Jeanne Ricks has been leading for many years in nursing. She is admired by physicians, nurses and all members of the team for her patience and steadfast support. She is often described as a quiet and humble leader, but she is a powerhouse. Jeanne has been working at Children's National for many years; she is constantly reinventing herself and leading her teams to grow, grow, grow! I'd say growth is her specialty. Whether it's opening a new clinic in the community, designing a care delivery model for the administration of new and emerging orphan drugs, redesigning holding areas for cardiac surgery patients, or designing a new process flow for infusion patients - she does it all. She role models a "can do" spirit - her collaborative approach to problem-solving is her secret weapon.
Jeanne has led change projects that have resulted in measurable improvements in care. Examples include:
The Youth Pride Clinic within the Goldberg Center: The clinic improves access to LGBTQ adolescents and young adults with care coordination to meet the medical and mental health needs of their patients, and provides safe space for access to medical services and compassionate socially-sensitive care.
Jeanne provided Innovative and Compassionate Care for children with Batten's Disease: After learning that a child with a rare and devastating disease, was traveling over five hours out of state to receive an innovative evidence-based therapy called Brineuraâ„¢ by intraventricular infusion, Jeanne Ricks led the Neurology clinical nurses, APRNs, and interprofessional team to implement administration of the same new therapy here at Children's National. Team Brineura successfully began this innovative therapy in a manner representing the organization's core values- Compassion, Commitment, and Connection.
Jeanne led clinical nurse involvement in the adoption of New Lead Device Technology: This has improved lead screening rates, improved clinic visit efficiency, and improved the overall patient and family care and experience in the Goldberg Clinics. Most importantly, it provides the clinical nurse and provider with real-time results which allow for immediate intervention and connects patients and families directly to the other services they need. The results demonstrated an increase in patient satisfaction as indicated on the Press Ganey scores, which increased from 93% to over 95%.
Jeanne led the development of a new process named Mobile Cast Program: Aimed at decreasing clinic visit times for orthopedic fracture patients; she led ambulatory nurses and the interprofessional team to design new workflow. This new process named, the Mobile Cast Program, decreased average clinic appointment times by 28% - from 123 minutes to 89 minutes.
Jeanne is very involved in mentoring and succession planning activities in her clinical areas- supporting nurses at all levels- clinical nurses, nurse navigators, managers, directors, and APRNs, as well. Jeanne somehow finds a way to stay connected to ambulatory nurses across the organization - right here on the SZ campus and in every outpatient setting across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. In addition, she always finds time to be with patients and families too. I have come to lean on Jeanne for her wisdom and when she is on call, I know we are in good hands. Whether it's a disaster drill or a late-night phone call or text, I always feel better when I hear her voice saying, "This is Jeanne, everything is ok but I just wanted you to know.....", with her calm and reassuring presence, she uses our core values as a compass to guide her in her work. She is a visible and present leader demonstrating a commitment to the staff, patients and families she serves; she connects in meaningful ways with patients and families; and demonstrates compassion to everyone she meets.