Although modest, Kim has done an extraordinary job of instilling an environment of trust amongst the Emergency Department family. While leading the department, Kim talks openly with staff about difficult situations and remains factual and honest. She is never autocratic or authoritative and expresses a leadership style that combines coaching and affiliative styles collectively. It is this delicate balance that has enhanced the collaborative leadership within the department.
As the night shift supervisor, Kim started with only a couple of charge nurses. She now has a full team of charge nurses and also has a waiting list of staff eager to come to her shift. While you would think these are qualities all leaders should possess, Kim takes it a step further and role models everything a nurse leader represents. She is truly not just a leader, but a mentor to the whole department.
With Covid-19 lurking in the department daily, Kim has motivated staff to care for themselves and each other. She came up with the idea of "Boo Baskets." She created a card that staff could fill out with information about themselves such as fun facts, favorite things, and their Halloween costume. This allowed staff from all shifts to get to know someone else in the department better as we have had a lot of turnover.This activity was optional, but most staff members participated. After filling out the info card, you would turn your card in and pick up someone else's card. With the information listed on the card, each person would put together a care package for the person's card they received. "Boo Baskets" were a huge hit with the staff and morale was enhanced within the organization as it caught the attention of affiliate departments as well. Selfless acts of kindness fill Kim's heart, and this is just a small slice of her.
Kim volunteered to become the Stroke Coordinator when the position needed to be filled. A lot of the meetings and requirements were during the daytime. Even though Kim works the night shift, she always fulfilled the commitment. She went above and beyond to re-group the Stroke Team and made changes through the organization to help our stroke patients, such as creating new audit packets and charting flowsheets and she worked with other departments to make sure that all protocols were followed to improve care.
Another example of Kim's compassionate and role model behavior involves a patient we see frequently. This patient is often disrespectful to staff and does not accept medical advice on how to properly care for himself. One day this patient was brought to the ED by EMS. Everything this patient had was covered in stool and urine. EMS did not want his stool and urine covered wheelchair in the ambulance, so they left it on the scene. When Kim found out the wheelchair had been left behind, she picked up her husband's pick-up truck, located the wheelchair, and brought it back to the hospital. She then took it to the decontamination room and cleaned it.
Nursing professions have many paths and often result in long hours spent as a caretaker or teacher. Kim is greatly changing the profession of nursing in our community and is simply too humble to take credit. Illinois ranks 10th in the United States for human trafficking, with Rockford ranking the 2nd worst for human trafficking in the state. This makes me question why a city the size of Rockford with three hospitals does not have a program that supports sexual assault/strangulation/and domestic violence victims.
Kim has dedicated much of her time and energy to making SwedishAmerican Health System a safe place for all of these victims to be cared for. Kim has taken the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) course and is an encouraging mentor for others who will follow in her steps. This will be a new program to our community that includes collaborative efforts with the States Attorney, City Hall, Forensic Labs, and other state officials that will form the body of what we hope will become the SANE Program. Kim is also working with the mayor of Rockford to help other area hospitals set a treatment standard for sexual assault victims. She has completely revamped care for this population in our Emergency Department. Staff is aware that if there are any questions regarding care, documentation, or any components involving a sexual assault victim, we can call her 24/7.
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Kim's leadership style can be described as a servant leader. She will not ask any staff to do something she herself would not do. She leads by example and is extremely humble when recognized by staff as an outstanding leader in the Emergency Department. In addition to the SANE Program, Kim has met with staff to develop a policy and procedure for domestic violence and strangulation. Not only did she assist and assure this was a priority, but she also collaborated with Case Management to develop a follow-up process for these patients after they are discharged to make sure they have the correct resources. Regarding the Stroke Team, Kim was initially asked to complete the Stroke audits for the ED. This transpired to Kim performing the role of Stroke Coordinator for a brief time. Even though she has handed off this title, she remains dedicated and engaged to assist in providing the best care and collaboration for stroke patients.
In closing, Kim truly embodies and demonstrates what it means to be a mentor and DAISY Nurse Leader. I have never worked with a more dedicated, motivated, role modeling mentor. From my experience, anyone who gets to work with Kim on a project has the honor of experiencing what an incredible servant leader she is and becomes a better person for it.