I would like to nominate an excellent group of Nurses, the PEDIATRIC UNIT. These nurses worked hard during the surge of respiratory problems like RSV, Parainfluenza, Influenza, etc. They are exceptionally skilled nurses who took care of children while supporting the patients' overwhelmed parents/family.

These nurses have done a lot of teaching about the care of not only the patient but also the family. They are very thorough, making sure they are empowering their patients and families alike. They are very knowledgeable about their practice and have shown great competence, skills, and staying calm when the kids are crying and being difficult to care for, like starting an IV or placing a High Flow. These nurses have shown their patient population with preventive measures like how to prevent falls from toddlers (PROTECT).

Pediatric Nurses have teamed up with RT and ED nurses every time there is a surge in RSV or any other respiratory diseases. During high season (Fall & Winter), Huddle is done daily to assess the situation & needs of the unit. Nurses, Doctors, Case Managers, Social Workers are all on the same page when dealing with a sick child that needs to be transferred to higher level of care. Our nurses collaborated excellently with other hospitals for PICU needs. All hands on deck when a critical situation arises.

PEDS receives donations of toys and books from benefactors in the community, which are continuously given to the patients to help them heal.

Pediatric Nurses have started the Bee Mindful Program. BEE Mindful is a program for persons with special needs in healthcare that individualizes care and provides a safe place for healing and wellness. In just 5 years since its inception, this program has expanded in many patient care centers as well as in the community. It is used to screen patients from 1 - 17 year old when they get admitted in PEDS Unit. This tool helps understand each individual patient with neurodiversity, which in turn helps nurses best design care to meet the needs of each child.

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We collaborated as a team with leadership, educators, and related clinical staff to develop an action plan to address the pediatric surge related to RSV admissions that overwhelmed hospitals in our region.  Our focus was to prepare the pediatric staff to provide quality care to our patients and to support the children in our community by providing a higher level of care when pediatric critical care beds at other facilities were unavailable.

The pediatric critical care beds in our region and up north were severely impacted during the peak of RSV season.  We made every effort to develop a comprehensive pediatric surge plan to address the needs of children in our community.  The support we provided our patients and their families cannot be overstated.  The stress of having a sick child requiring transfer to a facility that has no beds available is overwhelming.  We did our best to meet the needs of our patients.

If three or more pediatric patients were on High Flow Nasal Cannula at one time, interdisciplinary rounds would be conducted to address immediate needs or support.  This would include the primary RN, Charge Nurse, manager, Respiratory Therapist, Educators, and Speech Therapy.  This was an effective strategy as concerns about feeding could be addressed, and a plan could be made if the condition continues to become more critical. RNs would communicate via a pediatric-specific phone group to alert RNs of staffing needs in advance as a strategy to quickly and efficiently fill in gaps by working overtime when needed. Management provided extra equipment (i.e. thermometers for every room, extra diaper scales, increased supplies in our PAR related to respiratory care and monitoring) and arranged for staff to receive a 2-hour skills day.  The pediatric surge plan was a success and we continue to build and modify our plan based on the needs of our community as well as our partners in care up north.