Improving care at the bedside is a team effort, an effort that our Cardiac Renal (CaRe) Unit TCAB group has jumped into whole-heartedly. Nurses across the hospital spend a tremendous amount of time trying to get to the work of caring for their patients. They spend a great deal of time waiting, hunting and gathering for supplies, documenting, and trying to communicate to other team members. Over the last few years the CaRe Unit TCAB group has worked intensely to break down these barriers that get in the way of caring for the patients.
TCAB initiatives that have made a great impact for the bedside nurses on the CaRe unit include:
• working with supply chain to make sure we have the right supplies, and the right number of supplies, in our unit storerooms (also worked with MDs to make sure we have the supplies they need)
• ensuring every patient room on the unit has 1 suction head, 1 O2 flow meter, and 1 air flow meter
• developed and implemented a "Lost & Found" for patient belongings that were left behind (regularly inventory patient valuables and send letters to the patient)
• Implemented Nurse Mentor Program on the unit
• Worked with Lean to get the CaRe "Pick Chart" up and running on the VMB
• 5S'd unit equipment rooms
• Charge Nurse Standardization
Overall, the CaRe Unit TCAB members support professional practice through providing an environment of excellence in nursing care that strives to achieve better staffing, better patient outcomes, and higher patient and staff satisfaction by integrating evidence based nursing and research into practice.
In the photo: (l-r) Melissa Hill, RN; Amanda Peterson, RN, MSN; and Tracy Tiffany, RN (not pictured Nicole Lentsch, RN, BSN). Barb Smith, manager of the unit, is holding the plaque.
Cardiac Renal Unit TCAB Team Members honored with this DAISY TEAM Award:
Tracy Tiffany, RN
Nicole Lentsch, RN, BSN
Amanda Peterson, RN, MSN
Melissa Hill, RN