Margi role models extraordinary behavior in the fact that she goes beyond the norm in innovative staffing solutions and collaboration within the Penn Medicine system. One example of extraordinary leadership is how she partnered with the nurse manager from the Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital (CCH) NICU in developing a strategy for sharing staff at times of a low census. The idea behind this is the fact that NICU nurses are highly specialized and it is difficult to add nurses with the necessary skill set during surges in census.
Understanding that these times vary from region to region, Margi created a mechanism to share her specialized team with CCH NICU when the WBH census is low and the CCH census is high. A great deal of planning and work behind the scenes, including payroll considerations, went into the endeavor. This creative strategy has resulted in not only filling critical needs for patient care on a systems-level but also increased staff satisfaction with not having to use PTB for low census days. It has also served to increase collaboration and information sharing of best practices between both units. The sharing of CCH NICU nurses with WBH NICU is the next phase of the plan so that it will be bi?directional.
I have personally observed Margi in action building trust, respect, and demonstrating compassion for her team. Prior to her accepting the position of nurse manager, the unit had been through several nurse managers and interims resulting in poor morale and lack of trust. Margi has, in the span of a few years, totally turned the team around to where there is now a waiting list for staff interested in working in the NICU. The difference is palpable as this team consistently scores in the highest tier within WBH/LGH for staff satisfaction. She has worked tirelessly to advocate for professional development and currently has a very highly involved and functioning unit based governing council, a feeding management team, and a newly created (within the past year) developmental care team.
Prior to Margi's tenure, the staff NCC certification rate was low and now is very robust. She advocated for and achieved gaining STABLE certification for the NICU nurses which is a standardized approach to newborn stabilization after initial resuscitation. She supported and encouraged several members of the team to obtain Neonatal Resuscitation Instructor status and support their schedules in order for them to teach classes throughout the year to their WBH colleagues on an ongoing basis. Nurses on her team have presented abstracts at regional conferences, one was published within the past year, and several members of the team to obtain Neonatal Resuscitation Instructor status and support their schedules in order for them to teach classes throughout the year to their WBH colleagues on an ongoing basis.
Nurses on her team have presented abstracts at regional conferences, one was published within the past year, and others have currently submitted an abstract for the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) annual conference. Margi also has advocated and supported members of her staff in attending the NANN conference which is another feature that distinguishes her from her predecessors in promoting membership in a national organization. She works collaboratively with CHOP to provide educational and professional development opportunities including attendance at CHOP NICU, Breastfeeding, and Chronic Lung conferences.
Margi is a definite motivator! The achievements the NICU team has accomplished during her tenure speak volumes for her ability to share a clear vision for future directions and desired outcomes. Under her leadership, several new clinical initiatives have been successfully implemented including improved thermoregulation practices, an Intraventricular Hemorrhage prevention bundle, gastric pH for verification of feeding tube placement, and the utilization of donor milk within the NICU to prevent serious morbidity and mortality in very low birth weight infants.
Just this fiscal year, she has led the team in totally revamping patient rounds to include the presence and participation of family members which has resulted in raising patient satisfaction scores in 12 separate measures. Also this year, she has recently successfully launched the use of Inhaled Nitric Oxide (INO) as a new interdisciplinary process to treat newborns with persistent pulmonary hypertension and is close to achieving the state-required approval of a Therapeutic Hypothermia (TH) project in the NICU. Both INO and TH clinical services in the past required unstable, very sick newborns to be transferred to tertiary care for lifesaving, brain saving therapy.
Margi frequently partners with experts and related disciplines to achieve the best outcomes. Her collaboration with the Clinical Nurse Specialist within the service line to address central line infections in the vulnerable NICU patient population has resulted currently in over 19 months without a central line infection. Stellar results such as these are shared within the organization and within the Penn medicine and CHOP networks promoting and enhancing the image of what it is to be an effective nurse/nurse leader in advocating for patient safety and reducing complication rates.
The interdisciplinary team project to incorporate family participation in provider/team rounds was presented in October at the neonatology Vermont Oxford annual meeting, allowing for visibility at the national level. Margi serves on the March of Dimes annual walk fundraising committee to promote community awareness and funding to prevent premature birth and optimize treatment when it cannot be avoided.
In addition, she initiated and continues to serve on the NICU Volunteer Cuddler steering committee to incorporate community volunteers into the important work of promoting optimal development of NICU infants. This initiative allows for the community to interface with the NICU team and actively promotes the nursing role at WBH/LGH/Penn Medicine as the champion and coordinator of patient care. She leads the NICU team in hosting NICU reunions to celebrate the success and wellness of the NICU graduates which also provides opportunities to interact with the community and parents after their time in the NICU, promoting a positive image for nursing as well as the health system.