Ochsner Nursing Connection: 2020 Nursing Annual Report
Live for something. Do good, and leave behind you a monument of virtue that the storm of time can never destroy. Write your name in kindness, love and mercy, on the hearts of the thousands you come in contact with year by year. You will never be forgotten. No. Your name, your deeds, will be as legible on the hearts you leave behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven.
– Thomas Chalmers
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Ochsner Nursing
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A Message from Ochsner Health System Chief Nursing Officer – Tracey Moffatt Dear Ochsner Nurses, I’m proud to lead and work beside more than 7,000 talented and committed nurses across our organization. As many of you know the World Health Organization named 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife as a year to educate, create awareness and bring light to the incredible work in our practice around the world. Little did we know at the start of this year what our nurses would be called to do. In this unprecedented time in healthcare, Ochsner Health rose to the challenge quickly, safely, and successfully. In the face of a pandemic, a crisis we’ve never experienced before, I watched as so many heroes in all forms, but especially our nurses, flew into action. We have risen to the occasion and gone far beyond anyone’s expectations – perhaps including our own! 2020 has truly become nursing’s finest hour, right here in Louisiana and all around the world. This annual report celebrates the truly remarkable response of nurses from every corner of the organization, from the clinic nurse redeployed to an intensive care unit, to the nurse educator triaging fellow employees who were exposed to COVID-19, to the nursing student joining the workforce a semester early to help care for the rapid influx of patients in our medical surgical units. The stories in this annual report reflect the strength and bravery of our team and they will move you and inspire you to great lengths. In what may be one of the most difficult times in the history of healthcare, we experienced growth, renewal, and innovation. Over the course of this year, I’ve been inspired by what various teams accomplished, such as: Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport expanded COVID-19 ICU capacity in North Louisiana, opening a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, our Flight Care team assisted with transporting COVID-19 and other patients in response to our most challenging hurricane season in years, and two of our hospitals were named hospital of the year by the Louisiana State Nurses Association. It was my privilege to serve in the command center with experts from across the organization. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines, sometime multiple times a day, I was inspired by the resiliency of our nurses and leaders who carried out these changes. There was a team of support that made it happen, from just-in-time education, meals and emergency employee childcare, to decompression zones, nurse leader well-being rounds and messages of encouragement from the entire world. When your colleague needed a shoulder to lean on, you were there. Many of you have said that your teams, both at work and at home, have been the reason you pulled through and kept showing up every day. You all have and continue to make great sacrifices to lead and serve. Your Chief Nursing Officers, executive teams and I are so incredibly proud of each of you and the caliber of nursing we have here. Thank you for every moment this year, for every time you pulled yourself together and went back to it, for every time you gave yourself or others permission to rest and come back stronger. Know in my mind, EVERY year is the year of the nurse and midwife. We could not do it all without each of you. From the bottom of my heart thank you for everything. Congratulations on a year we’ll never forget! Sincerely,
Tracey Moffatt, MHA, BSN, RN, System CNO & VP of Quality, Ochsner Health
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WATCH THE CNO MESSAGE
40+
3.8B
$
Raised in Philanthropy
30,000 895,000+
Employees in 2020
Patients served in 2020
7477 Number of COVID-19 positive hospitalizations in 2020 at Ochsner
Patients enrolled in digital medicine in 2020
ANCC Magnet designations achieved at OMC- New Orleans
Academic nursing agreements from nursing programs including LPN, RN, BSN, MSN, PhD, and DNP in 2020
OCHSNER NURSES INFLUENCE THE NURSING PROFESSION STATEWIDE ON BOARDS OF PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
926
Ochsner Hospitals Recognized by the Louisiana State Nurses Association as Hospital of the Year 2020 – OMC-New Orleans and OMC- Baton Rouge
WATCH THE VIDEO: OCHSNER HEALTH LOOKS BACK AT 2020
55 1,774 2,675 492 367 1,092
Doctorally Prepared RN
ADN BSN MSN APRN
Certified RN
Ochsner Nurses are our heroes! Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 5
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
2
Nurses participating in Ochsner’s Clinical Ladder in 2020. The program recognizes nurses who go above and beyond and provides compensation for strong clinical and professional skills
DEGREES AND DESIGNATIONS
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
42
Number of named storms in 2020 during which nurses provided care
7,064
Number of Ochsner Health Nurses (5,936 RNs + 1,128 LPNs)
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
14,441
5 4
Ochsner Nursing By the Numbers
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
27M
$
OCHSNER NURSING MISSION is to guide efforts to advance the profession, to ensure a culture of safety, improve clinical outcomes, promote organizational growth and further national prominence.
Total operating revenue
Owned, Managed and affiliated specialty hospitals
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Ochsner Facts and Stats
Contents Ochsner Nursing.................................................................................................................................................... 3 A Message from the CNO About Ochsner Nursing
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year................................. 7 Dear World: Stories Featuring Portraits And Experiences Of Ochsner Nurses Celebrating Ochsner Heroes The Kindness of In Kind
Editorial Team
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response:.........................................................................................................15 Ochsner Flight Care Takes Action A Year that Ignited Innovation in Nursing Education, Informatics and Quality Ease of Use for Clinicians is the Top Priority for Epic and Ochsner IS
Reflections on The Year of Nurse During a Global Pandemic From Our Nurse Executives........... 27 Ochsner Baptist Nurses Celebrate Proven Teamwork Ochsner’s Ambulatory Nursing Team Manages COVID-19 Testing Sites on the Move Committed to Supporting Employee Well-being
The Pandemic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations as We Look Ahead..............................49 Building the Nursing Pipeline of Tomorrow: Championing Our Future Nursing Workforce The Time for Nursing Research: Opportunities During the Pandemic In Memoriam: Honoring Ochsner Nurses who passed away
On the Cover – editor’s note Dear Reader, Over the past year, nurses have been uplifted and encouraged by the outpouring of love, gratitude, and care from the world. On the cover, our editorial team wanted to highlight one of the many pieces of artwork that has been dedicated to the nursing profession. The painting Super Nurse, by Amsterdam artist, FAKE, is a tribute to all healthcare professionals for the vital role they play in peoples’ lives. While nurses need care as anyone else, one of our superpowers is the strength of character common to nurses everywhere – the altruistic call to care for humanity. In this edition, nurses share personal messages that paint a picture of the experiences of our team during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with honoring contributions of nurses throughout Ochsner, in a special way, the report celebrates the nursing profession. We hope that you feel inspired by the stories you read and feel connected to the heart of our Ochsner nursing team. Sincerely, Maria Nix, MSN, BSN, RN 6 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
Maria Nix, MSN, BSN, RN Clinical Educator, Editor Tracey Moffatt, MHA, BSN, RN, System Chief Nursing Officer and VP Quality Ann Lockhart, MN, RN-BC, AVP Nursing Practice Ochsner Marketing Communications Department Cover photograph contributor: Alamy
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
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Dear World: Stories Featuring Portraits And Experiences Of Ochsner Nurses And Healthcare Heroes Across Louisiana During The COVID-19 Pandemic In honor of 2020 being designated the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, DearWorld.org partnered with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) to tell the stories of 40 nurses from COVID-19 units across the state of Louisiana. Visit nurses.dearworld.org to read all the Dear World stories featuring Ochsner nurses.
Chad Anderson, RN
Sanders Coley, RN
Ashleigh Conerly, RN
Debbie Ford, RN
Kala Gaudet, RN
Tina Gipson, RN
Nigel Girgrah, MD
Julie Hess, RN
Ashante Hogan, RN
Tracey Moffatt, RN
Chariz Montminy, RN
Amy Ott, RN
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Executive Producer: RX Fogarty // Portraits: Daymon Gardner
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
About DearWorld.org: DearWorld.org’s mission is to share stories to be remembered or discovered. Known for iconic message-on-skin portraits and video stories, the charitable organization has captured the meaningful stories of Boston marathon bombing survivors, Syrian Refugees, Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting survivors as well as hundreds of others. DearWorld.org is the 501c3 charitable arm of Dear World. Since 2011, Dear World has worked with some of the world’s most well-known companies and universities to unlock the stories of their people through its storytelling method and a portion of those fees annually go towards underwriting DearWord.org’s work.
Ochsner Nursing
About the portraits: For its latest portrait collection, ‘#DearNurses,’ DearWorld.org partnered with AACN and Ochsner Health to capture portraits and letters of frontline critical care nurses working in COVID-19 units across south Louisiana. Each subject sat for an interview and a portrait featuring a personal message written on their skin, Dear World’s signature storytelling medium. Each portrait includes a first-person account of the story that inspired the words written on their bodies. The critical care nurses shared deeply personal messages of dedication, joy, hope, pain, sacrifice, heartache and fear as they detailed what the last few months have been like treating COVID-19 patients.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Sarah Owens, RN
Dawn Pevey, RN
Cassidy Pocorello, RN
Tara Porter, RN
William Quinn, RN
Lauren Rage, RN
Heather Rouyer, RN
Catherine Smith, RN
Jaime Taylor, RN
Fiona Winterbottom, APRN Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 9
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Travis Rodgers, RN
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
Scan the QR code to read the Dear World Stories featuring Ochsner nurses.
Ochsner Heroes
Food & Nutrition Services partnered with Ochsner’s childcare camps to share “thinking of you” cards and artwork to our hospitalized COVID-19 patients at OMC-New Orleans by placing them on their delivered food trays! This project is planned to be scaled system wide to bring smiles to our patients through children’s artwork.
Celebrating Ochsner Heroes Across Louisiana, we have seen our communities rise up to support our Ochsner Heroes through various donations and words of encouragement. And, in addition to the support we continue to receive from our great partners, area businesses, and community leaders, we are also seeing many employees help colleagues and patients in so many other ways outside of clinical care. Here are a few stories of just a few of our Ochsner heroes and words of thanks and encouragement from community members.
Two sonographers, Jena Theriot and Laura Borne, from Ochsner Baptist even pulled together $1,200 in just 24 hours from others in our Women’s Centers to buy goodies for the frontline units.
Mary Truxillo, Nurse Practitioner, OMC – West Bank Campus, was one of our very own nurses that got COVID-19. However, once she was symptom and fever free, she returned to work. She shared, “COVID-19 presented a new opportunity to learn and adapt in the way we provide patient care, especially in the ER. It was so important to return to work to assist my colleagues and remain on the frontlines providing emergency care for the community during this pandemic.”
Charity Kinchen, RN, a floating pool nurse, sent her four young children to live with their father and stepmother while she served in the COVID-19 unit at Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans. “This is by far the biggest challenge I face in this pandemic.”
“Dixon and I are honored to bring a little love, joy, and peace to our clinical care staff who continue to work tirelessly to care for our patients and their families.”
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Lori Lemoine, endocrinology nurse practitioner at OMC-Northshore was redeployed to Ochsner Medical Center - New Orleans as an ICU nurse. During COVID-19, her redeployment brought her back to the bedside with courage and optimism.
Brooke Sylvester, RN, Med/Surg, Ochsner Baptist, is a new graduate stepping in to fight on the frontlines to help battle COVID-19. “Healthcare is continuously changing. If we choose to embrace the changes presented to us, we’ll become more resilient and stronger than before.”
Ochsner Nursing
Ochsner Medical Center Hancock Ochsner Heroes, Annabelle Moran, RN; Michelle Lichtenstein, RN; and Courtney Lafontaine, RN, volunteered their time to temperature check and screen over 500 participants in Bay High School’s recent Jeep graduation parade in order to honor graduating seniors.
Ochsner Heroes
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Ochsner Heroes
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana has this inspirational message for our Ochsner Heroes. “I just want to tell all the employees at Ochsner, from your whole team -- the doctors, the nurses, the people keeping the rooms clean – I can’t thank you enough for what y’all are doing on the frontlines for the battle against the coronavirus. We’re going to beat this, we’re going to get through it, but we’re going to do it because of your great leadership and the heroes you have working for you.” Saints legend Archie Manning has this message for our Ochsner Heroes: “On behalf of myself and my family, I’d like to thank all the doctors, nurses, administrators, staff – everyone associated with healthcare, for your courage, your commitment and all your hard work during this crisis.’’ New Orleans Saints tight end Jared Cook has these inspirational thoughts for our healthcare providers. “I just wanted you to know we’re with you, we encourage you, we’re in prayer and we’re lifting you up.”
“Whenever I have a moment of down-time I find myself thinking of and praying for each and every member of my Baptist 3 South team. It is such an honor to lead this ‘lively’ mixture of new grads, seasoned staff, staff in school, staff approaching retirement and staff retired but back for more. They show up fearlessly as living testament to Ochsner’s values of teamwork and patients first. This battle can get stressful, but every day, I am inspired by this team’s courage, sacrifice, accountability, resilience and the good humor and loving spirit they manage to preserve in the face of unimaginable challenges. The talents and gifts they possess are by far our greatest weapons in this fight and it is because of their continued selflessness WE SHALL OVERCOME! –Mikeal Swift, RN, Med/Surg Unit Manager, Ochsner Baptist
The Nightingale Awards celebrate the best of the best of nurses, hospitals and healthcare providers. In 2020, two Ochsner hospital campuses were recognized as Hospital of the Year for their size category as part of the LSNA and Louisiana Nurses Foundation (LNF) Nightingale Awards that recognize achievements of nurses throughout Louisiana:
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
OMC- New Orleans celebrates recognition as LSNA Nightingale Hospital of the year (161 beds or greater).
Two Ochsner nurses were also recognized in the following categories: Kay Sabadie, RN, OMC-Northshore was recognized as Clinical Practice RN of the Year. This award recognizes a registered nurse who consistently delivers exemplary direct patient care in a primary nursing role.
OMC- Baton Rouge celebrates recognition as Hospital of the Year (61 beds to 160 beds).
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Jennifer Garnand, RN, BSN, Emergency Medicine, Ochsner Medical Center- New Orleans, was recognized as RN of the Year-Registered Nurse Mentor of the Year. This award honors a registered nurse who assisted a nursing colleague(s) to advance in the nursing profession.
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
Dianne Teal, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CPPS, FACHE, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge, shared, “Nurses are the frontline caregivers at any hospital and I’m extremely proud to receive this acknowledgement from LSNA. We always put Patients First and that is the driving force behind our quality, safety and patient engagement.”
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
OMC - New Orleans was recognized as Hospital of the Year (161 beds or greater) and OMC - Baton Rouge was recognized as Hospital of the Year (61 beds- 160 beds). This prestigious designation celebrates hospitals that exemplify innovation through nursing leadership and management, support for nursing practice, nurse decision making, recognition of nurses, and support for nurse participation in professional and community nursing organizations. In a message to nursing staff, Debbie Ford, RN, BSN, MSN, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Medical Center- New Orleans shared, “what an exciting time for Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans to be recognized as the Louisiana Nurses Foundation, Louisiana State Nurses Association Hospital of the Year! As you may have heard, the competition was stiff and that we won out over five other hospitals across Louisiana! You are doing amazing work and we tried to highlight everything that you do! Thanks for all you do!”
Ochsner Nursing
In addition to new creative ways of recognizing our nursing staff during the pandemic, hospital campuses around the system celebrated DAISY honorees and Ochsner Nursing was thrilled to celebrate our 2020 Louisiana State Nurses Association (LSNA) Nightingale award winners.
The Kindness of In Kind - A message from Ochsner’s Philanthropy Department In the spring of 2020, the whirlwind of the first COVID-19 outbreak brought in a flurry of donations from across the country. Many people took the opportunity to provide support for employees who were feeling the effects of the pandemic, but the most remarkable were the in-kind gifts that came pouring into our hospital campuses. Support for frontline staff ranged from hot meals from restaurants to personal protective equipment to handwritten notes of encouragement. While we were mostly isolated from social engagement, the endless generosity of the community during those first uncertain weeks provided comfort to staff. Many of our nurses benefitted from this extreme generosity, but nurses were also a driving force behind the generosity in many cases. For instance, nurses working in units that had less impact from the crisis often arranged donations for the staff that were hit hard. Some of the units who helped spread support were the Ochsner Baptist medical staff, Ochsner Baptist NICU team, Ochsner Home Health, Ochsner Kenner Women’s Services staff, Ochsner Medical Complex – Iberville Emergency Department staff and Ochsner Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Services. The resilience, strength and support of our nursing community is an endless source of inspiration. Thank you for all you do to support our patients every day.
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Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response: New Collaborative Services Drive Synergy in Patient Care
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2020: A Unique First Year for the Collaborative Staffing Resource Center Through all of the personal and professional challenges we faced in 2020, there was much to celebrate. On the first anniversary of the Collaborative Staffing Resource Center (CSRC), we certainly did not plan to have unprecedented demand for clinical staff that required several hundred additional nurses to support caring for COVID-19 patients in a pandemic. While providing over 500 additional nursing staff as quickly as we could was not an easy challenge, the entire CSRC team met this test head on. • Our nurses and patient care technicians passed our previous record and worked nearly 10,000 hours in one pay period – a 30% increase from our 2019 average. Many staff worked countless extra hours to support patient care and were truly heroes. • To support our hardworking staff and ensure safe care for our patients, nearly 500 agency nurses were hired in just over a month with the assistance of our vendor partners and the CSRC’s agency staffing team, with support from other administrative members of our team and even system nursing who assisted with conducting interviews and onboarding. • Leaders from the CSRC worked 7 days/week and around the clock to keep the clinical staff informed about revised CDC guidance, address concerns and to do whatever was necessary to keep our staff safe and supported. • Our analytics and staffing team handled hundreds of phone calls and requests for information on staffing and the availability of resources. • As COVID-19 volume declined over the summer, our team moved into action to identify and end nearly 300 agency contracts enabling the CSRC clinical staff and other nurses across the system to work. This allowed the organization to avoid over $3.3 million in additional costs.
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“2020 indeed presented many unique challenges to all of us both personally and professionally. I am inspired and in awe when I consider the work our organization accomplished. The entire CSRC team overcame incredible challenges and were resilient through the entire experience. Our direct care staff (RNs, LPNs, PCTs and PSAs) were beyond incredible as they confronted COVID-19 head on. It was so inspiring to witness the entire CSRC team, whether direct care staff, support or leaders, do whatever was necessary to ensure our patients received the best care possible. I am eternally grateful and proud to lead such an outstanding team of professionals.” – Bruce Weinberg, AVP Nursing Workforce Management, Ochsner Health
This year brought many challenges and tested the hearts of all those working in healthcare. The resilience of every nurse was put to the test, and they held strong in their pledge to keep patients first as they rallied an impressive demonstration of teamwork. The PFC can truly attest to the daily compassion, composure and hustle exhibited by every Ochsner hero.
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The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Louisiana faced additional challenges during the 2020 hurricane season with five named storms making landfall in the state, leading to unavoidable hospital evacuations. As the number of patients requiring relocation grew, the hospital bed capacity in the region began to diminish. In August, a collaborative effort of the nurses, physicians in lead of transfers (PILOT), dispatchers and Flight Care resulted in the transfer of 123 patients out of the Lake Charles area in one weekend.
PFC team members stayed late, flexing their hours to meet the demanding volume of incoming patients and phone calls. Throughout the rest of August, September and October, the PFC continued to collaborate with healthcare teams across the state as further named storms passed through, repeatedly forcing the relocation of patients.
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
Over a three-week period beginning on March 22, 2020, the PFC transferred 201 internal COVID-19 patients to appropriate Ochsner facilities, and 147 of those patients were transferred out of Ochsner Medical Center – West Bank Campus. In addition to the total transfer volume during the initial spike of COVID-19, the PFC facilitated 2,422 helicopter, ambulance and van transports during March and April and the Centralized Placement Team (CPT) averaged 700 psychiatric patient placements a month.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
The PFC served as the single contact for all campuses, providing real-time information on what was happening throughout the region as hospitals managed the rapid increase in patient admissions. Patient transfer algorithms were updated daily to meet CDC guidelines. Geographic consideration, ventilator availability, isolation and testing measures, and bed capacity all needed to be considered for every patient transfer. Years of experience with centralizing patient movement and streamlining workflows laid the foundation and preparation for tackling these unprecedented operational challenges.
“Like many other teams, the Patient Flow Center was shaken by the unbelievable events this year. We were immediately put to the test which changed our day to day operations both personally and professionally. I am proud of the foundational work that was done to prepare us for these unprecedented times, and I’m honored to work alongside a team who donned their superhuman masks and got the job done.” – Amber Hebert, BSN, RN-BC, Unit Director, Patient Flow Center
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
The year 2020 turned the world’s attention to healthcare and many eyes focused on nurses and their heroic actions. With a bird’s eye view of every campus and patient moving throughout Ochsner Health, the Patient Flow Center (PFC) kept a close eye on our patients during the worldwide pandemic and active hurricane season. Despite the uncertainty of each unique situation, it was impressive to witness Ochsner’s consistent collaboration of leaders throughout the system and the selfless dedication of our frontline. The necessary deviations from each plan and the formation of new strategies were truly remarkable.
Ochsner Nursing
The Patient Flow Center Had a Bird’s Eye View During Nursing’s Finest Hour
Ochsner Flight Care Takes Action
One Patient’s Story: Juliet Daly Ochsner Flight Care has been immersed in Ochsner’s COVID-19 response since the beginning. During the initial surge of patients, Flight Care’s role was to assist with the dissemination of patients throughout various campuses, ensuring that no one facility became overwhelmed. As the capacity and infrastructure of Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans rapidly enhanced, so did their admission of COVID-19 patients. Efforts shifted to relocating intubated patients to the newly designated COVID-19 units. Following Hurricane Laura, Flight Care assisted with the rescue efforts of Lake Charles area hospitals. The team played a major role in evacuating COVID-19 units, ICUs and NICUs. Our Flight Care teams were willing to do whatever necessary to safely evacuate patients from the Lake Charles area hospitals. As soon as the storm moved far enough north, a caravan of ambulances immediately deployed the team by ground to the area. Flight Care’s evacuation efforts began with three NICU babies and a positive COVID-19 post-transplant patient. Because of lingering weather, patients 18 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
were transported by ambulance from Lake Charles to Lafayette then transitioned to a helicopter to complete the transport to New Orleans. “Though this process proved difficult, our team made everything appear seamless. It is an honor to be part of a team like Flight Care where every individual strives to be the best clinician possible to provide exceptional care to every patient, no matter the challenges.” – Patrick Boullion, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, CFRN, NR-P, Director, Ochsner Flight Care. Like most in healthcare, Flight Care continues to adjust our approach to caring for COVID-19 patients. After every COVID-19 transport, we decontaminate the helicopter, ambulance, airplane, all medical equipment and ourselves. New challenges like those brought on by this virus can truly make or break a team. Constant adaptation, improvisation and innovation is not only time consuming, but also exhausting. Our Flight Care team met these challenges with a positive attitude and genuine team cohesiveness. These dynamics were clearly evident during the Hurricane Laura response.
Among all the patients that Flight Care transported during the pandemic, one especially stands out. Flight Care was tasked with transferring COVID-19 positive Juliet Daly by helicopter from St. Tammany Parish Hospital to Ochsner Hospital for Children. When the team arrived at the bedside, she was in cardiac and respiratory failure. As she was prepared for transport, Juliet went into cardiac arrest. After two minutes of CPR, she regained a pulse and the Flight Care team successfully transported Juliet from the Northshore to OMC-New Orleans. Following her stay at Ochsner Hospital for Children, she made a full recovery and the crew that cared for her were honored to be reunited with Juliet and her family. It is rare that our clinicians are gifted the opportunity to meet patients following their transport and it’s an experience that will not be soon forgotten.
“This was my first experience staying in a hospital (and, hopefully, last) and almost without exception they did everything possible to make me as comfortable as possible and with a caring attitude that was at a level well above just the performance of their duties.” Thank you, nurses, for your
Ochsner Nursing
Outstanding Nurse Leadership guidance “Every single one of those nurses madegracious me feel special, caredand for,support very to all of those around supported, and just as if I was their friend or family member fromyou! the moment, Drives Patient Experience I walked in, to the moment they walked me to my car. Then, saying their best wishes to me. Again, I truly cannot express how much I love my experience
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
Ochsner nurse leaders partnered with our patient experience coaches on many and could not have had better staff members and nurses!” “The most beautiful people projects during the pandemic with a main focus on patient care. Nurses quickly we havethe known are those who In 2020, we had 24 units above 75th percentile adopted strategies to care for patients and their families that were outside of performing the nationwide for the Communication with Nurses domain, 10 units have known defeat,and known normal course of daily nursing care. They did this by: are above the 90th percentile. The incredible leadership and suffering, known struggle, • Providing virtual visits for patients with no family collaboration on-site. among nurses made a substantial difference during these known loss, and have found times. The nursing units that improved the most from • Changing nurses’ job focus to provide daily calls tounprecedented families for clinical their way of the depths. 2019 to 2020 for Nursing Communication eachout improved by 25 updates. Theseofpersons have an are the percentile rank points or more, and three these departments • Volunteering to work in other departments to support needs such asfor Ochsner highest performers 2020. Congratulations to OMC - Baton Rouge appreciation, a sensitivity, and On Call, providing real-time guidance to patients. Telemetry, OMC - Kenner Telemetry, OMC Baton Rouge Med Surg, an understanding of life that OMC - New Orleans Med Surg, and OMC - Northshore Med Surg 3. fills them with compassion, • Wearing alternative ID badges so patients could easily see a name and face Thank you, nurses, for your gracious guidance and support to all of given all of the PPE being worn. gentleness, and a deep loving those around you! concern. Beautiful people do • Offering care packages to families from the nursing staff who cared for “The most beautiful people we have known who have known defeat, not are justthose happen.” patients who passed away. known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Below are some of the amazing comments we received about understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross our nurses and staff:
“Every single one of those nurses made me feel special, cared for, very supported, and just as if I was their friend or family member from the moment I walked in, to the moment they walked me to my car. Then saying their best wishes to me. Again, I truly cannot express how much I love my experience and could not have had better staff members and nurses!”
“I am always in awe of our nurses. They are continuously faced with challenges from difficult interactions with families to unexpected high volumes, but they inevitably put our patients first with both dignity and grace.” Alison Soileau, MA, FACHE, CPXP, Vice President of Patient Experience and Service Excellence, Ochsner Health
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
In 2020, we had 24 units performing above the 75th percentile nationwide for the Communication with Nurses domain, and 10 units are above the 90th percentile. The incredible leadership and collaboration among nurses made a substantial difference during these unprecedented times. The nursing units that improved the most from 2019 to 2020 for Nursing Communication each improved by 25 percentile rank points or more, and three of these departments are the highest performers for 2020. Congratulations to OMC - Baton Rouge Telemetry, OMC - Kenner Telemetry, OMC - Baton Rouge Med Surg, OMC - New Orleans Med Surg, and OMC - Northshore Med Surg 3.
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
“This was my first experience staying in a hospital (and, hopefully, last) and almost without exception they did everything possible to make me as comfortable as possible and with a caring attitude that was at a level well above just the performance of their duties.”
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A Year that Ignited Innovation in Nursing Education, Informatics and Quality The COVID-19 pandemic sparked innovations born out of necessity and highlighted collaborative teamwork among departments and Ochsner’s entire interdisciplinary team.
“We’ve always recognized the strength of teamwork and collaborative partnerships among Ochsner nurses across our system,” Ann Lockhart, MN, RN-BC, AVP Nursing Practice. “What impressed me the most about the COVID-19 crisis was that our nurses were not only able to collaborate within their teams and with other departments to accomplish many incredible innovations, but also to do things that they weren’t normally doing. Our nursing informaticists, nurse educators and nursing quality team members expanded their roles during the pandemic to do what needed to be done. Our team’s response to the pandemic highlighted their true expertise, compassion, creativity, skill and nimbleness and reflects the heart of the nursing profession.” When Ochsner Health admitted the first COVID-19 confirmed positive patient on March 9, 2020, members of the nursing informatics team began working day and night to track exposure among patients and the healthcare team. The team worked diligently to trace electronic medical records (EMR) of COVID-19 positive patients to identify employees that had potentially been exposed. Using the tracer reports, the nursing quality performance improvement, system nursing professional development, and nursing informatics teams came together to work alongside Ochsner’s employee health nurses to triage employees who had been exposed to known COVID-19 positive patients. 20 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
A new tool to capture exposures and alert staff - When the triage
process began, nursing informaticists provided a list of employee exposures to the team and nurses conducted triage calls to alert staff of exposure, assess for symptoms and provide direction on next steps. “Using our knowledge and expertise of navigating the EMR, nursing informatics began manually tracing medical records to identify Ochsner staff members that had documented in the EMR and appeared to have an extended period of contact with the patient according to the documentation noted and all tracer information was entered into a master spreadsheet,” says Lxchelle Arceneaux, MPH, BSN, BS, RN-BC, Manager, Nursing Informatics. “During the days of performing the tracers, my entire team was all-hands-on-deck. We worked relentlessly to comb every medical record that was sent to us. It was a very stressful process seeing the number of people who had come in contact with these patients and not fully knowing the
Participants pose for a picture during the rapid simulation training offered for redeployed staff members. The training focused on learner experience and aimed to familiarizing participants with the skills and processes of care that they would encounter in the hospital setting. Topics included basic nursing care and topics like hygiene, nutrition, mobility, safety, documentation, equipment overview, communication and promoting resilience during a pandemic. 171 medical assistants and 85 nurses completed the training.
Ochsner Nursing
extent to which the individual or their family could be affected by their contact with the patient. I vividly remember team members calling me crying as they performed their chart reviews because of the uncertainty of the disease process and seeing how patients were also dying from this new virus. The team worked extended hours each day, working hard and steadfast, to help identify our fellow coworkers who could have been at risk of exposure. The process was tedious and time-consuming, but the dedication of the nursing informatics team prevailed through with tracing every chart that was sent our way.”
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
Within a short time, the team created an automated system to capture employee exposures to COVID-19 positive patients and alert staff members. “The automated process began with an electronic form that could be used by our nursing informaticists to gather and enter necessary information from the electronic medical record, which generated one growing spreadsheet that then could be accessed real time by the infection prevention team,” says Ecoee Rooney, DNP, RN-BC, SANE-A, Director of Nursing Leadership Development, Ochsner Health.
support to redeployed nurses, system nurse educators, led by Jennie Miele Seal, BSN, RN, created eRN, a pilot remote nurse consult program, aiming to provide just-in-time educational support to nurses working on a COVID-19 rehabilitation unit. The project team included nurse educators, members of the electronic intensive care unit, and transplant unit. The program leveraged existing technology to provide bedside nurses 24/7 access to consultation with
experienced nurses through video conferencing. The team worked with information services to identify an appropriate platform that would be easily available to the bedside nurses from their workstation-on-wheels computers and the unit kiosk computers. A core group of experienced nurses was identified to staff the eRN shifts outside of their regularly scheduled shifts and the eRN program launched on April 20, 2020 on a 24-bed COVID-19 unit.
Collaborating across the system to introduce new equipment -
SNPD partnered with Nursing Supply Chain, the Community Training Center and Infection Control to build, distribute and develop staff trainings, and cleaning protocols for new personal protective equipment products like the CAPR, PAPR, Copper face mask.
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 21
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
eRN - A remote nurse consult program designed to support redeployed nurses - Recognizing a need to provide additional educational
Remote eRN nurses fielded questions from nurses on the unit regarding medications and treatments, patient assessments, clarification of provider orders, clinical procedures, and documentation. The eRN program provided 20 consults from April 20th through 30th with over 70% of the eRN interactions addressed clinical skill and documentation support.
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
hospitalized patients, Ochsner’s System Nursing Professional Development (SNPD) team developed rapid training programs to support re-deployment of medical assistants, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses from the outpatient setting to provide care in inpatient units offering classes March through May 2020. In May, the trainings focused on nursing students who would graduate early to join the workforce. “My experience was great across the board,” said Lindsay Boutte, Internal Medicine Medical Assistant shared, “I learned a lot in the training class for MA to PCT, and even more on the unit in a hospital setting. I remember when I started, I was more eager and driven to get patients back to recovery from this horrific disease. I worked with Ochsner’s most highly qualified and experienced registered nurses, patient care technicians, physicians and critical care nurses on the floor. We came together as a collective to provide the best care possible through these unprecedented times to our patients. They are top priority!”
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Rapid redeployment trainings supported nurses and nursing assistants - In response to the urgent need for staff to provide care to
Ochsner’s Infection Preventionists Play a Vital Role in Staff and Patient Safety and Find New Ways to Manage Hospital-Acquired Infections As a health system, Ochsner reduced hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) year after year. In October 2019, we set aggressive targets for further reducing HAI rates in 2020. They were aggressive targets, but we knew we had the tools and the patient safety culture in place to reach them. Due to COVID-19, we did not make as much progress toward zero HAIs as we’d hoped. With the initial surge of COVID-19 patients in March and April 2020, healthcare systems across the country began to see an uptick in central line and catheter associated infections. The first wave of COVID-19 patients required many invasive devices, which stayed in for a prolonged time while healthcare workers learned from peers across the country how best to treat this new disease and manage the care of these critically ill patients. Central line, ventilator and urinary catheter associated infections followed. Months into the pandemic, infection preventionists expected to see an increase in hospital onset Clostridium difficile (C. Diff) infections for patients that have been admitted for greater than three days. C. diff can be cyclical and often increases after a bad flu season, due to increased antibiotic use for secondary bacterial infections. But the C. diff increase never came. Our C. diff rates stayed low, and incredibly, on target to meet the original goal set in the fall 2019. The work done in years past to improve C. diff testing stewardship and our nurses’ commitment to patient safety through hand hygiene and isolation precautions, has led to a projected year end with the lowest number of hospital onset C. diff infections ever.
Ochsner’s infection prevention team continues to manage everything from compliance rounding to employee education. Our infection preventionists played a vital role in operationalizing our COVID-19 units and prioritizing exposure prevention for employees and patients. The team continues an open dialogue with the system and CDC guidelines to align efforts and best practices with one goal in mind: patient and employee safety.
22 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
“While the pandemic threw us new challenges, our nurses invented new ways to manage hospital-acquired infections and the level of innovation in response to the pandemic was amazing,” said Beth Ann Lambert, MS, CIC, Director, Infection Prevention. “With all that nurses have dealt with over the year, it has been incredible to see our team continue to work with such a focus on quality and safety and be empowered to do the right thing for patients.”
Ochsner Nursing
Ease of Use for Clinicians is the Top Priority for Epic and Ochsner IS Here are a few highlights that support ease of use for clinicians:
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
Reduced required documentation during the COVID-19 crisis: • Disaster required documentation was implemented to reflect decreased requirements and allows the nurse to spend more time on patient care.
More time to care for patients: • From inside Epic, now nurses can easily communicate with the family members of patients. Clinicians can send text messages to family members from Epic, which requires less time than trying to reach someone by phone.
• Epic now has less admission and shift required documentation for all nurses, which means less time charting. • All mother baby areas now use PeriWatch for fetal heart rate monitoring. PeriWatch is bidirectional, so you can document in PeriWatch or in Epic and the documentation flows back and forth.
Hardware and innovation:
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
• Visi is a device the patient wears on their wrist for vitals monitoring and integration into Epic. Six additional units at OMC - New Orleans received Visi this year.
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
• Lab Specimen Identification (LSID) is an Epic unit-collect workflow that uses two patient identifiers lab specimen collection and was scaled to Ochsner Baptist and Ochsner Medical Center - New Orleans this year. Nursing Informaticists worked with the Epic team to create workflows that allow nurses to print barcoded lab specimen labels to allow positive matching between the patient and lab orders. New label printers have been installed in patient rooms with personal and mobile computers, allowing this workflow to occur at the patient’s bedside for a safer lab draw process.
“On behalf of the IS department, thank you nurses for all you do to care for our patients,” says Amy Trainor, MHA, RN, VP Clinical Systems, IS Administration. “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the IS department has continued to aim to make your lives easier to support you in providing the best patient care possible.”
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Smarter documentation:
• The Hospital Acquired Pressure Injury (HAPI) iO machine learning model alerts you to perform interventions for patients at high risk for developing pressure ulcers before they occur.
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 23
Outpatient Care Management Enhances Patient Care by Capturing Social Determinants of Health In January 2020, Ochsner’s Outpatient Care Management (OPCM) department met with Epic experts, who manage Ochsner’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR), to plan for the implementation of Epic’s new Coordinated Care Module. The new technology enhances patient care management in the outpatient setting, expanding patient information captured in the EMR, improving communication between providers, and strengthening communication with patients. The new EMR software not only tracks patients’ basic health statistics but also uses a social determinants of health application to capture social elements that may impact a patient’s ability to care for themselves, such as financial difficulties or social isolation.
“Capturing social determinants of health gives the care team a more complete picture of their patients and the new software enhances the ability to coordinate care among multiple care providers, both within the Ochsner Health system and with external, community-based programs,” says Alison Glendenning-
Napoli, AVP, Outpatient Care Management.
24 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
OPCM signed the project charter with Epic on March 13. The same day, the pandemic started to enter our communities and facilities, and the Ochsner leadership team asked the department to work from home for what everyone thought would be about two weeks. The on-site module launch preparation and planning meetings were cancelled as we learned to navigate a virtual world for what we thought would be a temporary, limited time. But as the pandemic continued to escalate, OPCM adjusted the plan, shifting all planning meetings, functionality demonstrations and training sessions to virtual meetings. The OPCM team was already working on building in care plans and assessments to the new module, so the team developed a COVID-19-specific assessment and care plan based on CDC and Ochsner leadership guidance to add to the module. OPCM initiated care management of high-risk COVID-19 positive patients who were being discharged from the hospital, adding them to the Epic dashboard to manage their care using the new tool. During quarantine and social isolation, patient feedback regarding the OPCM calls and management were very positive and encouraging to the care team. The care plan proved to be especially useful and was implemented by other departments as well. The building, testing and training of the Coordinated Care Module continued and, on August 10, the original planned go-live date, the Coordinated Care Module went live for the OPCM team. The Epic team provided “virtual elbow support” by staying live on an open call-in line for the team to call into with questions or issues, sharing screens and providing remote support as needed. “The Coordinated Care module holds additional opportunity for continuing to improve care for all Ochsner patients and OPCM is pleased to have been able to implement this module,” says Alison. The team continues to assist high-risk patients in COVID-19 prevention and those who are recovering from the virus by collaborating with inpatient teams, primary care teams and the COVID-19 symptom tracker team.
Ochsner Nursing
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 25
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic From Our Nurse Executives
Ochsner Nursing 2019-2020 Annual Report 27
The Courage of Nurses: Ochsner’s Bayou Region From the very first patient in March 2020, our courageous nurses were the ones who were there for the patients and soothed the fears of family members waiting for information about their loved ones. It was a nurse who used innovation to protect healthcare workers and to conserve the valuable resources of personal protective equipment. It was a nurse who thought it was a good idea to use swivel coat hangers to hang reused isolation gowns to avoid contamination and it was a nurse who decided to make headbands with buttons when our ears were sore and raw from mask wearing. It was the courageous nurse who asked others to reflect and pray at the beginning and end of each shift, asking for strength and guidance that resounded with the team. And it was the nurse who quieted anxious team members who were overwhelmed with the constant communication of change, reminding them that we are a team who would survive and persevere. The Ochsner Nursing team showed up, eager to help and anxious to do whatever it took to take care of the patients who were stricken by this frightening disease. Nurses left their homes, their children and families to care for the community who looks to us for care and strength. There are so many examples of courage, collaboration and tenacity during this year, from creating overflow units and setting up dedicated COVID-19 units to collaborating to form new teams and reassignments from day shifts to night shifts to care for patients. There were tears, joy, anger and grief wrapped in a level of empathy and compassion that was palpable. We showed up with the courage to face this challenge and did so by putting our fears aside to care for our patients and the community who counted on us. “It is a privilege to have witnessed humanity in its purest form and it is the nurse who led the way,” says Jana.
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“When I think about the past year and the pandemic we’ve endured, the one word that resonates with me is courage,” says Jana Semere, MSHA, BSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center and Ochsner St. Anne. “I am in awe of the courage and grit shown during one of the toughest times in our careers. We pulled together, cared for our patients and just as importantly, we cared for each other.”
Our interdisciplinary colleagues in the Psychiatry Department offered staff members the chance to debrief in listening sessions and mental health rounds. Daily rounds on the units allowed staff to express any concerns they experienced during their shifts and communicate needs. Input from staff members in rounds helped ensure access to immediate resources needed. For example, a personal protective equipment liaison who was responsible for ensuring staff members had the personal protective equipment they needed to safely care for patients.
“In these unprecedented times, nurses answered the call of duty with great bravery. It takes dedication and courage to selflessly show up for others, especially in trying times. Reflecting on 2020, I hope that we all enjoy a renewed strength in ourselves, dedication to each other and the patients we serve, and pride in the nursing profession we’ve chosen.”
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The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
– Melissa Adams, MHCA, BS, BSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Medical Center – West Bank Campus
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
During the height of the COVID-19 crisis, our team stepped into new roles to meet the needs of staff and patients. Nursing staff and advanced practice providers working in areas that had decreased patient volumes or closed units were redeployed to other areas. Clinic nurse practitioners returned to the bedside and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists re-deployed to offer proactive patient rounding, assessing for early identification of deteriorating patients. The pandemic accelerated the implementation of a dedicated rapid response resource who responds to non-critical care patient
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, OMC - West Bank Campus started a dialogue with all staff members about psychological safety, discussing the importance of comfortably speaking up for the safety of our patients, oneself or team members as well as barriers that may exist. Throughout the pandemic, there have been many examples of nurses caring for other nurses and colleagues among the interdisciplinary team. Nurses recognized one another and encouraged team members to take breaks and step away to visit relaxation rooms created on every floor and to take advantage of supportive resources, such as guided meditations and socially distanced group yoga sessions.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
OMC - West Bank Campus was one of the hardest hit hospitals in the region, managing a rapid surge of COVID-19 positive patients early on. We assembled a plan and contingencies quickly, creating a “COVID-19 Playbook” outlining operational, clinical and employee processes, lessons learned, and other need-to-know information.
emergencies allowing critical care operational coordinators to remain on the units. Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
“When the World Health Organization designated 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife” in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday, I’m sure they didn’t know that nurses throughout the world would be put to the test to show their value,” says Melissa Adams, MHCA, BS, BSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Medical Center – West Bank Campus. “This year exemplified true nursing excellence as our nursing team banned together in crisis to meet the needs of patients, the communities we serve, and especially each other. The interdisciplinary mutual respect, communication and teamwork exhibited during this time was nothing short of amazing!”
Ochsner Nursing
Nursing Excellence at Ochsner Medical Center – West Bank Campus
Nurses at Ochsner Medical Center – Hancock Maintained Resilience Through Challenges Drawing Strength from Each Other
A priest from St. Clare’s Catholic Church prays over the staff and patients during the pandemic.
Resilience is defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or toughness. The challenges overcome in the past year highlighted the resilience of the nursing team at OMC - Hancock. As 2020 began, the nursing team looked forward to celebrating the Year of the Nurse and Midwife designation with events, activities and celebrations planned during each month to honor the nursing profession and the difference our nurses make every day in the lives of patients, their family and each other. However, celebrations had to look a little different than they expected.
Strength from Each Other - Celebrating Milestones As the Gulf Coast region began to see COVID-19 positive cases, the OMC - Hancock team quickly jumped into action. Not only did they make adjustments to ensure excellent patient care, but they also found ways to celebrate the small and big victories throughout the pandemic. Nurses celebrated when they received new ventilators to provide critical care to patients, when the first COVID-19 patient was able to speak and discharged home to a loving family, and when they exposure became less of a worry as vaccines became available. 30 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
In addition to celebrating milestones achieved in the pandemic response, OMC - Hancock was thrilled to hold the first DAISY Awards Ceremony in 2020, honoring the first two nurses who were nominated by patients. The patient who nominated DAISY award honoree Lisa Babin, RN, Intensive Care Unit, OMC - Hancock said “As we all lived through the nightmare of not being with our loved ones in the hospital, when and where they are needed most, this nurse was my hero for being there as much for the families as for the patients.” The patient who nominated DAISY honoree, Courtney Lacoste, RN, MS, said, “I knew, thanks to Courtney, I was not walking this path alone. When I thanked Courtney for her act of kindness and the caring that was involved, she replied, ‘I was just doing my job.’”
Strength from Our Community The Hancock County community helped keep staff encouraged with food donations and spiritual care.
“I have often referred to the profession of nursing as a calling,” says Kim Varnado, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Medical Center Hancock. “I believe that more than ever. The selfless dedication and courage nurses continue to show up with every day throughout these unprecedented times never ceases to amaze me. We will continue to support and uplift each other through the tough times and cherish the celebrations and joy that serve as reminders every day of why we chose nursing as a lifelong profession. I have never been prouder of our nursing team,” says Kim.
Teamwork Makes Us Stronger
greatest examples of respect, collaboration, and relentless teamwork were exhibited by our staff,” shares Ruth Sagastume, MSN, RN, CPHQ, Chief Nursing Officer, OMC - Kenner. “By stepping out of comfort zones to provide care where it was needed most, nurses offered creative ways to provide interventions for survival.”
“I was humbled and privileged to lead at a time that exhibited the utmost display of our foundation, and to witness repeated examples of the values that hold us together as a team,” says Ruth Sagastume, MSN, RN, CPHQ, Chief Nursing Officer, OMC - Kenner, “It was a magnificent example of teamwork and togetherness and heroes with shining lights for others to follow.”
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The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
OMC - Kenner rose to the challenge, creating three different intensive care surge units, redesigning emergency department patient flows, and using the Virtual Nurse model to provide increased rounding in Medsurg/ Telemetry units. The virtual platform also served as a means for two-way communication between clinicians and patients and families, placing patients at the center of every plan and decision.
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
The team-model practice method supported nurses as they had to stretch to accommodate new levels of care. The team-model also provided non-clinical resources to assist with mobility, PPE distribution, and environmental cleaning and disinfection. This model offered opportunities for unification and partnership toward one goal: patient-centered care. The experiences of nurses at all levels, regardless of care setting or previous clinical practice, resulted in team-bonding that could not be anticipated across any planned continuum. Team members from every practice setting relied on each other to support and assist in unrehearsed rhythmic synchrony, exemplifying the excellence of Ochsner Nursing in every aspect of patient care.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
We know that teamwork positively impacts patient outcomes. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, OMC – Kenner incorporated communication tools, such as TeamSTEPPS and SBAR, into its team-model collaboration across various practice settings and disciplines. These efforts provided the best examples of nursing support and teamwork, as multi-specialty nursing teams optimized and combined various skillsets to provide a comprehensive “It was during this time, that the approach to patient care.
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
In a year of unprecedented meaning for nurses everywhere in the world, Ochsner Medical Center - Kenner began 2020 with a full-spirited Year of the Nurse “kick-off” day and colorful celebrations. Nurses participated in raffles, captured memorable images at the photo booth, and enjoyed delicious king cakes. It was a special day to recognize the impact of the nursing profession throughout history. The celebration was a time to bond and express thanks to our personal meaning of the nursing profession. Less than two months later, our nurses would be challenged like never before. It was time to re-engage, reconnect and, to a large degree, reinvent nursing.
Ochsner Nursing
The Team Nursing Model Enhanced Patient-Centered Care at Ochsner Medical Center- Kenner
Ochsner Baptist Nurses Celebrate Proven Teamwork Every year in healthcare brings strategy planning to achieve new goals and old goals to build upon. “We knew the year 2020 was going to be a special one, but we had no clue what was in store for us,” says Donna Martin, MSN-HCSM, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Baptist, “I have always known that we have a great team who works together and supports each other through sharing best practices, staff, and just being there during difficult times. Our team met the challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic.” At Ochsner Baptist, the first COVID-19 patient was diagnosed on March 12, 2020 and within seven days, the hospital was inundated with positive COVID-19 patients, some who were fighting for their lives. Like other hospital campuses, Ochsner Baptist halted elective services and focused on the most critical patients. The influx of critically ill patients and the need for isolation precautions heavily impacted the emergency department (ED), intensive care unit (ICU), and medical surgical units and effected the model of care. As nursing team members came from procedural and elective care areas to assist in caring for COVID-19 patients, teams were developed to limit the staff’s exposure to the virus. The new teams bonded as they came together to coordinate and manage patient care. The surgical staff teamed up with the ICU, the outpatient surgery staff teamed up with the medical surgical unit, and the pain management staff teamed with the ED.
Two patients that will forever be remembered by our teams involved the lives of a first-time father and expecting mother. A local postal worker, and soon-to-be father in his early 30’s, needed to be placed on a ventilator and Chronic Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT). He and the team fought hard to care for him so that he could see the birth of his first child. He was discharged in time for the birth and later returned to visit and thank his nurses in all clinical areas who had saved his life. Around the same time, a young pregnant woman with a toddler at home was also receiving care in the ICU. Because of her critical condition, she required mechanical ventilation and her case presented an added challenge since there were two lives involved. The obstetrics staff teamed up with the critical care unit to not only save her life, but also deliver her baby safely, so they both could return home to her husband and toddler.
“It is safe to say 2020 was one of the most trying years in healthcare and it couldn’t have been more appropriate to designate as a year to honor nursing. Nurses were taken out of their comfort zone, learned new skills, and developed appreciation as they walked in the shoes of their peers. The response to COVID-19 highlighted the strength, resilience, and excellent teamwork of our nurses and the experiences we shared will not be forgotten.” Donna Martin, MSNHCSM, RN Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Baptist.
“In response to this global pandemic, the nursing profession proved what we all knew.” says Donna. “A nurse is the most caring, resilient, and strongest member of the healthcare team that will rise to any challenge and always be there during the toughest times.”
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Ochsner Nursing
The Bravery, Teamwork and Compassion of Nurses – Ochsner Medical Center- Northshore
Within a few days of the first COVID-19 patient admissions, nurses led training and rounding on the unique aspects of care related to the virus, such as limiting patient encounters, isolation precautions, personal protective equipment donning and
Our innovative nurses quickly and effectively managed the surge of patients flooding our emergency department and medical-surgical and critical care units. Due to their efforts, in just a few short weeks OMC-Northshore opened a COVID-19 screening clinic, a dedicated medical-surgical COVID-19 unit and increased ICU staffed bed capacity by 150%. The expansion of the OMCNorthshore critical care capacity into the Post Anesthesia Care Unit overflow space allowed the team to accommodate the spike in admissions and transfer patients from other Ochsner Health hospital campuses.
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
“I have never been prouder to be an Ochsner nursing leader. Our patients trust us to care for them in their most vulnerable of times and although this pandemic has proven to be most challenging personally and professionally for all of us, we rose to the occasion and delivered on our promise. Together we can remember this as a time of unity and to celebrate our healthcare heroes.” Yvette Bertaut, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Medical Center- Northshore
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
Despite their fear and anxiety, nurses, patient care technicians, assistants and advance practice providers from across the Northshore region signed up to help support their colleagues and ultimately our patients and the community. The contributions of these caregivers from varied backgrounds such as ambulatory, outpatient, procedural, perioperative and pediatric specialties enabled us to provide quality clinical care in a team-based approach. These redeployed staff members not only worked to learn new skill sets and to deliver care in unfamiliar environments, they went as far as to help cover night and weekend shifts. The teamwork and camaraderie displayed during this time in caring for each other while caring for these unpredictable, critically ill patients was inspiring.
doffing, sedation management, use of prone teams as well as virtual provider assessments, and family visits for our patients.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, the continued support provided by Ochsner’s senior leadership, providers, and ambulatory, outpatient and hospital campus teams were extraordinary. Their efforts facilitated the OMC - Northshore team in providing the safest, highest quality clinical care for acutely ill patients. The courageous work of our nurses and healthcare workers in the face of COVID-19 exemplified why the World Health Organization chose a designation honoring the nursing and midwifery professions.
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
“I have always appreciated our nursing teams’ commitment to each other and to our patients,” says Yvette Bertaut, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Medical Center- Northshore. “Their dedication is truly a gift that I am grateful for daily. I am in awe of the incredible bravery, resiliency, compassion and caring that our nursing teams demonstrated during the COVID-19 crisis.”
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 33
Celebrating Seamless Interdisciplinary Teamwork at St. Charles Parish Hospital At St. Charles Parish Hospital (SCPH), nurses have a special bond with their patients. Nurses and staff are known to provide care to patients as they would to their own family members, patients know the nurses’ names and nurses know the names of patients and their families. “We welcome our patients and their families and provide the care needed to have them return home,” says Jarrett Fuselier, MBA, BSN, RN, AVP Nursing Administration, SCPH. At the beginning of the year, the staff looked forward to a year devoted to celebrating the many roles nurses play in caring for the health and well-being of the community. As COVID-19 reached the facility, expectations for 2020 quickly changed and the fear of the unknown was at times, overwhelming. The acuity of patients was higher than ever before. The team cared for dying patients more frequently, in a way that they had not been accustomed to in the past. The team worked extremely well together to reallocate resources from lower volume areas to help support the inpatient team and emergency department (ED). The staff set up temperature stations around the hospital to keep each other and patients safe. Some team members were able to assume a primary role as a caregiver, while others helped with cleaning and stocking supplies. Every team member added value. When the inpatient census reached its peak, intensive care unit beds were filled, leaving a shortage of available beds to support code blue situations that might occur in the medical surgical or behavioral health units. Meeting the need, the ED nurses and physicians quickly responded to patient rooms and provided lifesaving care during codes. Although the ED typically doesn’t provide extended care for critically ill patients, they transported patients down to the ED and assumed the patient care until an inpatient bed became available or until the patient was transferred out. The interdisciplinary team from around the hospital stepped up to help. The rehab department helped by turning patients and monitoring supplies. Emergency medical services, who typically work in a community setting, joined forces with our ED and other clinical staff where help was needed Food and nutrition services created a food pantry that allowed the staff to order essential food items that could be picked up at work allowing them to avoid public places. The hospital monitor technician, who also serves as a chaplain, added extra rounds, providing spiritual care to those in need and social workers made themselves and their expertise available to the staff. 34 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
The SCPH team not only cared for patients and each other like family, they wrote letters and put together care packages for the residents of a nearby nursing home knowing the residents were lonely and distressed by the lack of visitors. Despite the challenges the pandemic brought, SCPH moved forward with plans to open a medical surgical inpatient psychiatric unit. The unit opened in March 2020 and was able to deliver a service that no other facility in the state offers, providing for comprehensive needs for both medical and behavioral support.
“Our team responded to the new call of duty during the COVID-19 crisis, not by asking why nurses must perform tasks and assume new roles, but knowing we must do what we have to do in order to continue to serve our community. The response from the entire team was inspirational and allowed our direct caregivers to continue providing care in a way that they had not before and to expand healthcare services.” Jarrett Fuselier, MBA, BSN, RN, AVP Nursing Administration, St. Charles Parish Hospital
Ochsner Nursing
Ochsner Lafayette General Nurses Lead with Compassion The year of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic will forever be engrained as a historical year. A year when nursing and healthcare, in general, pulled together to care for a community in need.
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
“When reflecting on what our nursing team endured over the past year, I think about the selfless acts of kindness that so many portrayed,” says Renee Delahoussaye, MBA, BSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Lafayette General. “It was a difficult time for our nursing team. Our community needed us, we accepted the challenge, and I am proud of our nursing team, our heroes.”
Our nursing team became extended family to so many of our patients over the last year. They supported them in every way that they could, even at the time of their passing when family could not be there. “I am, and will be, forever grateful for and proud of our nursing team,” says Renee.
“Our families greatest Christmas present of all, husband is home….28 days! Thanks to his two nurses, Angel and Heidi that made sure he came home. They were his angels.” says Sheila Broussard, family member of Lafayette General Patient.
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 35
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
“When I reflect on 2020, two words come to mind: selfless and heroic. 2020 brought on many challenges and it was a frightening time for many, but our team continued to persevere, working long hours away from their families to care for those who needed us most.” – Renee Delahoussaye, MBA, BSN, RN, CNO, Ochsner Lafayette General
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
There are so many stories reflecting resilience of our nursing staff. One included pushing their patient to take that extra step or two every day, so they could walk out of the hospital in honor of a fallen family member who had succumbed to COVID-19. This was not easy, but together, the patient and our nursing team accomplished what they set out to do. True honor and heroism walked out of the hospital together on the day the patient was finally discharged.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Nurses worked long hours, away from their families, but they continued to lead with compassion, building memorable relationships with those they were caring for. Something as simple as posting pictures of a patient’s family on the walls of their hospital room so that they could be surrounded by their family for Mother’s Day, not only touched our patients, but also helped the Ochsner Lafayette General nursing team get through another day. Or seeing their patient smile or shed tears of joy by using their personal cell phones to ensure our patients had a way to connect with their loved ones, helped our nurses keep going, despite their exhaustion. These selfless acts of kindness provided hope, not only for our patients, but also for our nursing team.
Ochsner St. Mary Joins the Ochsner Health Family At Ochsner St. Mary, 2020 was a year of accomplishments, teamwork, growth and resilience. During this time, the hospital confronted a global COVID-19 pandemic and a record-breaking hurricane season all while transitioning into the Ochsner Health family. In October 2019, Ochsner St. Mary transitioned into Ochsner Health as part of the Bayou region. The hospital has approximately 300 dedicated, professional staff and around-the-clock care in a wide range of critical specialties. The full integration of employees was supposed to occur in April 2020, but COVID-19 created a delay that lasted until July. Employees went through many changes including learning new policies, procedures and internal systems such as Epic, Workday and Kronos. Through it all, the staff kept their enthusiasm. Although challenging, employees were excited to be a part of Ochsner and were flexible, unafraid and willing to learn whatever they needed to do their job to the best of their ability. In addition to the organizational transition, COVID-19 impacted how the patient care team cared for our patients. While the New Orleans area saw the biggest impact from the pandemic in April, Ochsner St. Mary saw the impact during the second wave in July 2020. During this time, the staff showed strength and
“Reflecting on this year of strength, I am filled with pride and excitement for the future of Ochsner St. Mary,” said Jennifer Wise, MHA, BSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner St. Mary. “It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of such an amazing patient care team. Together we can make a difference and I look forward to continuing to provide access to lifesaving services close to home in the Bayou region and beyond.”
36 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
resilience in the face of uncertainty. They pulled together as a team to keep the patients and each other safe. They stepped up and showed dedication, patience and adaptability. As Ochsner St. Mary, we proved that we are a strong and consistent community partner. When the staff face challenges, they are resilient and ensure our patients continue to receive compassionate quality care. As we move forward, we can reflect on our first year as an Ochsner facility and never lose our sense of community and compassion for all those who walk through our doors seeking our help. We have proven that together we can make a difference. Each of our employees play an essential role in making this important work happen. We will continue to live our values by putting patients and each other first, while fulfilling our mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate.
Ochsner Nursing
Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Expands ICU Bed Capacity to Care for Most Critical COVID-19 Patients
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
Once the move to St. Mary was complete, ICU leadership and the facilities team went to work to complete the renovation for a 77-bed intensive care unit. Both projects were possible because of the multidisciplinary collaboration of leaders, physicians, nursing, allied health, dietary, environmental services and supply chain. The teams truly grew to love and trust each other and formed a bond that will last forever. After another five weeks of diligent work, the first COVID-19 positive ICU patient was admitted into the new ICU at Kings Highway.
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
“I am so very proud of all the teams that worked through this huge initiative,” said Stephens. “We are now able to provide quality patient ICU care for our patients at Kings Hwy, as well as provide excellent care to our Women’s and Children’s services at St. Mary’s Medical Center. Both campuses provide a multi-disciplinary approach to the health, well-being and healing for our patients. The pandemic has taught me one thing above all others: We have amazing heroes and leaders among us. If given the opportunity and support these leaders can make miracles happen. I am so very humble and proud to be part of an amazing team that do amazing things for our patients each and every day.”
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport is a very busy Level I Trauma Center and had an occupancy rate of 85-90% most days. Due to an amazing amount of Teamwork, Compassion, Integrity and Excellence, a specific group of leaders ventured out to open a Women’s and Children’s hospital in 5 ½ weeks to expand the regions capacity to care for patients. After many hours of meetings, strategic planning, brainstorming, construction, cleaning and preparation, Ochsner’s North Louisiana team was excited to welcome the first patient at the new Ochsner LSU Health - St. Mary Medical Center on April 27, 2020. This was accomplished as the care team at Kings Highway managed the sickest of the sick COVID-19 patients and our ongoing trauma patients.
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
“As I think back across the year, I believe our biggest example of every Ochsner Value was in our great efforts to move Women’s and Children’s services in an effort to open up ICU bed availability,” said Sheree Stephens, RN, MSN, CPHQ, Chief Nursing Officer and VP Quality, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport. “As we saw the COVID-19 pandemic surge fast approaching North Louisiana, our team huddled to identify how we could ‘quickly’ open additional ICU beds.”
Women’s and Children’s Inpatient Units Made a Move to a New Location at Ochsner LSU Health St. Mary Medical Center Expanding COVID-19 ICU Capacity in North Louisiana
The Ochsner team poses for a photo at their new facility during summer 2020, shortly after the move to the new Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport – St. Mary Medical Center. 38 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
• In September, the SMMC team hosted a baby shower for the women of Mary’s House, a pregnancy care center for women experiencing unexpected pregnancies. Staff members hosted educational sessions on topics like safe sleep and car seat safety. The staff also gave away various gifts and door prizes for new mothers. • The SMMC team partnered with Shreveport Green in October to provide families in the community with household wellness packages that included items like gloves, cleaning supplies and masks. • The new FAN (Food and Nutrition) Club Support Group began in October aimed at combating childhood obesity. The sessions are hosted by SMMC clinical dietitians with assistance from our community relations liaison and the YMCA.
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 39
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
“We have already experienced tremendous growth on our campus, and we look forward to what 2021 will hold for the staff and patients of SMMC!” says Chasity.
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
• Morgan Hayes, BSN, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, NICU/Nursery RN, Supervisor-Operations Coordinator, Neonatal Transport Coordinator “The Kings Highway location was “home” to many of us during our entire nursing careers. It was an honor and privilege to care for our patients during the transport process that many thought would take us days to complete. We were excited to collaborate with many local and state agencies to help us coordinate and transport the patients safely and we were finished with moving all of our patients into our new home by lunch that day! We are so grateful and extremely blessed to call St. Mary’s Medical Center our new home!”
“It is very important to us to show our commitment to the community by giving back,” says Chasity.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
• Samantha Cordero, Pediatric RN “Although COVID-19 has had its obvious detrimental effects this past year, we have in turn been blessed with the opportunity to open SMMC. Getting settled in was quite the task! As a unit, we worked together to clean floors, scrub windows, equipment and sinks as well as organize and set up supply closets. Everyone played an intricate role in setting up our facility all the way from upper management to our CNA’s. To have the opportunity to establish and set up the nursing station and patient rooms at our new home was so rewarding. It’s something now that I look at and am very proud to have been a part of and will never take for granted how beautiful our facility is.”
Prioritizing building ties in the community through community outreach
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
SMMC nurses reflect on the move:
Ochsner Nursing
Teamwork is the overwhelming thought that comes to mind when reflecting on 2020 for the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - St. Mary Medical Center (SMMC) team. When presented with the task of moving our women’s and children’s services to the now Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - SMMC campus, our team stepped up to the challenge and never looked back. “It takes a special group of leaders to accomplish what was done in such a short amount of time, and I am so thankful to be a part of this amazing team,” says Chasity Teer, BSN, RN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - SMMC. Every team member embraced this opportunity, and it made our team stronger than ever.
20 Ways Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - Monroe Medical Center Lived Out Ochsner’s Core Values During COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic introduced numerous challenges none of us expected to face in our careers, but the resilience and strength of our nurses shined through. Here are 20 ways our nurses lived out Ochsner’s Core Values – Patients First, Compassion, Integrity, Excellence and Teamwork – during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patients First and Compassion Nurses… 1. Placed patients’ phones to their ears when they were on ventilators in the intensive care unit so they could hear their family members voices. 2. Set up video chats so patients could see their family members virtually. 3. Wrote their names on their face shields for patients to see. 4. Set up virtual communication between the patients, families, and physicians. 5. Prayed with patients and their families. 6. Sewed hats and masks to share with colleagues and the expression of brightly colored hats helped to brighten long days and nights. 7. Bowed heads in prayer for their patients, their colleagues and their families whom they were often-times separated from for long periods of time.
Integrity and Excellence Nurses… 8. Kept family members of patients informed of their condition and progress while maintaining patient confidentiality. 9. Provided quality care to patients with higher acuity than ever before. 40 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
10. Nurses from various specialty areas became critical care nurses after attending “Critical Care Bootcamp training” 11. Nurses in our Women’s and Children’s Departments were honored to receive recognition as one of the Best Maternity Hospital in 2020 by Newsweek.
Teamwork Nurses… 12. Learned how to keep patients and staff safe when working in a totally closed COVID-19designated unit. 13. Helped each other don and doff PPE and get used to working in face shields. 14. Made buttoned headbands for each other to protect from skin breakdown after long hours wearing PPE. 15. Performed total patient care in the absence typical support team members like respiratory therapists, housekeeping team members and dietary services. 16. Communicated with patients using monitors in patients’ rooms in between in-person nursing care visits every four hours and responded to immediate and emergency care needs. 17. Communicated using Rover. 18. Conducted COVID-19 Community Outreach
testing in parishes around our area such as Ouachita, Jackson, Lincoln, Union, East Carroll and Morehouse and in nursing homes contributing 23,000 tests to the 100,000 tests conducted in Northeast Louisiana. We conducted drive-thru COVID-19 testing with physicians and offered drive-thru flu vaccinations. 19. Worked alongside re-deployed staff members mentoring team members from other specialty departments like the post-anesthesia care unit, cath lab, operating room and ASU who came to provide care in the intensive care unit, medical surgical unit and COVID-19 units. 20. “One of the most heartwarming expressions of care and compassion I witnessed came from the nursing staff in support of each other,” says Traci Jordan, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - Monroe Medical Center. “I am so very proud of the teamwork and support our nurses have provided to not only provide compassionate care to our patients, but also compassionate support to each other and our entire team.”
What emerged from the pandemic response was unification for health and safety inside and outside the hospital walls. Nurses and internal staff members from all departments came together as a team to provide care and support for the patients and each other.
Blindsided Tiffany White, RN, St. Bernard Parish Hospital 2020 The Year of the Nurse and Midwife Planned celebrations and delicious snacks Creative photoshoots and social gatherings
A global pandemic would present itself so mighty and bold Unchartered waters made way to a new story yet to be told It happened so fast, in the blink of an eye Nursing as we once knew it, was revolutionized
On the minds of everyone, how do we maintain safety Change was here and here to stay
Personal protective equipment would now be the norm
So, we thank you 2020, the Year of the Nurse
Sentenced with adversity during this healthcare crisis
And thank you COVID-19, I bet you thought you were a curse
Resiliency and perseverance would continue to drive us
You tried to exploit our vulnerability without much success
Patient advocacy was heightened above all
As we fought back with our strongest and most resolute selves
With video conferencing and family FaceTime calls Smiles and silly laughter hid the fright and despair Donned with cloaks of compassion and a shed tear here and there We suffered much loss, so much grief and pain Into our hearts will each heartache ever be ingrained
You’ve landscaped the arena that would exemplify Our necessity, importance, strength, and pride In a profession only suitable for the bravest of heroes Blindsided but not defeated because together we rose
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 41
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Fight or flight responses surfaced so hastily
At the heart of every nurse, for you and for me
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
– Kim Keene, MBA, RN, Chief Executive Officer, St. Bernard Parish Hospital.
Panic and apprehension filled our nation
Our outlook on life and work would be reformed
Professionalism and empathy were proven to be
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
“Our work continues during this pandemic but our commitment to “da parish” hasn’t changed. We will be here for the community and each other. The poem “Blindsided” written by one of our nurses at SBPH embodies the spirit of togetherness that carried the team through,”
Suddenly halted as the whole world was shaken
Administration stepped in to pave the way
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
When 2020 presented all healthcare organizations with challenges we never anticipated, St. Bernard Parish Hospital (SBPH) demonstrated its commitment to the community, providing care for patients during the pandemic. On March 5, SBPH admitted its first “patient under investigation” for COVID-19, a 25-year-old woman. Just like that, we transitioned from a local provider of care to a respected clinical expert, leading the fight against COVID-19.
Ochsner Nursing
Poem Reflects on the Pandemic Response at St. Bernard Parish Hospital
Ochsner’s Ambulatory Nursing Team Manages COVID-19 Testing Sites on the Move
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Louisiana, especially the New Orleans region, received national attention as one of the epicenters for the rapid spread of the virus. The governor declared a state of emergency for Louisiana residents on March 11, which was soon followed by a stay-at-home order and shelter in place for numerous parishes. Not only did the outcomes of COVID-19 devastate the state economically, but it also significantly impacted how healthcare facilities delivered patient-centered care in the ambulatory, clinic setting. Ambulatory Care team members were resilient as they received training and re-deployed to other areas throughout Ochsner Health. They served as members of the hospital unit-based care team, ensured staff had adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies, assisted with virtual and telehealth visits, staffed temperature monitoring stations, and developed and monitored pre-mobile checking-in processes for patients that required onsite clinic visits.
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Under the CDC guidelines and the direction of the Ochsner Health Executive team, the ambulatory team established drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites to optimize testing availability while minimizing exposure to patients and healthcare staff. Patients were screened for symptoms through a telehealth visit and a provider order was placed in the patient’s electronic health record. The drive-thru check-in process started with an Ochsner Security Officer conducting a visual verification of the patient’s identification and using a walkie-talkie to alert the registration staff of the patient’s arrival for the appointment. After the specimen labels were printed and the patient’s vehicle was safely parked under the testing tent, a member of the healthcare team donned the appropriate PPE, identified the patient and collected a nasopharyngeal specimen using a swab. The entire process took less than 15 minutes and without patients exiting their vehicles! The test results were sent directly to the patient through MyOchsner, a secure electronic messaging system or another preferred method of communication within 72 hours. As of December 2020, Ochsner had completed more than 500,000 tests across the system. The benefits of the Ochsner Health drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites are not only recognized by state officials, but also enhanced the overall patient experience and built confidence in the care delivered by our healthcare team. The testing sites provided low contact, supported social distancing and conserved PPE while ensuring that the staff functioned at the top of their license or certification during this challenging time. The Ambulatory nursing team continues to display resilience and dedication to providing patient-centered care that is quality-driven and safe for the patient and the healthcare team.
“The ambulatory team stepped up in a big way to offer drive through COVID-19 testing in every region,” says Dawn Pevey, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, System Vice President of Service Lines. “They made care delivery as patientcentered as it comes, pivoting as needs changed, and they surpassed patients’ expectations. We heard great stories in every region and positive comments from patients, including that some patients need for more intensive care had been identified during drive through testing and how comfortable they felt to receive testing from the comfort of their car.”
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 43
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Due to the needs of the community, Ochsner expanded its efforts to community sites and prevalence testing. As the site coordinators, our nurses worked in conjunction with Ochsner’s Community Outreach department to confirm designated COVID-19 hot spots, arranged logistics and staffing, and stage testing site locations. Nurses were onsite to cross train staff and handle issues that came up and participated in community meetings COVID-19 testing to stay informed. Additionally, OMC – Baton Rouge nursing enhanced the system standard operating procedure for COVID-19 testing to improve nursing ease of use and reduce the possibility of cross contamination.
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
The OMC – Baton Rouge nursing team also created a standardized order form that integrated COVID-19 testing criteria. This was a critical step for success since testing supplies were extremely scarce and ensured appropriate use of limited
resources. The team continued to refine and improve the processes through the development of vehicle identification systems and a pending documentation parking lot to decrease wait times.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
In March 2020, Ochsner Medical Center - Baton Rouge collaborated with other community healthcare partners in the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative to offer COVID-19 drive-thru testing for East Baton Rouge Parish residents. Baton Rouge nurses from multiple departments, including hospital and clinic locations, played an integral role in helping organize and execute this initiative. Our nursing team participated in every phase of the project, including developing and refining workflows, collecting specimens and promoting the program. OMC – Baton Rouge team members demonstrated their expertise in using Six Sigma process improvement concepts to develop protocols later adopted by other community partners participating in the initiative.
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
“Our nurses excelled in their collaboration with the multiple other professionals critical to the success of a mobile testing initiative, including Patient Access, Laboratory, IT, Materials Management, our own community health leaders, and the many community partners who offered testing locations and communications,” shared Dianne Teal, MSN, RN, NEABC, CPPS, FACHE, Chief Nursing Officer, Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge. “The Ochsner Baton Rouge nursing team has clearly demonstrated our values of putting patients first and excellence in this service for our community.”
Ochsner Nursing
Ochsner Medical Center- Baton Rouge Nurses Enhanced COVID-19 Testing Making a Difference Through Leadership and Collaboration
Joy in the Nurses Workspace During a Pandemic at Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans When 2020 began, Ochsner Medical Center (OMC) – New Orleans was coming off of an exciting 2019 year-end, with celebrations of our fourth consecutive Magnet® designation. Fast forward to March 2020 when we received our first COVID-19 positive patients and our world changed. There was new, different work to be done as we managed the pandemic. As our patient population grew, with a COVID-19 census over 370, we opened new intensive care units to meet the needs of our community. We welcomed new caregivers and adjusted our policies to meet the evolving knowledge and evidence to care for this new population. The next months would redefine who we were and with so much changing quickly, we knew that we had to maintain some normalcy.
A couple years ago, as part of OMC-New Orleans’ campus activities aligned with Ochsner’s Care for the Caregiver initiative, the nursing administrative team developed Joy in the Nurse Workspace, a monthly celebration involving our entire nursing team. “Little did we realize then, just how important this seemingly small decision would turn out to be in 2020. Our monthly Joy in the Workspace themes were designed to improve interdisciplinary connections, restore joy, and inspire professional development. Thank you to all of our team members for the resiliency, courage, steadfastness, and the fun and joy in the nurse workspace… even in a pandemic!” – Deborah Ford, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, OMC-New Orleans.
Joy in the Workspace Monthly Themes During the Height of the COVID-19 Pandemic MARCH: “Nurses Grow Together”
Nurses shine the spotlight on collaboration between nurses with paper flowers for recognition and year of the nurse photo challenges. The interdisciplinary team and physicians join in on the celebrations!
While we worked hard to create joy in the workspace this year, we also developed our “COVID-19 playbook” including changing our care delivery model with pandemic staffing, modifying nursing documentation with Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services changes, decompression zones offering a place for staff to take a restorative break, closed COVID-specific units, and many more initiatives and new routines to ensure the best care for our patients.
APRIL: “Nurses Save the World”
The nursing team enjoyed activities for self-care and photo challenges to document self-care. Some areas provided respite areas, foot massage and other relaxation techniques during the day!
MAY: “Nurses Walk Among the Stars’
Celebrating our nursing excellence winners and nursing graduates with actual “pomp and circumstance.” We congratulated our DAISY winners with cinnamon rolls, rounding on all units, all shifts including weekends 44 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
Nurse leaders delivering cupcakes to nursing units
Ochsner Nursing
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) at Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans redeployed to help where needed during the pandemic
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 45
Committed to Supporting Employee Well-being Ochsner Health has a longtime commitment to supporting employee health and well-being. Through Ochsner’s Care for the Caregiver initiative, Ochsner Nurses partner with the American Nurses Association Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Grand Challenge to empower nurses to take care of their own health. Adding to existing supportive resources, the organization’s Office of Professional Wellbeing (OPW) expanded its’ reach to all employees during the pandemic offering a variety of wellbeing resources. “Our nurses are the backbone of our care team, and it became paramount for us to support them as they cared for our patients in the most trying of circumstances,” says Dr. Nigel Girgrah, MD, PhD, Chief Wellness Officer, Ochsner Health and Medical Director, Liver Transplantation, Ochsner Medical Center- New Orleans. “Through interventions like staff debriefings and unit-based rounding, we were able to give them a venue to process the stress of their shifts.” Nurses were committed to supporting one another and led various activities throughout the year at each campus to support, uplift and encourage each other through short resilience activities during staff huddles, encouraging sidewalk chalk messages, and providing meals and messages of gratitude. Participants in system patient care orientations and trainings received a coping resources booklet and pocket card with tips for caring for oneself during the pandemic.
2020 Care for the Caregiver Health Challenges Another way that Ochsner nurses cared for staff well-being and celebrated the Year of the Nurse and Midwife designation was through monthly health challenges. The activities encouraged participants 46 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
to create meaningful goals related to the health topic of the month and to connect with the many supportive resources available to Ochsner employees. Ochsner team members from 14 Ochsner campuses participated in the health challenges focusing on healthy sleep, healthy recipes, gratitude, reflective practice, resilience, physical activity, coping with stress, mindfulness, and detoxing from digital devices. “During a pandemic when so many people want to run and hide, as a nurse you run towards what you are scared of. These challenges have shown me that I am resilient and I am stronger than I thought I was.” Jennifer Guillory, LPN Clinic, Performance Improvement, Ochsner CHRISTUS
Ongoing Employee Safety On the journey to become a highly reliable organization, Ochsner recognizes that ensuring the safety and well-being of our nurses and employees is paramount to our success. Over the past year, we worked to enhance workplace safety and nurse resiliency through various strategies and initiatives such as the Workplace Violence Mitigation Committee, Fatigue Dashboard and ongoing nurse fatigue research. Through the Workplace Violence Committee efforts, we’ve been able to increase awareness and education related to workplace violence and safety, hire our first canine officer, Mako, ensure 24/7 security presence in our Emergency Departments, track and trend safety events more efficiently, begin to explore capabilities to identify historically violent patients in our electronic medical record, and leverage panic button features on the nurse’s mobile devices for emergency incidents. Our ongoing research to reduce nursing fatigue led to the development of a fatigue dashboard, that
monitors the number of hours a nurse works in a given day and/or week. “The fatigue dashboard helps our nursing leaders and staff nurses to be aware of the need for adequate sleep, rest and breaks to ensure optimal staff well-being, performance and patient care outcomes,” says Jlynn Westley, MSN, ASN, RN, AVP System Clinic Nursing & Clinical Resources, Ochsner Health. A recent research study conducted at Ochsner to evaluate the impact of nurses’ work hours on medication administration error alerts was published in an international journal to help build on the growing body of research in the area.
• providing for basic needs of staff with meal tickets • system communication
Ochsner Nursing
Supportive resources provided to employees
• providing emotional and social counseling support through Ochsner’s employee assistance program and a well-being hotline
• individual virtual visits • group mindfulness sessions • self-guided resources • unit rounding
Ochsner Medical Center - West Bank Well-being Program offered expression through art classes, traveling well-being rounds, meditation, and guided imagery during the pandemic. The program aims to assist in the staff’s well-being, provide easily accessible initiatives, allow staff to recognize that their well-being is a priority, and encourage staff to take a moment for themselves.
Nurses Focus on Diversity and Equity in Healthcare Ochsner’s 2020 EBP Nursing Research Conference, themed Year of the Nurse: COVID-19 and Beyond featured speakers from across Ochsner who shared best practices in self-care and staff well-being during the pandemic and key learnings from working during COVID-19.
“We are committed to improving the health of everyone in our state and a part of that strategy is to address health disparities,” says Deborah Grimes, RN, JD, MSHQS, Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, Ochsner Health. “We plan to do so by reviewing our outcomes data demographically and by working with our quality leaders to address any opportunity looking at process, people and technology.” Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 47
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
The conference included a panel discussion on the Social Determinants of Health, Diversity, Equity, and their Implications for Quality in Healthcare. The panelists included Ochsner’s Deborah Grimes, RN, JD, MSHQS, VP Chief Diversity Officer, Eboni Price-Haywood, MD, MPH, FACP, Medical Director, Ochsner Xavier Institute for Health Equity and Research, Associate Professor, Ochsner Clinical School- University of Queensland, Sylvia Hartmann, MN, RN, Director, Nursing Academics, and Richard Guthrie, MD, Chief Quality Officer, Center for Quality Excellence who offered unique perspectives in a future-focused discussion regarding the opportunities we have as a healthcare organization to address health disparities that have been highlighted by the pandemic.
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
Staff Well-being Hotline –Jacklyn Ruhl, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, and John Sawyer, II, PhD, ABPP-CN, Clinical Neuropsychologist and medical director for OPW, together co-created and spearheaded a rapid response solution to provide on demand mental health and emotional support due to COVID-19 for our Ochsner Heroes. This resource was implemented immediately and seamlessly after the COVID-19 outbreak and provided support for over 200 Ochsner frontline heroes. Drs. Ruhl and Sawyer designed the protocol for an on-demand counseling hotline.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
• decompression zones- space dedicated for staff to decompress and restore during a shift
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
• individual in-person or telephone counseling
The Pandemic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations As We Look Ahead
Ochsner Nursing 2019-2020 Annual Report 49
Building the Nursing Pipeline of Tomorrow: Championing Our Future Nursing Workforce For years, we have heard that the number of registered nurses in the workforce is inadequate to meet the needs of an ever-changing healthcare landscape. Compounding the nursing shortage, which is projected to continue, is an insufficient number of nursing faculty. According to the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, pre-RN licensure nursing programs in Louisiana could not admit over 1,400 qualified applicants in 2019. Many nursing schools cited a nursing faculty shortage as one of the main reasons for turning away potential students. At Ochsner, we are committed to cultivating mutually beneficial academic-practice partnerships that not only help to address these challenges, but also provide an opportunity to support new nurses as they enter the workforce. In 2020, Ochsner Nursing created a new role to support our academic partnerships and we are excited to welcome Sylvia Hartmann, MN, RN, as Ochsner’s Director of Nursing Academic Relations.
“In this newly created role of Director of Nursing Academic Relations, I will be working in the Academics Division to help implement shared initiatives of strategic partnerships,” says Sylvia, “I look forward to
working with System Nursing Leadership team to develop an enhanced infrastructure for nursing student capacity management, work on processes and structures to enhance the student and faculty experience, collaborate on curriculum, recruit and train clinical faculty, and create a seamless student transition to practice.”
The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork and the need for highly skilled clinicians. The success of a students’ clinical experiences is based on teamwork between faculty, students, nurse leaders and staff nurses. Regardless of the setting, everyone involved, including the patient, can benefit from an environment that fosters positive attitudes toward preparing student nurses. The student nurses will be better prepared to transition into practice if staff nurses, interdisciplinary colleagues and nurse leaders assist in reaching their learning objectives. As an organization that supports and promotes life-long learning and excellence, participating in a student nurse’s education and training is another way to grow and develop ourselves. “We can all play a part in increasing the pipeline and ensuring the quality of their training and success as a new graduate,” says Hartman. “It’s a noble contribution to the profession.” 50 Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report
Ochsner Nursing
Our Future Nursing Workforce
Southeastern’s School of Nursing Fall 2020 Career Fair
Our Lady of Holy Cross Nursing students during a clinical rotation at an Ochsner hospital campuses.
Ochsner’s Talent Acquisition (TA) team offers a variety of resources to our academic partners including professional development workshops, career readiness coaching, and job application support for their students. In addition to these offerings, students who are interested in learning about career opportunities at Ochsner Health will be contacted by a member of the TA team to help them navigate the interview process and find the best nursing role for them across the system.
Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 51
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Chamberlain University College of Nursing at Ochsner Health nursing students continued their path toward becoming nurses during this unprecedented period celebrating the campuses’ first graduates and transition to care in 2020. Chamberlain remains committed to educating, empowering and emboldening the next generation of extraordinary healthcare professionals.
“Having the opportunity to support new graduate nurse recruitment for Ochsner Health during this past year has been an extremely dynamic, yet privileged experience for me. We learned new and different ways to engage with nursing students both virtually and in-person and in some cases, will continue to leverage them even after the pandemic ends. It’s an honor to serve and support the #1 most trusted profession in the world during a time when trust has never been so important.” – Sam Firmin, M.Ed., University Relations & Career Outreach, Ochsner Health| Human Resources | System Talent Acquisition
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
Ochsner works with over 90 Schools of Nursing across the country to grow the pipeline of registered nurses, focusing on 50 Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) programs across the state of Louisiana, and several programs along the Gulf South region. Our goal is to work with students as they prepare to transition from student nurse to clinician.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Ochsner Health is proud to expand our longstanding relationship with Loyola University New Orleans to develop a new nursing program that will train and mentor the next generation of nursing professionals. This new program is designed to address a critical workforce shortage facing both Louisiana and the nation.
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
Talent Acquisition visits with Delta Community College LPN students to share career opportunities as they approach graduation.
The Time for Nursing Research: Opportunities During the Pandemic While the COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges to the healthcare workforce, it also provided unique opportunities for nursing research at Ochsner. The first COVID-19 patient in the greater New Orleans area was identified on March 9, 2020 and a steep escalation of cases ensued, earlier than in much of the country. Unlike other disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, the sustained surge in capacity needs and the direct impact on the health of frontline workers were difficulties that healthcare workers had not faced previously. A group of nurses from professional development and education departments came together to study nurses’ experiences of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. For several of the nurses, it was their first time being involved in a formal research study. Through discussion and conversation, the group identified research questions to answer and decided to use qualitative description as the design, with individual one-on-one interviews for data collection. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into nurses’ experiences during COVID-19 to understand both what strategies need to be in place to support them, as well as how to best prepare for future outbreaks. Experienced researchers mentored those on the team with less experience, providing education and instruction on how to conduct research interviews and content analysis. The best research is done in teams and the pandemic provided the opportunity for a group of nurses from different areas to collaborate on a project together. Having a common research interest that was so timely, motivated the nurses to get involved in research. “The pandemic provided a common purpose for the team to rally around,” said Jessica Peterson, PhD, RN, Senior Nurse Researcher in Ochsner’s Center for EvidenceBased Practice and Nursing Research. “I’m excited about this opportunity to both learn more about the experiences of our bedside nurses working during the pandemic, and to build research capacity within Ochsner by including both experienced and new nurse researchers in a project together.”
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While across the nation nurses accounted for 32% of healthcare workers who lost their lives to COVID-19, Ochsner Health did not lose one nurse to this deadly virus. “We followed CDC guidelines, worked tirelessly to ensure we had the supplies needed, and each of YOU worked hard to keep yourselves and each other safe every day. Thank you! Sadly, however, we did lose some of our own to non-COVID related illness or accidents. They will not be forgotten, and they have left their own legacies of healing. Please take a moment to remember our friends and colleagues who passed away this year.”
OMCNew Orleans • Annemarie Barber • Lisa Caffrey • Gwendoline H. Wilkinson • Elizabeth Ahern • Chelsea Frances Coleman • Richelle Hammond-Soniat
Ochsner Baptist
• Deborah Gibson – retired
Ochsner Bayou Region
Known by all as the “Boss Lady,” Richelle came to Ochsner in 1992 and spent 28 years working in our Cardiac Stepdown Unit. She was a Unit Director for over 18 years and was promoted to an AVP-Nursing in 2018. Some highlights from Richelle’s career at Ochsner included: • She spent her career mentoring and encouraging countless employees to continue their education. Richelle mentored numerous staff members at OMC–JH and encouraged them to get their master’s degrees, clinical ladder and certifications. She was also an instructor in our Nurse Residency program. • Her employee engagement and patient experience scores were always some of the highest in the system. Her most recent employee engagement score for her direct reports was the 99th percentile. • She established and opened our Central Telemetry Monitoring Unit. • She merged CICU with CTSU. • She formed and chaired the Administrative Assistant and Unit Secretary meeting groups. • She was the executive sponsor for the Fall Champion and Progressive Mobility programs.
• Billie Collins
• She was instrumental in ensuring we achieved all four Nursing Magnet Designations.
• Jimmy Hebert
• She personally loved the Ochsner Fall Pediatric Parade and Holiday Hope and was very involved in both of these events.
• Romy Morvant
• Lora Minton
• She was named one of Louisiana’s Great 100 Nurses. We are incredibly grateful for Richelle’s service and dedication to Ochsner along with all of her accomplishments and many contributions. Richelle requested we set up a cancer fund in her name through Ochsner’s Office of Philanthropy. To honor Richelle’s memory, please visit ochsner.org/richelle. The OMC-New Orleans Nurse Leader of the Year was named in her honor. Ochsner Nursing 2020 Annual Report 53
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Ochsner West Bank Campus
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
• Marilyn “Lyn” Lever Lactation Consultant
Richelle Hammond-Soniat, AVP-Nursing, recently passed away after a courageous battle against cancer. Richelle dedicated 30plus years of service to Ochsner and OMC-New Orleans.
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
• Colonel Andrea C. Shaifer
Remembering Richelle
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
– Tracey Moffatt, MHA, BSN, RN, System CNO and System Vice President of Quality
Ochsner Nursing
In Memoriam: Honoring Ochsner Nurses who passed away
There are more than 7,000 nurses across Ochsner Health – women and men whose passion for medicine and compassion for others allows you to care for people in a way that no one else can. Together with the 895,000 patients you cared for over the past year, we owe you an enormous debt of gratitude. In many cases we owe you our lives! Over the past several months, nurses around the world have been tested like never before. Here at Ochsner, you’ve served on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis in Louisiana and Mississippi with a level of selfless dedication that is astounding – but not surprising. Heroes at the bedside, in the exam room, the waiting room, the surgical suite and the ED, you are here around the clock playing an essential role in every outcome and every experience. Long before our physicians round and long after friends and family leave for home, you provide the stability, familiarity, connection and comfort that patients need to heal. Do not underestimate the power of your contributions. In fact, know that your impact runs deeper and lingers far longer than the care you provide. To all nurses, at Ochsner and everywhere, thank you. Warner Thomas President & CEO Ochsner Health
The Panedmic Sparks New Future Focused Collaborations
Michael Hulefeld EVP & Chief Operating Officer, Ochsner Health
Reflections on The Year of the Nurse During a Global Pandemic
2020 has proven, like never before, that nursing is not a profession for the faint at heart. What I see nurses doing during the COVID pandemic is inspirational. Nurses risk their own lives to protect others. Nurses work exhausting overtime hours. Nurses provide superb clinical care for a disease the world knew nothing about. And, perhaps most importantly, nurses are a source of strength for our patients and families. Nurses hold hands with scared family members and help others say goodbye to their loved ones. Nurses have nurtured and comforted patients during a time when no one else could be with them. It’s no wonder the World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse! Nurses truly are HEROES
Excellence in Our COVID-19 Response
Robert I. Hart, MD EVP & Chief Medical Officer
Recognizing and Celebrating Ochsner Nurses During an Unprecedented Year
Most sincerely,
Ochsner Nursing
During this time, nurses across our system stepped up and responded to the growing needs of our patients. Each week from March to May, I had the opportunity to round morning and evening on our floors and our ICUs. I was amazed at the teamwork that materialized across our units. I met nurses from the ICUs, DOSC, EP Lab, Pediatrics, Transplant, Neuro, Interventional Radiology, Endoscopy and many other units who redeployed to new locations and departments to help where help was needed. CRNAs were there in large numbers to help care for our patients, recognizing that the world had changed, and that it would be some time before work in the OR would return. Everyone had skills to contribute to the effort of caring for our patients. This surge provided the opportunity for everyone to focus on one thing -- providing the highest quality care -- and nurses from all across our system stepped up to do that. The focus with which our nurses responded to care for our patients was perhaps a once-ina-lifetime event. You not only delivered outstanding medical care, but you kept families informed, relaying both good news and bad, facilitated video visits, held their hands, played their favorite music... you were their family who couldn’t be there in person. I am grateful that I got to see all of you at your best... caring for other humans when they needed you most.
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