5 minute read
Leadership Messages
Table of Contents
2 Leadership Messages 4 Structural Empowerment 17 Awards & Certifications 20 Transformational Leadership 21 Exemplary Professional Practice 24 New Knowledge, Innovations, & Improvements
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Annual Report Acknowledgements
Committee Members:
Allison Revelas- Chair
Vicky Loretto
Sarah Wiktor
Doug Diver
Suzie Coppola
Joan Vetter
Elaine Keegan
Alex Foley
Alex Gorrow
Melanie Griffis- Editing/Layout
Dear Mercy Hospital Nursing Team, Well, just when we thought it was over, it was back in 2021. The pandemic continued to impact our lives and the work we do each day.
Your annual report theme this year, “Nurses: the Courage to Care and the Strength to Help,” is a perfect way to describe our nursing team who faced challenge after challenge.
After nearly two years of stress, anxiety, Eddie Bratko long hours, and another significant COVID Mercy Hospital President surge, we were tired but didn’t stop. Coupled with social unrest throughout the country and a work stoppage in October, we persevered. Yes, you—our nurses—have shown courage, strength, and most of all, resilience. During these trying times, it’s more important than ever that we unite together as a hospital family as it will bring us even greater strength to carry on our Catholic Health mission and deliver quality, compassionate care to our community.
Through it all, your selfless dedication to our patients helped Mercy Hospital achieve national recognition for quality care despite everything we faced. In 2021, Mercy Hospital was rated among the best hospitals in the nation for heart bypass surgery, aortic valve surgery and care for stroke, heart failure, COPD, and diabetes by U.S. News and World Report. In addition, the American Heart/Stroke Association presented Mercy with the Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for the ninth year in a row and the Gold Quality Achievement Award for Heart Attack Care. We also received the Healthgrades 2021 Labor and Delivery Excellence Award, placing Mercy Hospital in the top 10% of all hospitals evaluated in the nation for exceptional care of mothers during and after labor and delivery.
You are the backbone of the hospital and it is your commitment to making a difference in the lives of our patients and their families that is the basis for our transformational work—and it shows during these challenging times and every day. Thank you for all that you do.
Sincerely,
Looking back to years past, we often reflect on those few defining moments which leave a significant imprint on our lives and create unforgettable memories. I would posit that you and I have never experienced a year such as the last two. A year that included a global pandemic, a slumping of economy, work stoppage, and the need for true social justice coming to the forefront—a time period that will forever change healthcare.
As nursing professionals, we are committed to being knowledgeable, inquisitive, caring and compassionate. We count on science and evidence-based practice to guide our decision making. As leaders, we use the ANA/ AACN scope of practice, standards of care and ethical practice to groom our nursing team members. For the last twenty years, nursing has been recognized as the most trusted profession. It’s a profession that has persevered over the last 100 years and a profession that is tired and questioning itself now. There are team members who have lost the passion and the stamina to do that one last thing. A large contributor to these challenges is the nursing shortage lending to short staffing, which is my number one priority. There are two options: 1– to feel so overwhelmed or unqualified or undervalued that we do nothing. 2– to start with one small act and qualify ourselves. We say, “please change, we need change.” But how do we show up to change our own lives? How do we show up to change the lives of the people in our workplace and our communities?
Shari McDonald, RN, MSN VP, Patient Care Services Chief Nursing Officer
James Baldwin, a famous writer and voice of the American Civil Rights Movement, once said, “Everything now, we must assume is in our own hands; we have no right to assume otherwise.” I want to re-ignite that passion, and for you think back to why you became a nurse. I challenge you to share your story and feel the light within. The way we find our strength is through our challenges. I want you to know that each of us is more resilient then we can ever imagine. As I reflect on my own feelings the last two years and trying again to find my inspiration, I reflected on the power of nursing and encourage you to do this also. Do this with compassion. Do this with forgiveness. Learn to forgive others. Start by truly learning to forgive yourself. We are all more than our mistakes. We are all more then who we were yesterday. We are all deserving of our dignity. See yourself in others.
The many accomplishments featured in this annual report are proud moments for Mercy Hospital Nursing. It truly highlights the extraordinary commitment and care provided by our nursing staff, despite the overwhelming adversities facing them and our healthcare system. I have witnessed innovation, dedication, commitment and creativity from our nursing staff as they identify and develop solutions for managing new challenges created by COVID 19. Despite uncertainty during the fall work stoppage, our nurses’ voices were heard and changes were made. As a unified voice, nursing can make a difference for themselves and for our patients. Our stories are our greatest strength. A wonderful success story was the virtual patient rounding whereby the peri-op team as a conduit reached out to each patient’s family to update and communicate how the patient was doing. The staff were able to relieve the families’ stress and let them know their loved one was well cared for and we cared. Our shared services also supported each ministry with boots on the ground and support for the nurses, environmental services, and dietary. There are so many remarkable stories throughout the organization.
As I reflect on this year that presented lifelong altering and unparalleled challenges, I am most grateful for our nursing staff’s commitment and dedication to making Mercy Hospital not only survive, but to thrive. As you read the pages of this Nursing Annual Report, please take a moment to reflect on your power as a nurse and a caregiver.
Respectfully,
