Advancing The Christiana Care WayNURSING ANNUAL REPORT 2015

We AreMagnet!

Christiana Care’s more than 2,500 professional nurses and nurse leaders

exemplify Magnet every day.

One of the year’s crowning moments was achieving redesignation as a Magnet® organization for nursing excellence from the American Nurses

Credentialing Center (ANCC). Christiana Care raised the bar in nursing excellence in 2010 as the first hospital in Delaware to achieve Magnet status, and is now first in the state to attain a second designation, demonstrating sustained excellence in nursing practice and adherence to national standards.

“The achievement of Magnet redesignation is yet another indicator to the neighbors who daily put their trust in Christiana Care that Delaware’s leading health system is recognized nationally among the best for clinical excellence and adherence to national standards,” said Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, president and chief executive officer of Christiana Care. “Our talented, dedicated and highly accomplished nursing team is truly deserving of this designation, which recognizes the excellent work they do every day as they partner with physicians and staff — and with our patients and their families — to provide respectful, innovative and expert care in The Christiana Care Way.”

Announcing a unanimous vote for a second designation, the Magnet Commission Executive Committee cited several exemplars noted by ANCC in Christiana Care’s appraisal:

j “Exemplary” nurse satisfaction and engagement data.

j Impressive number of nurses enrolled in BSN, MSN and doctorate programs.

j Robust shared governance structure giving clinical nurses a very strong voice in patient care delivery.

Leading our initial designation and second designations, in collaboration with other nurse leaders and direct care staff, were Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services, Diane Talarek, MA, BSN, RN, NE-BE, and Vice President, Professional Excellence, and Associate Chief Nursing Officer Janet Cunningham, MHA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, CENP.

Magnet designation signifies the highest level of care for patients and their families.Christiana Care is first in Delaware to consecutively achieve this prestigious honor.

1

Transformational Leadership NEW SERVICE LINE STRUCTURE POSITIONS NURSES FOR ADVOCACY AND INFLUENCE

PHYSICIAN LEADER

SERVICE LINE EXECUTIVE DIVISION

ASSOCIATE PHYSICIAN

LEADER

QUALITY PARTNERS PHYSICIAN LEADER

OPERATIONS LEADER

NURSE LEADER

2

Exemplars of Transformational LeadershipMembers of the Christiana Hospital 7E nursing team (from left) Chuck Moriarty, BSN, RN, VABC, Caroline Mack, BSN, RN, Julie Garner, BSN, RN, and Teresa Houck, BSN, RN (second from right) joined President and CEO Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, and Terry Koston (far right) for a panel discussion on Exceptional Experience at a Christiana Care Leadership Summit. In a letter to Dr. Nevin, Mr. Koston and his wife, Joanne, who recovered on 7E following spinal surgery in November, commended the team for being “personable, calm and reassuring,” and leaving “absolutely nothing to chance.”

Acute MedicineVirginia U. Collier, M.D., Physician Leader

Charlie Reese, M.D., Associate Physician Leader

Kate Rudolph, MS, Operations Leader

Joanne McAuliffe, DNP, MSN/BA, RN, OCN, NEA-BC, Nurse Leader

Linda Laskowski-Jones, MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, CEN, FAWN, FAAN, Nurse Leader

John Powell, M.D., Quality Partners Leader

Behavioral HealthLinda Lang, M.D., Physician Leader

Terry Horton, M.D., Associate Physician Leader

Erin Booker, LPC, Operations Leader

Steve Beltran, BSN-C, RN, Nurse Leader

Kathleen Willey, M.D., Quality Partners Leader

Cancer CareNicholas J. Petrelli, M.D., Physician Leader

Christopher Koprowski, M.D., Associate Physician Leader

William Holden, FACHE, Operations Leader

Tammy Brown, MSN, RN, OCN, NEA-BC, Nurse Leader

Courtney Crannell, MSN, RN-BC, OCN, Nurse Leader

Jamil Khatri, M.D., Quality Partners Leader

Heart & Vascular HealthTimothy J. Gardner, M.D., Physician Leader

Kirk Garratt, M.D., Associate Physician Leader

Billie Speakman, MBA, Operations Leader

Donna Casey, MA, BSN, RN, FABC, NE-BC, Nurse Leader

Anthony Furey, D.O., Quality Partners Leader

Musculoskeletal HealthBrian J. Galinat, M.D., Physician Leader

Eric M. Russell, D.O., Associate Physician Leader

Terri Corbo, Pharm.D., Operations Leader

Joan Pirrung, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, Nurse Leader

Scott T. Roberts, M.D., Quality Partners Leader

NeurosciencesKert F. Anzilotti, M.D., Physician Leader

Valerie E. Dechant, M.D., Associate Physician Leader

Melissa Bollinger, MBA, Operations Leader

Danielle Weber, MSN, MS, CNML, Nurse Leader

Jason T. Nomura, M.D., Quality Partners Leader

Primary Care & Community MedicineOmar A. Khan, M.D., Physician Leader

Julie H. Silverstein, M.D., Associate Physician Leader

Kristi Pintar, Ed.D., Operations Leader

Cynthia Griffin, MS, BSN, RN, CPHQ, CCM, Nurse Leader

Daniel J. Elliott, M.D. Quality Partners Leader

Surgical ServicesGerard J. Fulda, M.D., Physician Leader

Mark Schneider, M.D., Associate Physician Leader

Judith Townsley, MSN, RN, CPAN, Operations Leader

Kimberly Talley, MSN, RN, CRNP, CNML-BC, FABC, Nurse Leader

David D. Zabel, M.D., Quality Partners Leader

Women & Children’sDavid A. Paul, M.D., Physician Leader

Elizabeth M. Zadzielski, M.D., Associate Physician Leader

Sherry A. Monson, MBA, MSN, RN, CENP, Operations Leader

Karen Haritakis, MSN, RN, CNML, Nurse Leader

Elizabeth Igboechi, MSN, RNC-OB, NEA-BC, Nurse Leader

Gregory W. DeMeo, D.O., Quality Partners Leader

C hristiana Care nurses provide transformational leadership in the health system’s new service line structure introduced in 2015 to advance The Christiana Care Way by focusing on three strategic aims: Optimal Health, Exceptional Experience and Organizational Vitality. This structure — further supported by Strategic

Partnerships, Innovative Tools and Extraordinary People — reduces unnecessary variation in care, better coordinates care across the continuum, and continues to improve the quality, safety and value of care. Leading each of the nine service lines is an executive team comprised of physician, nurse and operations leaders who help coordinate and integrate many system change initiatives and quality and safety efforts to achieve excellence in patient outcomes, patient experience and high-value care.

3

The DAISY Award HONORS NURSES FOR EXCEPTIONAL CARE

C hristiana Care joins more than 2,000 health care facilities in every state and 15 countries honoring nurses with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. Christiana Care’s Professional Nurse Council

(PNC) launched The DAISY Award to recognize Exemplary Professional Practice in patient- and family-centered care and to celebrate the positive impact nurses have on the lives of others. Each month, the PNC recognizes a nurse — nominated by a patient, family member or colleague — who exceeded expectations by displaying exceptional clinical skills, compassion, respect and partnership. In 2016, the PNC will add an annual DAISY Team Award and an annual DAISY Nurse Leader Award.

4

Pictured, page 4, Josie Robinson, RN II, CEN, Christiana Care’s inaugural DAISY winner. On this page, top, Keisha Bourne, MSN, MSM, RN II, HCA; above left, Dana Stanitski, BSN, RN II; at right, Charles Evans, BSN, RN II.

DAISY WINNERSKate Armstrong, BSN, RN II, CCRN 6S, Wilmington Intensive Care Unit

Margaret Bloom, RN II, CCM, WCC Christiana Care Visiting Nurse Association

Andrea Bonner, BSN, RN III, PCCN Emergency Department, Christiana Hospital

Keisha Bourne, MSN, MSM, RN II, HCA 3B, Post-Partum Unit, Christiana Hospital

Charles Evans, BSN, RN II 6S, Stepdown Unit, Wilmington Hospital

Mary Kate Fillingame, BS, RN II, CEN, FNE Emergency Department, Christiana Hospital

Stephanie Forester, BSN, RN II Labor and Delivery

Lauren Lewis, BSN, RN II 3E, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Christiana Hospital

Debra Lovejoy-Bland, BSN, RN, CNII Transitional Surgical Unit, Christiana Hospital

Katie Melville, RN II-BC 6S, Stepdown Unit, Christiana Hospital

Jennifer Oldham, BSN, RN III, CEN, FNE Emergency Department, Christiana Hospital

Meghan Phillips, BSN, RN II-BC 2C, Surgical Unit, Christiana Hospital

Josie Robinson, RN II, CEN Emergency Department, Christiana Hospital

Megan Smakulski, MSN, MBA, RN, PCCN 3D, Pulmonary Stepdown Unit, Christiana Hospital

Dana Stanitski, BSN, RN II 2C, Surgical Critical Care Complex, Christiana Hospital

Brooke Tadlock, RN II 3E, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Christiana Hospital

James Turner, BSN, RN II, CCRN 3E, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Christiana Hospital

5

Optimal Health

“ Using Electronic Health Records and Nursing Assessment to Redesign Clinical Early Recognition Systems” — a collaborative effort of Nursing and the Christiana Care Value Institute — was presented at the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) annual conference in October 2015 and has been accepted for publication in the interdisciplinary Health Systems journal.

Nurses lead development and implementation of nurse screening assessment A nurse-driven pilot of an electronic screening assessment tool is helping analysts in the Christiana Care Value Institute create an integrated early warning system with clinical decision support to alert nurses and other members of the health care team of potential patient deterioration and allow more timely intervention. The Christiana Early Warning System (CEWS) team is led by Michele Campbell, MSM, RN, CPHQ, FABC, vice president, Patient Safety and Accreditation, Susan Mascioli, MS, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, CPHQ, LBB, director, Nursing Quality and Safety, and Muge Capan, Ph.D., research investigator and Value Institute scholar. The goal of CEWS it to help identify patients with specific risk factors related to potential deterioration, alert the health care team, provide associated interventions and, ultimately, help prevent harm.

VNA nurse/patient partnership decreases rehospitalizationsChristiana Care Visiting Nurse Association’s transforma-tion to a patient-centered and goal-driven integrated care management model is decreasing 30-day rehospitalizations for high-risk patients and improving patient experience scores and Quality of Care Star Ratings reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Strategies include increasing visit frequency during the critical first 14 days following hospital discharge, along with timely referrals to telehealth, rehab, medical, social work and aide services.

The model has significant impact for the inpatient diagnoses of acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as for home-based care following joint replacement. 

6

11.8 %9.7

%

30-DAY REHOSPITALIZATION RATE

NATIONALCHRISTIANA CARE VNA

Christiana Care’s entire team of health care professionals — with nurses at the forefront — is committed to the advancement of New Knowledge, Innovations and Improvements through education and research.

Nurse-led conferences promote knowledge, researchChristiana Care nurses are leaders in nursing continuing education in Delaware. In 2015, they organized conferences to broaden knowledge and share evidence-based research findings. The Nursing Research Council hosted its 10th Annual Nursing Research Conference in November, where more than 100 nurses, academic faculty and nursing students attended four advanced mastery sessions focusing on mixed research methods, working with big data, qualitative research and writing protocols; mastery sessions on literature searching and writing workshops. The Perioperative Services Professional Nurse Council and the Advanced Practice Nurse Council coordinated specialty conferences featuring national speakers and experts from the health system and region.

Nursing Informatics team leads conversion to electronic assessmentsA team of six nurse informaticists blend advanced process and system solutions skills with backgrounds rich in nursing practice to enhance optimal care at the bedside. Their work in 2015 to automate nursing assessments helped lead Christiana Care from paper documentation of Medical/Surgical patients every 24 hours to electronic documentation every eight hours — a significant improvement for patient safety.

Perioperative team “designs for zero” with universal protocolSafe procedures processes offer critical structure that helps improve quality and enhance patient safety. Christiana Care’s perioperative nursing team helped lead development of a universal protocol to ensure that all members of the care team — including the patient — have an active, participatory role in verifying correct patient, correct procedure and correct site. Perioperative nurses were instrumental in identifying and evaluating process gaps, developing solutions, offering valuable insight regarding workflow and incorporation of new safe procedure processes, including helping to create and star in an informative educational video. By cognitively engaging the clinical team and sustaining their attention with memorable, meaningful learning, the Perioperative nurses are “designing for zero” in eliminating preventable patient harm.

7

ADVANCING CARE THROUGH RESEARCH

67% CAUTI

REDUCTION

Nurse engagement proves key to reducing CAUTI rate

By engaging frontline nurses and patient care technicians, a Christiana Care nurse-led team successfully reduced catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) rates by 67 percent and standardized practice systemwide for Foley catheter insertion and maintenance.

NURSE-AUTHORED RESEARCH

PUBLICATIONS

36

NURSE-LED RESEARCH AND PERFORMANCE

IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

25

GRADUATE-LEVEL (MSN AND DNP)

CAPSTONE INITIATIVES

10

VOTING CLINICAL NURSE MEMBERS

ON IRB

2

NBC Nightly News: Christiana Care far surpasses national flu vaccination rate NBC Nightly News and NBCNews.com featured Christiana Care as a top performer nationally in employee flu vaccination efforts. NBC highlighted nurses as exemplars of Christiana Care’s highly successful voluntary annual flu vaccination campaign that resulted in a 95 percent vaccination rate, exceeding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s reported national rate for health care workers, which is consistently below 65 percent.

200+

8

NURSE-AUTHORED POSTER/PODIUM PRESENTATIONS

Christiana Care nurse researchers shared their knowledge on national and international stages for Sigma Theta Tau, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the Emergency Nurses’ Association, the National Association of Neonatal Nurses, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, and the American Nurses Credentialing Center National Magnet Conference.

Nursing research shows post-op relief from inhaled peppermint oil In a study being presented at two national conferences, critical care nurses demonstrated inhaled peppermint oil is a viable first-line treatment for post-operative nausea in cardiac surgery patients. This study, by clinical nurses Patricia Briggs, MSN, CCRN, RN IV, HTCP/HTI, and Helen Hawrylack BSN, CCRN, RN III, of the Cardiovascular Critical Care Complex at Christiana Hospital, has led to system-wide use.

NURSING RESEARCH BY THE NUMBERS

Exceptional Experience

9

GetWellNetwork key to patient education, satisfactionChristiana Care’s GetWellNetwork, supporting patient engagement through a bedside monitor, is an important innovation for enriching patient education and patient satisfaction. Nearly 11,000 educational videos were prescribed for patients to view each month, and patient compliance in watching the videos increased 35 percent in 2015. Patients are also more frequently using GetWellNetwork to learn about their prescribed medications, with viewing up an impressive 129 percent. GetWellNetwork is also a proactive way to enhance the patient experience, allowing patients to log service requests, comment about their stay, compliment a caregiver or complete a satisfaction survey while they are still at the hospital where opportunities for improvement can be addressed immediately.

Nurse leaders top 175,000 iRound visitsUsing innovative iRound technology, nurse leaders on 31 units piloted iRound for Patient Experience using iPads to collect real-time patient feedback, set immediate response plans in action and drive care that is more responsive to patients and their families. This innovative use of technology leads to more purposeful interactions and helps nurse leaders to be actively involved in the patient care team.

Nurse manager Lauri Littleton, MSN, RN-BC, logged Christiana Care’s 100,000th milestone iRound. In a video produced with The Advisory Board Company highlighting the advantages of iRound she said, “It’s a great feeling to walk into the room and see the smiles on our patients’ faces when we take time out of our day to elicit their feedback and hear them tell their stories.”

iRound encounters logged to date have since exceeded 175,000.

Zero Harm Award recognizes ongoing commitment to patient safetyChristiana Care’s Zero Harm Award recognizes the achievement of successfully reaching 12 consecutive months without patient harm in key patient safety measures. In 2015, 22 units achieved Zero Harm Awards, a true mark of Exemplary Professional Practice and commitment to a culture of safety:

j CLABSI — 4D, Neuro Critical Care Unit and Surgical Critical Care Complex.

j C. difficile — 3A, 3B, 3C, 4A, 4B, 7S and Center for Rehabilitation, Wilmington Hospital.

j CAUTI — 3D and 4D.

j Patient falls with major injury — Christiana Hospital: 2C, 5C, 5D, 6A, 6B, 6E, Neuro Critical Care Unit, Emergency Department. Wilmington Hospital: 6S Stepdown and Center for Advanced Joint Replacement.

10

Leading the way in CANDORChristiana Care was one of only three health systems selected by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Health Research & Educational Trust of the American Hospital Association for the two-year Project CANDOR (Communication and Optimal Resolution). CANDOR supports patients and families through open communication and optimal resolution when an analysis and event review confirms unexpected patient harm.

A key component of CANDOR is the Care for the Caregiver program, in which a volunteer team of attending physicians, residents, nurses, social workers and chaplains trained in critical incident stress management offers a “safe zone” of peer support to colleagues following adverse patient events. Fourteen nurses are on the trained Care for the Caregiver team.

The CANDOR approach was fully implemented at Christiana Care in October 2015.A Culture of CandOR

Organizational Change

Readiness

Gap Analysis

Incident Reporting

Event Analysis

& Process

Improvement

Caring for Caregiver

Resolution

Communication

CANDOR PUZZLE.indd 1 4/15/16 3:59 PM

11

ADVANCING CARE IN OUR COMMUNITY — THE CHRISTIANA CARE WAY

Feeding bodies and souls at inner-city St. Pat’sProviding more than mere nourishment, the sharing of food opens the door for conversation about health-related concerns and helps Christiana Care nurses and social workers embedded at St. Patrick’s Center on Wilmington’s east side uncover needs and coordinate services. In an example of population health case management at its best, a nurse practitioner from Christiana Care’s Medical Home Without Walls program now visits the center several times each month to perform wellness checks. For the first time, many of our community’s most vulnerable people are being followed medically and even have medical records.

Independence at Home brings back “good old days” of home visitsAs a nurse practitioner with Christiana Care’s Independence at Home program, Audrey Collins, MSN, CRNP, checks patients’ blood pressure, monitors their pain levels and makes sure they are taking prescribed medication, all from the comfort of their own living rooms. The innovative Independence at Home model — a unique lifeline allowing more than 500 seniors to remain in their own homes — tests whether delivering primary care services in the home can lead to better health outcomes and reduce costs for patients living with multiple chronic illnesses.

Nurse-trained Blood Pressure Ambassadors help neighbors manage healthA team of nearly 100 trained volunteer blood pressure ambassadors takes to the sidewalks of Wilmington armed with blood pressure monitors and educational materials to help identify neighbors with undiagnosed or inadequately controlled high blood pressure and refer them to appropriate care. Building on peer-to-peer relationships in the African-American community, this nurse-led group has reached more than 2,500 individuals in neighborhoods with the highest prevalence of high blood pressure. Angela Parker, MSN, RN-BC, project manager and Elisabeth G. Bradley, MS, APRN, clinical leader of Christiana Care’s Cardiovascular Prevention Program, run the program.

Christiana Care nurses and their colleagues demonstrate their exceptional commitment to improving the health and well-being of our community inside and outside our hospitals.

Care Link hub supports safe transitions Christiana Care’s Care Link case managers help patients with chronic illness, or those undergoing high-risk procedures, navigate and coordinate hospital, physician, community and support services. A virtual hub of interdisciplinary Care Link professionals — including more than 40 population health nurses — contributes to significant reductions in rehospitalizations by navigating patients through transitions of care. Their goal: improved overall health outcomes, better patient experiences and optimal use of resources. Of the more than 2,500 Medicare patients in seven bundled populations supported by Care Link, fewer than 8 percent were readmitted within 90 days after discharge, compared to 14 percent during the baseline period before Care Link management.

Organizational Vitality

FOURTH RN TIER ADVANCES NURSING CLINICAL LADDER With its leading edge on professional development for nurses, Christiana Care added a fourth tier to its clinical ladder professional practice model in 2015. The new “Expert Clinician” level provides nurses with even greater opportunity for advancement and ensures an even safer environment for patients. By the end of 2015, more than 500 Christiana Care nurses had achieved the RN III level of competency and three advanced to the RN IV track:

j Marsha Babb, MS, BSN, RN IV, CNOR, Clinical Psychology, Cardiac OR, Perioperative Services.

j Patricia Briggs, MSN, CCRN, RN IV, HTCP/HTI, Cardiovascular Critical Care Complex, Cardiac Nursing.

j Anita Symonds, MS, BSN, SANE-A, SANE-P, CFN, CFS, RN IV, Christiana Hospital Emergency Forensic Nurse Examiner Coordinator.

IMPROVING QUALITY WITH LEAN SIX SIGMAChristiana Care’s Lean Six Sigma program trains employees as quality improvement experts who can recognize opportunities, identify root causes of problems and develop quality improvement interventions to deliver meaningful, sustained value in health care from the inside out. Twenty nurses have achieved Green Belt certification and the program expanded this year to include its first Black Belt class, including four nurses. Their projects were:

j Inter-unit transfersMichelle Collins, MSN, APRN, CNS, RN-BC, ACNS-BC, LSSBB Director of Nursing Professional Development/Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing/GetWellNetwork

Recognizing that lags in patient flow impact both the requesting and receiving unit and extend length of stay, Collins’ project reduced the inter-unit patient transfer time from Pulmonary Stepdown and the Medical Intensive Care Unit to other Christiana Hospital inpatient units by 25 minutes — a 16 percent reduction.

12

Our shared governance structure enhances Structural Empowerment by offering every nurse the opportunity to participate on a unit- or system-level council.

Coordinating Council — our shared governance steer — brings together system council chairs, nurse leaders and frontline staff to collaborate on nursing practice initiatives and system-wide projects.

COORDINATING COUNCIL

QUALITY AND SAFETY COUNCIL

EVIDENCE-BASED NURSE PRACTICE COUNCIL

PROFESSIONAL NURSE COUNCIL

EDUCATION COUNCIL

j Bed-request to bed-readySusan Mascioli, MS, BSN, RN, CPHQ, NEA-BC, LSSBB Director of Nursing Quality and Safety

By implementing change processes, enhancing shared data, establishing standards, enhancing communication and streamlining work, mean time between the Emergency Department posting a patient for admission and having a bed ready on the receiving unit decreased by 36.4 percent from 156.5 minutes to 99.5 minutes on 15 Christiana Hospital patient care units. Reducing ED boarding time to admit patients more expediently improves patient safety.

j Transforming nursing care deliveryJune Estock, MSN, RN, CPHQ, LSSBB, Senior Organizational Excellence Consultant, and Janet Cunningham, MHA, RN, NE-BC, CENP, LSSBB, Vice President for Professional Excellence and Associate Chief Nursing Officer

A shift change brief, mid-shift team huddles and purposeful hourly rounds allow nurses to work at the “top of their license” by decreasing the amount of time spent on non-value-added work— that is, activities not directly related to patient care. Time spent on non-value-added activities decreased from 34 to 28 percent on two pilot medical units, offering a potential annual cost savings of $269,573. Research suggests the reduction will help increase nurse satisfaction and engagement and may improve quality and safety outcomes, as well as patient satisfaction.

Climbing to 80 With 68.56 percent of Christiana Care nurses already holding a BSN or higher, we are well on the way to Magnet’s targeted “80 percent by 2020” workforce.

Christiana Care’s

1,640 certified nurses

represent more than

100 specialties.

68.56% BSN OR HIGHER

13

14

IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHTMICU earns third AACN Beacon Award For the third time, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses has presented its highest honor, the Gold Beacon Award for Excellence, to Christiana Hospital’s Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). The recognition follows the unit’s previous Beacon awards in 2012 and 2008. One of MICU’s most notable achievements has been avoiding costly and potentially fatal central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) — with zero incidences in 21 consecutive months. MICU’s lead application writer Andrew Vincent, BSN, RN III, CCRN, and clinical nurse specialist Maureen Seckel, APRN, MSN, CCRN, FCCM, now consult with other institutions considering application for Beacon awards.

WICU wins Silver Beacon Award Christiana Care’s Wilmington Intensive Care Unit (WICU) won a Silver Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. WICU is the third Christiana Care unit and the first at Wilmington Hospital to earn a Beacon Award, which recognizes exceptional critical care through improved patient outcomes and greater satisfaction among patients and nurses. Team members are featured in the cover photo of this report leading interdisciplinary rounds.

Christiana Care is one of only 105 health care institutions in the nation, and the only one in Delaware, with Beacon Award recognition.

Senior care exemplar statusChristiana Care earned exemplar status for its We Improve Senior Health (WISH) program based on the national Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) program. WISH is a collaborative effort among nurses, physicians, pharmacists, rehabilitative therapists, social workers, dietitians and other health care providers to improve the care that Christiana Care delivers to senior patients in all settings. Denise Lyons, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, FNGNA, is Christiana Care’s WISH program coordinator.

National recognition for infant sleep safetyCribs for Kids recognized Christiana Care’s Continuing Care Nursery with gold certification as one of just seven nationally certified Safe Sleep Champion institutions, acknowledging a demonstrated commitment to best practices and parent education concerning safe sleep for infants.

Donna Casey, MA, BSN, RN, FABC, NE-BC, was named Rising Scholar and invited to present her Doctor of Nursing Practice project in a poster at the 43rd Biennial Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society Conference.

Linda Laskowski-Jones, MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, CEN, FAWM FAAN, vice president of Emergency and Trauma Services, was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Denise Lyons, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, FNGNA,, was named a Fellow by the National Gerontological Nursing Association.

Heather Panichelli, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CEN, CPEN, was inducted as Fellow of the Society of Trauma Nurses.

Joan Pirrung, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, is national president-elect of the Society of Trauma Nurses.

Michele Savin, MSN, APRN, NNP-BC, won the Academy of Neonatal Nursing 2015 Excellence in Neonatal Nursing Practice Award.

Maureen Seckel, APRN, MSN, CCRN, FCCM, named a Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine, and has been appointed as a liaison by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines Revision Panel, a joint collaboration of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine.

15

LOCAL AND REGIONAL RECOGNITION

Sharon Anderson, MS, BSN, RN, FACHE, was named chief population health officer and senior vice president, Quality & Patient Safety in support of Christiana Care’s new emphasis on population health and accountable care.

Turquoise Abdullah, BSN, BS, RN; Donna Casey, MA, BSN, RN, FABC, NE-BC; Patricia Fenimore, RN, CNRN, CCRNN; and Stephanie Santo, FNP-C, CCRN, were honored with Delaware Excellence in Nursing Practice Awards from the Delaware Nurses Association in partnership with the Delaware Organization of Nurse Leaders.

Kathleen Boyer, MSN, RN, injury prevention coordinator, was selected by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety for the Corporate Partners Outstanding Program Award in recognition of her efforts to prevent distracted driving.

Victoria Hammond, RN, received a 2015 WISH Champion of the Year award from NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for System Elders).

Nora Katurakes, MSN, RN, OCN, manager of Christiana Care’s Community Health Outreach & Education program with the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute, was honored by the Wilmington City Council with a proclamation for outstanding work on behalf of the Hispanic community.

Nursing-led projects win big at 2015 Focus on Excellence AwardsIn Christiana Care’s annual Focus on Excellence Awards program, more than half of this year’s 29 winning teams were led by a Christiana Care nurse, underscoring nurses’ commitment to advancing the quest for Empirical Outcomes.

Christiana Care nurses launch Mid-Atlantic Society for Vascular NursingIn their very first year, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Soci-ety for Vascular Nursing — founded by nurses at Christiana Care’s Center for Heart & Vascular Health — were honored as the 2014-2015 Chapter of the Year by the Society for Vascular Nursing.

Delaware Today’s Top NursesDelaware Today’s 2015 Top Nurses issue featured 38 Christiana Care nurses selected in seven categories by their professional peers.

LEADING THE NURSING PROFESSION

16

The Christiana Care WayWe serve our neighbors as respectful, expert caring partners in their health. We do this by creating innovative, effective,

affordable systems of care that our neighbors value.

On the cover: Nurses from the AACN Beacon Award-winning Wilmington Intensive Care Unit lead interdisciplinary rounds, keeping the team focused on preparing patients for the next care setting, whether discharge to home or a skilled nursing facility. Nurses are in a unique position to provide the most up-to-date information on patients and their goals.

17

On the cover: Nurses from the AACN Beacon Award-winning Wilmington Intensive Care Unit lead interdisciplinary rounds, keeping the team focused on preparing patients for the next care setting, whether discharge to home or a skilled nursing facility. Nurses are in a unique position to provide the most up-to-date information on patients and their goals.

“Every time a patient or their family member tells me how much I have made an impact on their life,

I am reaffirmed that nursing is what I am meant to do.”

—Christopher Otto, BSN, RN III, CHFN, PCCN2E, Cardiovascular Critical Care ComplexChair of the Professional Nurse Council

PO Box 1668 | Wilmington DE 19899-1668 | 800-693-CARE (2273)

www.christianacare.org

Christiana Care Health System, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware,

is one of the country’s largest health care providers, ranking 21st in the nation for hospital admissions.

Christiana Care is a major teaching hospital recognized as a regional center for excellence in cardiology, cancer and women’s health services. The health system features Delaware’s only Level I trauma center — the only center of its kind between Philadelphia and Baltimore — and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit — the only delivering hospital in the state to offer this level of care for newborns.

A not-for-profit, nonsectarian health system, Christiana Care includes two hospitals with more than 1,100 patient beds, a home health care service, preventive medicine, rehabilitation services, a network of primary care physicians and an extensive range of outpatient services.

16NURS9