting nursing innovations, research studies and quality improvement projects.

Mary Ann Wilcox, MS, RNC, CNaa, BC, chief nursing officer (CNO), meets with staff nurses several times a month to share information about the current state of nursing at WakeMed, and to answer nurses’ questions and hear their concerns. These system-wide forums are occasions for WakeMed nurses to stay informed about the steps nursing leaders are taking to ensure a healthy, fulfilling work environ-ment for all nurses. The opportunity to meet with Wilcox demonstrates hospital administration’s respect for the contributions of our nurses. More CNO Forums will continue in 2011, and details will be communicated soon.

WakeMed nurses know that it is their professional responsibility to communicate openly with nursing leadership about opportunities for improvement on our units, innovations that impact patient care and issues that affect our work environment. it is expected that nurses who attend the CNO Forums come prepared to share unit-related issues, bring questions and share results of the meetings with their unit colleagues.

“Thank you for letting us have the opportunity to meet and discuss our nursing issues and concerns,” commented Sherry Lee, RN, (3B CVSiC) after a recent CNO Open Forum. “it is much appreciated!”

CNO Nursing Forums

6A Unit Council Makes Great Impact Nursing unit councils are an important part of Shared Governance at WakeMed. Co-chaired by the unit manager and a staff nurse, each unit council must aim to bring staff nurses together for open discussion related to patient satisfaction, work/life balance, research relevant to patient care, quality initiatives and education, among others. One WakeMed unit council in particular, the 6a CViC Unit Council, is a shining example of an active council that is providing great benefits for both patients and staff nurses.

“Our council has 13 members with representa-tives from every shift. We meet once per month to discuss how to enhance processes and patient

[ Keeping Current on Nursing at WakeMed ]

In the STICU, Kellie Babson, RN, (center) keeps Cindy Crist, RN, and Landon Loflin, RN, well informed of unit activities. After recently attend-ing a CNO Nursing Forum, Babson said, “I feel valued when Nursing Administration takes time to listen to frontline nursing staff. I know my manager and supervisor hear my concerns, but it is also crucial for the CNO to know about my unit. By hearing and acting on our concerns and comments, leadership can help us take better care of our patients.”

The WakeMed nurse presenters are pictured above (l to r) with their presentations:

Latoya Lockett, RN, adult Emergency DepartmentPatient Simulation - An Innovative Way for Trauma Nurse Training

Bettie Lou Conerly, RN, and Elizabeth Fowle, RN, both of the adult Emergency Department Implementing a Nurse-Driven Protocol in the Emergency Department

Patti Curtin, RN, Children’s Emergency DepartmentNurse-Driven Induced Hypothermia in the Pediatric Emergency Department

Elizabeth Griffin, RN, Children’s Emergency DepartmentThe iPod Intervention for the Pediatric Patient in Pain

Erin Aston, RN, Children’s Emergency DepartmentGood Catch Project to Enhance Patient Safety

Thank you to all our Emergency Services nurses for your research and hard work on these programs and innovations. Way to go!

N E W C o u N C I l For WakeMed Advance Practice Nurses

With more advance practice nurses (APNs) continuing to enter the WakeMed system, nursing leaders created an APN Council that will meet quarterly to give WakeMed APNs a unified voice. APNs include clinical nurse special-ists, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists and midwives.

Led by Jeanne Hutson, NP-C, BC-ADM, (Children’s Diabe-tes & Endocrinology) and Tina Dennis, RN, MSN, CCRN, CNRN, APRN, neuroscience clinical nurse specialist, this council will be a forum for our APNs to discuss issues that affect their practice. It will also give staff nurses and other care providers another way to connect with our system’s APNs and benefit from their expertise. Additionally, the APN Council will collaborate with the WakeMed Staff Nurse Council to address nursing practice issues. Hutson and Dennis also see an opportunity for the council to help advance nursing research at WakeMed in the future.

For more information about the new APN Council, please e-mail Hutson at jhutson@wakemed.org or Dennis at cdennis@wakemed.org.

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Led by Nursing Education, this series offers small group discussions of books that are popular among nursing book clubs and national nursing organizations. Discuss national trends in nursing care while networking with peers. Register via Learning Link. Please obtain a copy of the book and read it completely prior to the class. Books can be checked out from Nursing Education.

inspired NurseB Y R I C H B L U N I Course code: NE014-11004Raleigh Campus - Conference Dining

Wednesday, December 1 7:30 to 8:30 am

Monday, December 13 8:30 to 9:30 am

3.0 contact hours

N U R S i N g P R O F E S S i O N A l D E V E l O P M E N T

Book SerieS

SHARED GOVERNANCE

satisfaction,” said 6a CViC Unit Council co-chair Meagan Henning, RN. “Our council gives all 6a nurses a voice, so they can talk about any issues or concerns they may have. it also helps us enhance patient care on our unit.”

Henning and Dianna Knight, RN, MSN, unit manager and other council co-chair, encourage open and honest communication among all council members. “No topic is off limits, and you can share what-ever is on your mind,” said Knight. “We want to talk openly with our nurses about things that are impacting the work environment and patient care.”

Under Knight and Henning’s leadership, the 6a Unit Council has implemented several initiatives that have helped enhance their unit’s patient satisfaction scores as well as the unit’s work environment. For example, hourly rounding for every patient, the often-used suggestion boxes placed at each unit workstation, daily staff huddles that help keep staff informed about safety concerns and workloads, and enhanced communication and collaboration with other units that work directly with 6a.

“a successful unit council must be a collab-orative effort among the staff nurse co-chair, manager and unit nurses,” added Knight. “Managers can help provide vital resources and connections, while a motivated staff nurse co-chair like Meagan can encourage staff nurses to get invested.”

Every nursing unit at WakeMed should be working hard to maintain a successful,

effective unit council. Unit councils present the best opportunity for all staff nurses to have a voice within our organization. For more informa-

tion, contact incoming Staff Nurse Council chair Jennifer Myers, RN, at

jmyers@wakemed.org or Jill Whade, RN, (Nursing administration) at jwhade@wakemed.org.

6A Unit Council co-chairs Meagan henning, RN, (left), and Dianna Knight, RN

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Trauma Services wishes director Sylvia Scholl a fond farewell as she retires from WakeMed this December after 31 years of dedicated service.

Food & Nutrition Services - Cary Hospital wishes director gail Douglas a fond farewell as she relocates to Florida after 14 years at WakeMed.

Clinical Analysis wishes Nora lissy, RN, a fond farewell as she relocates to Florida.

NCCU welcomes Paige knickerbocker, RN; katrina Holden, RN; lindsey Sauls, RN; and Carla Johnson, RN. The department also wishes a fond farewell to Christy Hall, RN, as she embarks on a new career.

Medical Staff Services welcomes new managed care representatives Dawn Wasik, Carolyn Terry and Alison Brenton. Managed care provider enrollment func- tions have been transferred to Medical Staff Services, and Wasik, Terry and Brenton will work on the Raleigh Campus.

Food & Nutrition Services welcomes dietary aide Joshua Cassady and food service assistants Mary Ann Mullins and Virginia Mullins.

Home Health welcomes speech therapist Roger grimsley.

Surgical Services - OR welcomes Crystal Booth, RN; Ariel llanes, RN; Sue Reid, RN; karen lloyd, RN; Catharyn Ferreira, RN; and surgical technicians Tabatha locklear, Melissa Siciliano and Danielle Roberson.

Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace - Cary welcomes lisa kinard, RN; Sylvie Racanelli, RN; Jennifer Torrence, RN; Tanya Cicho-wictz, RN; lynn Duren, RN; Holly Moore, RN; Angie little, RN; and keisha Tuck, ST.

In MemoriamRev. J. John Edgerton

(Spiritual Care)

passed away in November 2010. With 22 years of service to

WakeMed, he will be greatly missed by family, friends

and coworkers.

COMINGS GOINGSCOMINGS GOINGS

Comings & Goings