The 6 West Observation Unit has worked tirelessly over the past five years to ensure the safety and care provided to a subset of patients at Lancaster General. This nomination is a celebration of the consistent and continuous cycle of collaboration and performance improvement that has resulted in not only a decreased length of stay for our patients but also a source of pride and satisfaction for the nursing staff. This Team is comprised of nursing staff (RN, PtCA, and USC) and the Nurse Practitioner Group of Lancaster General.

The 6 West Observation Unit Team supports the organization's mission, vision, and values in many ways. Providing care in the outpatient setting is somewhat different than the inpatient setting, and one can frequently hear staff advocating for patients to receive care at the right time in the right setting. This team has provided education to patients and providers alike in the journey toward improving services and ensuring appropriate and efficient care. The goals of this collaboration have always been to improve the patient experience, to improve the quality of care, and to reduce cost, which align with the mission, vision, and values.

They have collaborated together on standards of patient care, the development of order sets, troubleshooting barriers to discharge, and working toward timely discharge. This collaborative model includes bi-directional communication between CRNPs and nursing staff, daily huddles, the development and use of a track board, and order sets to reduce provider variation and support a standard of care.

This collaboration has resulted in timelier access to care for patients, efficient throughput, and a decrease in length of stay. But more importantly, this collaboration has resulted in patient satisfaction as well as nursing satisfaction. The relationship between CRNP and RNs on the unit have set up a dynamic that supports professionalism and mentoring. Because of this relationship, several nurses on the unit have started their journey to become a nurse practitioner. NDNQI survey results have shown an increase in the perception of professional status, as well as autonomy and decision-making since the initiation of this model in July of 2012.

The 6 West Observation Unit had some of the highest 2014 EES responses related to staff satisfaction in the entire department of nursing. Patients are pleased with the model as well.

This team has worked diligently to support this model of care, and the collaboration between nurse and CRNP has been dramatic and effective in reducing average LOS of the observation patient to 20.1 hours, which is an improvement of at least 1 -2 hours over other providers, and an improvement of over 3 hours since the inception of the model. Thank you to this team who works tirelessly to ensure rapid and effective throughput for our patients.



These 6 West Team Members are honored with this DAISY Award:

Gray, Jacque USC/PtCA
Harting, Amanda USC/PtCA
Martin, Skye USC/PtCA
Miller, Kristi USC/PtCA
Peace, Nicole USC/PtCA

Adsitt, Steffi PtCA
Angermier, Brittany PtCA
Augeri, Nancy PtCA
Casiano, Michelle PtCA
Gallagher, Sean PtCA
Gonzalez-Salazar, Juan PtCA
Huynh-Tran, Thuy PtCA
Khalil, Joelle PtCA
Lear, David PtCA
Reed, Arlene PtCA


Adkins-Durante, Hope RN-BC BSN
Alejos, Edna RN BSN
Baer, James RN
Benjamin, Joan RN-BC
Blucher, Ashley RN BSN
Bowman, Monica RN
Burns, Mary RN
Carr, Heather RN
Cater, Anna RN
Drumm, Toni RN BSN
Gebhard, Jamie RN BSN
Heckrote, Lauren RN
Houck, Crystal RN BSN
King, Jess RN
Ly, Maysee RN-BC BSN
Martin, Dana RN
Martin, Gwyn RN
Mentzer, Deana RN BSN
Potoka, Mana RN BSN
Reeser, Kristen RN BSN
Ritchey, Kim RN
Sebastian, Sonia RN-BC BSN
Seiler, Kara RN-BC BSN
Sigman, Amanda RN-BC BSN
Zane, Danielle RN

Andrea Petrokonis, MSN, CRNP-BC
Carlene Barkley, MSN, CRNP-BC
Tracey Sanderson, MSN, CRNP-BC
Robert Richards, MSN, CRNP-BC
Jennifer Tonkinson, MSN, CRNP-BC