HCAHPS update

We want to thank each and every member of the 6 Center team for the wonderful job and your efforts in increasing our patient satisfaction scores as reflected by our HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems) scores.  I would like everyone to read this so that we can work together in helping our patients heal faster, feel more included in their plan of care, and THRIVE!

Communication with nurses

Our efforts to reduce shift reporting at the nurse’s station through the use of NKE and the 6 Center C.A.R.E.S. initiative has been extremely successful, but our use of this important tool has seemed to decline.  The use of the C.A.R.E.S. acronym is imperative during report time because it not only allows for the exchange of useful information between nurses, but it also allows the patient to become included and involved in the plan of care and goals for the day/hospitalization. We really want our patients to feel communicated with and to have a good understanding of plans and goals for their hospitalization.

Pain

6 Center is unique in that we give an extremely large amount of pain medications on a daily basis.  Because of this we are required to frequently reassess our patients for pain.  As you all know we are mandated by Joint Commission to maintain 90% compliance rate for our pain reassessments of PRN medications administered.  This reassessment can take place up to 60 minutes after the medication is given but can be charted on in as little as 6 minutes.  If after 1 hour no reassessment has been documented we are considered noncompliant.  Please remember that every single PRN pain medication given needs to have a follow up pain reassessment within 1 hour of the time the medication was administered.

Promptness

Providing quality care on 6 Center is our priority and assuring our patients are tended to in a timely fashion is our responsibility not only as members of the 6 Center team but as nurses.  It has been shown in multiple studies that when a caregiver leaves a patients room and asks “is there anything else I can do for you?” the call light is utilized less frequently.  Efficiency and promptness comes with preplanning, which includes making time for the unexpected events that always seem to present themselves when we least expect it.

Noise

Hospitals are extremely loud places, but we, as representatives of 6 Center must take it upon ourselves to make our working environment as conducive to healing and restfulness as possible.  Please be cognizant of our healing environment and the noise we make. 

If there are patients on telemetry please make sure monitor parameters are set realistically and alarms which do not pertain to the patient (such as the activation of the a fib alarm on a patient whose rhythm is already known to be a fib) are not activated/selected.  Also it is imperative that the leads we place on our patients are placed correctly and are changed daily to reduce the risk of artifact which can cause unnecessary alarms.

Thank you for your exceptional work and dedication to our patients and unit.