As an attending physician covering infectious diseases at Cherry Hill, I have come to know and admire the camaraderie, cohesiveness, and collaboration amongst the nursing staff of T1 as they have continually impressed me with their advanced knowledge, teamwork, and high performance in infection control outcomes.
As the Infection Control Officer for Jefferson Health New Jersey, I know that it is critical to maintain constant vigilance to prevent nosocomial infection in our patients, a feat which was accomplished by T1, as evidenced by their low rate of infections. Recently, I reviewed data on Clostridium difficile infections (CDiff), central line bloodstream associated infections (CLABSIs) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). With CDiff in 2016, the T1 rate was 15.5 with 5 hospital-acquired cases over 3,230 patient days, compared to a T1 rate of 0.3 with 1 hospital-acquired case and 3,435 patient days in the period of January through September 2017. In 2016, the CLABSI rate was 14.0 with 3 hospital-acquired cases over 214 patient days, and this year (January-September 2017), the number of line days has decreased to 54, with zero CLABSIs. When there are fewer device days, this lessens the chances of acquiring multi-drug resistant pathogens and makes our patients safer. In 2016, the CAUTI rate was 3.2, with 1 hospital-acquired case over 314 device days, compared with 241 device days and zero CAUTIs in January-September 2017. For every case of CLABSI and CAUTI that is prevented, this also prevents the chances for hospital-acquired sepsis due to these conditions.
Being an advocate for sepsis, I have also personally witnessed the collaborative teamwork that goes into sepsis alerts called on T1. Arriving to cases on this floor, it is almost as if there is a movie director behind the scenes coordinating all the roles of the nurses, but what makes this more amazing is that in fact, the roles almost seem to be predetermined and are understood by everyone, where each nurse seems to have each other's back. One nurse will arrive carrying fluids, and another is at the bedside already obtaining STAT labs and putting in a peripheral IV. Even at an early point when sepsis alerts were called de novo on the floors, the team seemed well coordinated. They would not necessarily need prompting on anticipated orders, and in fact, would sometimes guide housestaff by asking them if they wanted to order antibiotics.
While there are many examples of what I have professionally witnessed, perhaps the greatest testament to what I think of T1 is the following true story. This past year, I was hospitalized with influenza. When I was in the emergency department, the physician was advocating for me to be admitted to the intensive care unit, but I specifically requested that I wanted a room on T1 precisely because I knew the capability, care, and collaborative spirit were of a high caliber. I entrusted my care to this floor because I believe in every one of the nurses there.
In addition to their high level of competence, they also connect with patients on a personal level. They make you feel safe and cared for.
Team Members honored with this DAISY TEAM Award:
Darlene Ambrose Unit Secretary
Lauren Blaser Patient Care Technician
Melinda Camba Patient Care Technician
Kathleen Cummins BSN, RN, CMSRN
Andrea Detruf RN-BC
Michele Dever BSN, RN, CMSRN
Ruth Duma BSN, RN-BC, CMSRN
Janae Felton Patient Safety Observer
Ann Marie Flory MSN, RN, NE-BC
Amy Foster RN
Alicia Francis BSN, RN, CMSRN
Arianette Gonzalez Patient Care Technician
Jacquinta Jeter Unit Secretary
Hoary Kim Patient Care Technician
Rosario Lu RN
Tracy Mahan Unit Secretary
Georgine Maravilla BSN, RN, CMSRN
Kayan Maxam Patient Care Technician
James McDermott Patient Care Technician
Megan Mulhall RN, CMSRN
Johanna Negron Patient Care Technician
Abbey Pai Unit Secretary
Kum Pai Patient Care Technician
Janice Penn RN, CMSRN
Kirston Ransom BSN, RN, CMSRN
Brittney Reap BSN, RN
Christopher Reardon BSN, RN, CMSRN
Dawn Scott BSN, RN, CMSRN
Manisha Shah Unit Secretary
Harriet Sherman RN, CMSRN
Tashna Vaughan Patient Care Technician
Kelly Watts Patient Care Technician
Eleanor Webster RN, CMSRN
Candice Wojciechowski BSN, RN, CMSRN