Jeanna has been managing this unit for a little over four years. In this time, she has achieved the highest level of trust I personally have ever seen in a nursing team. If you are familiar with 4W, then you know that we have a reputation for being a "tough unit" with difficult patients and an incredible team that bands together to make each day the best! Jeanna leads this team with kindness, compassion, and integrity.
Jeanna is accessible and responsive to the needs of the unit, the patients, and the staff. She has an "open-door" policy and invites her staff to come in, sit, talk, and vent when needed. Her office is considered a safe place on the unit, where you will find chocolate and support. She does a great job asking, "do you need me to help you fix something, or do you just need to talk?" Knowing that there is a difference in fixing and venting has become one of Jeanna's superpowers. When a fix is needed Jeanna can be counted on to find the resources, time, and experts to get a job done!
Jeanna actively seeks out system-wide opportunities and workgroups to make changes that support the work being done on the PCU. She strives to make positive impacts on patient outcomes, as well as creating the safest environment for her team to work in. In a Press Ganey Pulse Survey, it was made very clear that our team needed support with violence in the workplace (VIW) and behavioral health patients. Jeanna has invested countless hours working on projects aimed at creating a safe work environment. She is currently working at the system level on a VIW workgroup and leads the workgroup responsible for redesigning the way we do medical holds at Legacy Health.
One thing that sets Jeanna apart from other leaders is her empathy and compassion for our difficult population. Jeanna often says, "being a nurse to me, means caring for the patients who nobody else cares about." This translates to going above and beyond to make each patient feel valued. Jeanna has been known to bring a patient her husband's brand-new work boots because they are homeless and need to keep their feet clean and dry! Jeanna will sit and talk with an addict and help facilitate a care plan that will lead to their health, healing, and sometimes sobriety.
This compassion should not be mistaken for weakness. She holds the patients just as accountable as she does her team. Jeanna is leading the way in implementing and following up on behavior contracts with patients that are abusive to our nursing teams. She has worked closely with social work, chaplains, the legal department, administration, and physicians to determine how and what needs to be done in contract with a patient. This is time-consuming work that requires her to follow-up daily with patients and to empower and encourage her nurses to walk away from abusive situations.
Jeanna truly leads by example and never asks her team to do things she herself would not do. A prime example of this is professional development. Jeanna completed her MSN and attained specialty certification while encouraging her team to do the same. The staff on the unit have followed this lead: 44% of eligible nurses are certified, three charge RNs just completed master's degrees, and three more are actively enrolled. Jeanna meets with her primary charge RNs monthly to facilitate a leadership book club to help them grow and develop new leadership skills. Jeanna inspires others to be the best version of themselves. She is an excellent resource for making inspirations a reality as she helps find the resources people need to be successful.
Jeanna has mastered the art of recognition! She openly thanks people for the work they do, submits nominations for system-wide and statewide awards, attends the monthly DAISY teas, and encourages her charge RNs to write nominations. Jeanna may not present herself as a "cheerleader", but she is the biggest fan and supporter of the Nurses, CNAs, and telemetry technicians on the PCU! She consistently "goes the extra mile" for her people.
We want to thank Jeanna for her unconditional support of our staff, her passion for serving our patients, and her love of nursing! We are proud to work for, and with Jeanna!