Barb is a professional leader of the team on 3SW. This is demonstrated by consistently high patient satisfaction survey scores. One of the highest in the hospital overall. Barb arrives before 7 am every day to see the night shift team off and greet the am shift. She has her patient visits completed early in the am and follows up on patient concerns immediately. 

There are several examples of how Barb Hauge has created an environment of innovation on 3SW and at St. Mary’s – Madison.  Whenever the ministry, the region, or the system asks for someone to pilot an initiative Barb is always the first one to say “Bring it on” to 3SW.  She sparks creativity by challenging us to ask, “Is there a better way to do this” and challenges us to get out of our comfort zone and trial new initiatives.  We truly believe that the phrase “can do” was developed with Barb in mind.

A great example of this has to do with the system MSK Clinical Program initiative to standardize musculoskeletal order sets across the system.  Barb provided nursing management support—in addition to medical leadership from Ibuki Kimura, systems leadership from Jo Goffinet, and provider leadership from Liz Shimon—to standardize all musculoskeletal order sets across the entire SSM Health system.  Even two years ago this would have been thought impossible to achieve, but this team which included Barb got it done by stressing the need for creativity and innovation, the importance of relying on the best evidence, and the mantra of “let’s do what is right for our patients.”

Another example has to do with Barb’s support for front-line nurses to serve on the Clinical Performance Excellence Council at St. Mary’s.  The purpose of this council is to build competency and capacity for front-line staff nursing staff to engage in translating evidence to practice.  St. Mary’s Madison sponsored 3 cohorts of staff RNs to complete a 2-year membership/practicum on this council, and Barb encouraged and supported a 3SW staff member in each of those cohorts.  The most recent of those cohorts completed an EBP project that has transformed post-op care for musculoskeletal (MSK) patients within SMM Health; the following statement is from Wisconsin regional recognition of that work.  “S and M conducted an Evidence-based Practice Project about routine post-op vital signs.  They recognized that anesthesia practices have changed dramatically over the past 20 years, but nurses were taking post-op vital signs at the same intervals used in the 1950s.  For their project, they reviewed 1593 sets of routine post-op vital signs (9558 individual observations) completed on 177 patients.  They found that 99.51% of all observations were within normal limits.  In addition, they identified 356 occurrences of night-time sleep disruptions with an average of 2 disruptions per patient.  Bottom line:  There is little benefit associated with routine vital signs for 24 hours post-op, while the potential for harm from sleep disruptions is evident.  

The SSM Health MSK Clinical Program recently revised its order sets for all post-op orthopedic surgeries and reduced the frequency of post-op vital signs in alignment with the findings of this project.  This was a project initiated by front-line staff whose manager consistently stressed the importance of innovation, creativity, and approaching their work with a spirit of inquiry.”

Barb orientated me as a new leader 10 years ago. She supports the leaders within the hospital as she has the most seniority in the leadership role. If I need an answer, I know Barb will have it as she keeps many files and rarely gets rid of anything "just in case" a similar situation comes up. 

Barb cares deeply for her front-line team. That is evident in her interest in their personal and professional lives and their continuous growth as professional nurses. 

One example came from a staff member who recalled her transition from a Certified Nursing Assistant to a Registered Nurse on Barb’s unit. For most of her first year as a new graduate, the nurse would leave her shift in tears and often wondered if she made the right career choice.  If fact, she told colleagues that she was considering leaving the nursing profession. Barb was understanding, and supportive, and validated that doubt, stress, and concerns were not unusual for a new graduate. 

The nurse had these words to say about Barb: “She told me she refused to believe I had made the wrong choice to be an RN because she saw great potential; potential I did not see in myself. She encouraged me, even pushed me sometimes, to continue to develop and craft my skills and grow in my confidence. Over the years, Barb mentored me to grow personally and professionally.  With her unconditional support, I have been a member of our unit-based council, served as a member and later Chair of the ministry Professional Practice Council, and now have the privilege to participate in the inaugural SSM Health Evidence-based Practice Forum.  And with Barb’s encouragement, I am now enrolled in graduate school.” 

In addition to this example, Barb has mentored many new graduate nurses, charge nurses, preceptors, unit-based shared governance council members, and newly hired members of the management team. She works tirelessly to ensure her staff, or whomever she is mentoring, have what they need to set them up for success. She is a gifted and talented leader who displays integrity, courage, and passion for the work of developing staff and management colleagues. Barb supports developing nurses at all levels of practice because she wants them to be the best bedside nurses for the patients and families she is devoted to, and the best managers for the staff nurses they will support.

Leadership rounding is consistent. A recent example of partnership is an orthopedic patient with a complex fracture who was admitted to 4SW after being transferred from an outlying facility. The patient waited all day for surgery and at 3 pm was told our ortho surgeon was not able to perform the surgery due to the complexity of the fracture. The patient and wife were extremely upset. I reached out to Barb to assist with what to do. Barb contacted the trauma surgeon who was on vacation and together we went into the patient room and the surgeon explained the why's to help the patient and wife understand the need to be transferred to the university hospital. The patient and wife were so grateful for Barb going above and beyond by reaching out to the MD who could give them the big picture of what was best for them. Barb hugged the wife prior to leaving and got her a cup of tea. 

When we think of Barb the words partner and partnership instantly come to mind. She has a great passion for continuously improving the patient experience. Barb thoroughly enjoys rounding with patients and their families because she recognizes that they are her partners in improving the experience of the next patients that are cared for on her unit.  While rounding, Barb has been able to advocate for patient needs and raise concerns about social health, discharge planning, and patient safety. In addition to rounding, she has a diligence for using patient satisfaction data and the National Database for Nursing Quality Indicators to identify opportunities and drive improvement with her unit-based leadership and the staff. Barb also partners with her physician dyad partners from Urology, Orthopedic, and Hospitalist services.  

One of the best examples of Barb partnering with patients and families is the leadership she provided for creating reunion lunches for patients who had a total joint replacement (TJR).  This is how the reunion lunches invited patients and families into partnership with the hospital for improving TJR outcomes.  Approximately four months after discharge patients and their coaches attended a luncheon; each table had a member of their care team as a “host” for the table. The goal was for the interdisciplinary team to reconnect and say “thank you” to patients and coaches for giving the orthopedic care team the privilege of caring for them.  Each reunion lunch began with a welcome from Barb during which she congratulated the “graduates” on their progress.  After lunch, she facilitated a discussion between patients, providers, and members of the interprofessional team from across the continuum of care.  Her first question was always “What is one thing we could do to improve your patient experience?”

This is just one example of how Barb sees herself as an improvement partner with nursing staff, interprofessional team members, and patients and their families.

Barb has high expectations of her team and holds them accountable every day. If there is a due date the 3SW team has it completed on time. If it is time to leave for the day Barb checks in with everyone to make sure they have what they need to care for the patients. 

Barb constantly reviews data about clinical outcomes, patient experience, and financial indicators.  She is the manager that other members of the leadership team come to for help running and understanding reports.  Barb not only reviews the available data, but also shares the data with staff in a way that is meaningful to them.  Barb always says, “I don’t produce the outcomes, the staff do.  It’s my job to give them what they need to achieve our goals.”  

Barb sets clear expectations for the outcomes our patients deserve.  She has the rare ability to have very tough conversations while continuing to express the belief that the individuals or team can meet the expectations that have been set.

A recent example of this ability involves the identification of a significant pressure injury to a patient’s heel, one that was clearly present on admission but had not been identified.  During our unit-based council meeting, Barb said, “This is not what we expect to see on 3SW” and asked, “What are we going to do to prevent it from happening again?”  She challenged the council to develop a plan that would prevent a repeat.  By the end of the meeting, we had started planning for “4 eyes” on the patient for all admissions from the ED, all transfers from other SMM units and outside hospitals, and our fragile joint fracture patients.  We also identified opportunities for the electronic health record to make it easier to apply the appropriate interventions to the care plan, and an opportunity to partner with the hospital’s bed center to get specialty beds delivered to the unit in a more timely manner.  This is just one example of how Barb instills professional accountability for outcomes in the members of her staff.

Barb leads team and councils. She is part of the professional development council this year and gets so excited to present the DAISY and BEE awards. Most recently the BEE award to two members of the security team. 

Barb Hauge lives the mission and values of SSM Health in everything she does.  She has a generosity of spirit that inspires each of us to give 150% each and every day.  One example of Barb keeping the mission and our values of respect and stewardship front and center involves an elderly patient we will call “Helen.”  Helen had severe dementia and was at high risk of falling and being injured.  Helen was with us for over 2 months as guardianship procedures and the identification of an accepting memory care facility could be completed.  Barb recognized quickly that Helen did better when she was occupied with simple tasks and had opportunities to be social.  Barb had the patient moved to a room across from her office so she could drop in frequently and help keep her oriented.  Barb also made sure Helen had a doll she could care for, but that is part of routine care at our hospital.  Where Barb went above and beyond to bring Helen into her office where they could chat or just be together.  Sometimes Helen would fold washcloths, cradle her doll, and sometimes she would just enjoy being out of her room and interacting with another person.  Any person who came to see Barb was introduced to Helen and invited to sit and chat for a while.  This patient was eventually discharged to a memory care unit; she was an inpatient for multiple months and was discharged free of falls.  Barb showed deep respect for Helen’s personhood and helped her feel safe and valued.  She also demonstrated our value of stewardship by avoiding endless patient sitter hours and the excess costs associated with a patient fall, and our value of excellence by averting the risks associated with alarm fatigue (from bed exit alarms) on the part of front-line staff.

An exceptional employee who dedicated 32 years of service to an organization is tough to find. Barb speaks and lives the mission of SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital. She is dedicated to the success and mostly dedicated to making sure families and patients have exactly what they need to have an exceptional experience. Her heart is in healthcare. 

Barb has a passion for nursing that has been evident throughout her career.  This passion led her to participate in nursing governance to promote professionalism and nurse participation in decision-making.  As a staff RN at St. Mary’s, she served on her unit-based council before being called to be the chairperson of that council.  Her professional trajectory then took her to membership on the House wide Professional Nursing Practice Council (PNPC), Chair of the PNPC, and finally Chairperson of the Nursing Coordinating Council – in essence, Barb was the Chief of Staff for Nursing.  As a manager, she is the medical-surgical representative on the Nursing Operations Council, the management representative on the House-wide Nursing Professional Development Council, and the management representative on the Wisconsin Regional Professional Nursing Practice Council.

Barb’s ongoing support of nursing participation in nursing professional governance councils at the unit and House wide level through the years has encouraged nurses on our unit to make decisions regarding their practice, engage as equal partners on the interprofessional team, develop leadership skills, and approach their work with a spirit of inquiry and a passion for continuous improvement.