A Letter From the Chief Nurse
Dear Colleagues,
Over the past year, I have learned that it is the extraordinary people who serve our patients and their families that make BWH such a special place to receive and give care. Each of you bring your knowledge and skills to our patients who are in need of and so deserve our very best every day.
Senior leaders are committed to promoting the wellness and safety of our employees and the community we serve to enhance the patient, family and staff experience. There are three major themes we will focus on in the coming year to accomplish this.
First, we will learn about the human experience of care at BWH from the experts—our patients and their families. We will do this in partnership with our Patient and Family Advisory Councils and through nursing grand rounds, which will include an annual presentation by a panel of patients sharing their experiences. In future issues of BWH Nurse, you will see a section called “In the Patient/Family Voice.” This will give us an opportunity to hear about and learn from our patients and their families.
The second theme is enhancing the healing environment. We want to honor the human experience of our patients so that their energies are not focused on managing fear or discomfort, but rather are directed at healing. Expanding our integrative therapies, reducing noise, promoting rest and sleep and ensuring our patients feel cared for as unique persons are central to this goal. We must also do no harm. Consistent hand hygiene before and after patient contact is our single most effective intervention to ensure that we prevent hospital acquired infections. Consistent use of the DASH guidelines to recognize early signs of delirium, alcohol withdrawal, harm to self or others, will ensure that our most vulnerable patients are spared from the impact and life-threatening risk of these syndromes, whenever possible.
The third major theme is to continue to advance a healthy work environment by caring for ourselves to ensure that we have the capacity to care for others. There are several initiatives in support of this theme. First, we launched our tobacco-free campus initiative, “Let’s Clear the Air,” on Nov. 17, coinciding with the Great American Smoke Out. A press conference was held at BWH announcing the program. Our goal is to complete implementation by April 16, 2012. To that end, the smoking hut closed on Feb. 14, and smoking cessation support is available for employees through Occupational Health. We will continue to work closely with inpatient nursing leadership to support our patients who use tobacco when they are hospitalized.
The second initiative we launched is “Your Health, Your Choice.” The goal of this initiative is to develop and implement healthy food options for employees and visitors at all our BW/F food service sites. In collaboration with our Department of Nutrition, the BWH Cafeteria is now using color-coded signage (red, yellow and green) to create greater awareness of healthy food options. We will measure the impact of these interventions on food choices and sales in the cafeteria.
The third healthy work environment initiative is the formation of a Workplace Safety Task Force. This interdisciplinary team will focus on enhancing workplace safety by developing a consistent organizational, leadership and clinical response to events and identifying trends and interventions through review of code grays and safety reports.
This will surely be another exciting year at BWH, and your role in promoting wellness and workplace safety is essential. A happy and healthy 2012 to each of you, and thank you for all that you do in service of our patients and their families.