Theresa Lenehan
May 2024
Theresa
Lenehan
,
MSN, RN, CEN
Emergency Department and Care Center
Hackensack Meridian Health - Ocean Medical Center
Brick
,
NJ
United States
Terry, from the start of her career, pursued professional development by participating in the clinical ladder program, attaining national certification, and achieving advanced degrees. She has always set the bar high, and she demonstrated professional pride in her image and uniform within the HMH organization. Terry walks the walk and talks the talk.
Considering the attributes a DAISY Nurse Leader possesses, Theresa Lenehan, MSN, RN, CEN, Nurse Manager (NM) of the OUMC Emergency Services immediately comes to mind. Terry, as we all call her, is our fearless nurse leader, and I’ve had the privilege of working beside her for over 21 years. We both started on 4 West as staff nurses; she migrated to the emergency department in 2002, and I followed shortly thereafter. Terry, from the start of her career, pursued professional development by participating in the clinical ladder program, attaining national certification, and achieving advanced degrees. She has always set the bar high, and she demonstrated professional pride in her image and uniform within the HMH organization. Terry walks the walk and talks the talk.
Terry has personally motivated me, as a peer and as a leader, to achieve my goals, and I know her enthusiasm for the profession of emergency nursing has had the same impact on our emergency staff. She consistently demonstrates extraordinary behavior for role modeling every day in the face of adversity. Terry has been immensely challenged from the beginning of her tenure as a nurse manager of our department and the satellite emergency department in Point Pleasant. She literally jumped into her role as NM in 2018 and welcomed The Joint Commission within weeks of starting her new position. Of course, she did fabulously, and we had no major issues to contend with afterwards, but I was so impressed with her poise and grace with the surveyors. She is a natural-born leader.
The next challenges were the harmonization of our organization and managing the staff concerns with the personal impact of all the new processes instituted, such as benefits, PTO, insurance, and major payroll issues, which were all the growing pains of the HMH organization. As usual, Terry maintained her positive attitude and created trust within the team during an uncertain environment of change. She assured everyone that everything would be fine and demonstrated her personal confidence in HMH. Terry maintained an open door policy for the team during this time and worked diligently with human resources to find solutions to issues that came her way. Terry daily continues this practice to this day by advocating for her team, which occupies many hours of her day. She never complains about any staff issues or concerns that could interrupt or derail her entire day. Terry digs in and fights for whatever her team needs. Her personal concern and compassion goes above and beyond, as she works very hard to maintain team morale, recruitment and retention, as well. Many team members have left our department to seek other opportunities but return and call us home, which speaks volumes about her nursing leadership.
The next hurdle for Terry, as a new leader, was the EPIC GO LIVE. The transition of our EMR to EPIC was yet another major change for the emergency department and the satellite emergency department. Terry was ultimately responsible for two departments as one. Again, she rolled up her sleeves and supported her leadership team and the staff every step of the way. Many team members were on the verge of breakdowns, but again she has a natural gift to comfort us, so we could get through the transition and all the while reminding the team of the positive features our new EMR system would bring to improve our workflows and safety of our patients.
Last but not least, Terry’s leadership was absolutely outstanding during the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic. Her strength during this time was unbelievable, from my perspective, as she not only had to deal with the clinical unknown, but the effects on the department and the impact on the staff both personally and professionally. Continually, Terry was instrumental in guiding the staff through the most challenging times by ensuring their personal safety by monitoring usage of their PPE, maintaining adequate supplies, and following up with exposures with Occupational Health. Information provided by the CDC and ultimately our organization changed quite frequently. Not to anyone’s fault, but the nature of the pandemic, staff fears grew exponentially based on the information provided.
Terry became a change agent from the beginning of March 2020. Walls were built in the waiting room and travel nurses were sent to our department from all over the country. Aside from managing the two emergency departments, a new tent was erected outside in front of the department. This area became a testing site for the entire building’s team members, which she was delegated to manage with access services. Waiting areas were re-designed for treatment areas and were designated as triage beds (T-beds). Our Express area and Pediatric areas were utilized for higher acuity and adult patients. Eventually, Express & Pedi, now called Main 2, had telemetry monitoring installed. She listens and acts on the suggestions of her leadership team, as well as the staff. As a result, we experienced an amazing transformation and excellent utilization of the department space in an effort to combat the pandemic and patient volume. Terry was at the helm during this very difficult transition.
Over the last year, our patient volume increased, and we held 35-40 admitted patients on a daily basis. Think about this: we were holding basically an entire in-patient unit in our emergency department for months while trying to care for incoming emergencies. As a result, we were forced to be even more creative by utilizing every space in our sub and main waiting areas for treating patients. Therefore, a new pilot was created, the V-beds or vertical upright beds, which allows us to flex open the space for expanded treatment opportunities. Patients are placed in up to 15 chairs in this area, which allow physicians and PA’s to examine, enter their treatment orders, and expedite care for the safety of our patients.
In addition, we’ve had an Omnicel placed in the sub-waiting, and this has been a huge improvement by decreasing unnecessary steps to the medication room in the main emergency department. Also, we have a new lab chair in this area to facilitate IV insertion and lab collection, as staff requested to help improve their body mechanics and promote safety. Now the V-bed area has transformed from a pilot to a permanent treatment space. The improvements have been ongoing and the feedback from team members has assisted her to make positive changes to our workflow, while improving safety.
All of the above are examples of how Terry always advocates for her staff, leadership team, and emergency department. She ensures the emergency team has the support, guidance, and tools necessary to make our department function to the best of our ability. Considering all of the above, it is in my opinion that Theresa Lenehan, MSN, RN, CEN, is truly a DAISY Nurse Leader.
Terry has personally motivated me, as a peer and as a leader, to achieve my goals, and I know her enthusiasm for the profession of emergency nursing has had the same impact on our emergency staff. She consistently demonstrates extraordinary behavior for role modeling every day in the face of adversity. Terry has been immensely challenged from the beginning of her tenure as a nurse manager of our department and the satellite emergency department in Point Pleasant. She literally jumped into her role as NM in 2018 and welcomed The Joint Commission within weeks of starting her new position. Of course, she did fabulously, and we had no major issues to contend with afterwards, but I was so impressed with her poise and grace with the surveyors. She is a natural-born leader.
The next challenges were the harmonization of our organization and managing the staff concerns with the personal impact of all the new processes instituted, such as benefits, PTO, insurance, and major payroll issues, which were all the growing pains of the HMH organization. As usual, Terry maintained her positive attitude and created trust within the team during an uncertain environment of change. She assured everyone that everything would be fine and demonstrated her personal confidence in HMH. Terry maintained an open door policy for the team during this time and worked diligently with human resources to find solutions to issues that came her way. Terry daily continues this practice to this day by advocating for her team, which occupies many hours of her day. She never complains about any staff issues or concerns that could interrupt or derail her entire day. Terry digs in and fights for whatever her team needs. Her personal concern and compassion goes above and beyond, as she works very hard to maintain team morale, recruitment and retention, as well. Many team members have left our department to seek other opportunities but return and call us home, which speaks volumes about her nursing leadership.
The next hurdle for Terry, as a new leader, was the EPIC GO LIVE. The transition of our EMR to EPIC was yet another major change for the emergency department and the satellite emergency department. Terry was ultimately responsible for two departments as one. Again, she rolled up her sleeves and supported her leadership team and the staff every step of the way. Many team members were on the verge of breakdowns, but again she has a natural gift to comfort us, so we could get through the transition and all the while reminding the team of the positive features our new EMR system would bring to improve our workflows and safety of our patients.
Last but not least, Terry’s leadership was absolutely outstanding during the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic. Her strength during this time was unbelievable, from my perspective, as she not only had to deal with the clinical unknown, but the effects on the department and the impact on the staff both personally and professionally. Continually, Terry was instrumental in guiding the staff through the most challenging times by ensuring their personal safety by monitoring usage of their PPE, maintaining adequate supplies, and following up with exposures with Occupational Health. Information provided by the CDC and ultimately our organization changed quite frequently. Not to anyone’s fault, but the nature of the pandemic, staff fears grew exponentially based on the information provided.
Terry became a change agent from the beginning of March 2020. Walls were built in the waiting room and travel nurses were sent to our department from all over the country. Aside from managing the two emergency departments, a new tent was erected outside in front of the department. This area became a testing site for the entire building’s team members, which she was delegated to manage with access services. Waiting areas were re-designed for treatment areas and were designated as triage beds (T-beds). Our Express area and Pediatric areas were utilized for higher acuity and adult patients. Eventually, Express & Pedi, now called Main 2, had telemetry monitoring installed. She listens and acts on the suggestions of her leadership team, as well as the staff. As a result, we experienced an amazing transformation and excellent utilization of the department space in an effort to combat the pandemic and patient volume. Terry was at the helm during this very difficult transition.
Over the last year, our patient volume increased, and we held 35-40 admitted patients on a daily basis. Think about this: we were holding basically an entire in-patient unit in our emergency department for months while trying to care for incoming emergencies. As a result, we were forced to be even more creative by utilizing every space in our sub and main waiting areas for treating patients. Therefore, a new pilot was created, the V-beds or vertical upright beds, which allows us to flex open the space for expanded treatment opportunities. Patients are placed in up to 15 chairs in this area, which allow physicians and PA’s to examine, enter their treatment orders, and expedite care for the safety of our patients.
In addition, we’ve had an Omnicel placed in the sub-waiting, and this has been a huge improvement by decreasing unnecessary steps to the medication room in the main emergency department. Also, we have a new lab chair in this area to facilitate IV insertion and lab collection, as staff requested to help improve their body mechanics and promote safety. Now the V-bed area has transformed from a pilot to a permanent treatment space. The improvements have been ongoing and the feedback from team members has assisted her to make positive changes to our workflow, while improving safety.
All of the above are examples of how Terry always advocates for her staff, leadership team, and emergency department. She ensures the emergency team has the support, guidance, and tools necessary to make our department function to the best of our ability. Considering all of the above, it is in my opinion that Theresa Lenehan, MSN, RN, CEN, is truly a DAISY Nurse Leader.