Stewart is the manager of the Pre-Op, PACU, ad Anesthesia Pre-screening nursing units. In addition, he manages the Outpatient Pain Clinic, located in the GP Beaumont Medical Building. Stewart's leadership scores on the most recent NDNQI survey were higher than any other manager at GP. He is well-liked and respected by his team and peers.
During the COVID-19 crisis, Stewart's true colors (not just maize and blue) really came out! Never once did you see him stress in front of his staff, and he worked tirelessly to make sure that his team and patients were well taken care of.
On one particular and very stressful Friday afternoon, he was given the task of turning his recovery room into a COVID-free ICU before the MN shift came in. He returned the next morning to check on the new patients and see what he could do to help his staff. There were countless times that Stewart helped with bedside nursing care. It seemed that there wasn't anything that he couldn't do! He recovered patients, taught nurses how to chart, helped the staff through the first death of an ICU patient in our recovery room, prepped patients for surgery, taught the ICU staff how to set up a PCA pump, discharged patients, went to the Pain Clinic to help with procedures when a staff member became hospitalized, and much more. All of this was while he was rearranging staff schedules daily to handle the needs of the staffing pool, some of the nursing units and ICUs, the OR volume, and the patient volume in the PACU.
The day we opened the PACU we had two ICU patients, and at one point we hit a max of 14 patients that spilled out into the Phase II area of recovery. He led his team during this crisis with a compassionate heart. He could frequently be found talking to his staff - updating them on the newest information available, answering questions, and helping them to stay calm during the storm.
Stewart is an extraordinary nurse leader and I am so proud to work with him. He's a role model for his team and other leaders, and an absolute joy to work with. His trust, compassion, and mutual respect for everyone on our team shines through in the work that he does.
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Stewart is the type of leader with whom people want to work. Stewart knows each person's strengths and weaknesses while valuing their knowledge and expertise. He instills trust in each of his teams, and in turn, his teams are loyal to Stewart. Rarely is there a vacancy in any of Stewart's departments and his department's culture of safety surveys reliably meet the target.
Stewart has a willing spirit to collaborate with others, regardless if it is to develop a new project or fine-tune an existing process. He welcomes questions, receptive to a critical critique, and quickly adapts and implements processes to keep patients safe.
During a recent event, Stewart and his team highlighted a typical challenge they faced daily and showed what they created, opening themselves up to critique while encouraging others to do the same. Stewart's dedication to patient care, support of his staff, and his adaptability were clear during the COVID crisis. He came to work nearly every day to support his team with a smile and a quip to lighten everyone's mood during the dark times.
By these examples and his actions, in addition to his words, Stewart promotes a positive image of nursing not only within the department of Surgical Services but throughout Beaumont Grosse Pointe campus.