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National IHI DAISY Award for extraordinary nurses bestowed on Children's National nurses

Surgical Care Unit nursing team recognized for improving care and rehabilitation for burn patients

WASHINGTON – The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the DAISY Foundation have announced that the Surgical Care Unit (SCU) nursing team at Children’s National Health System has received the 2018 IHI/NPSF DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

In 2016, the SCU cared for a severely burned and traumatized teenaged patient. Rehabilitation began right away, but areas for physical and occupational therapy on the unit were mainly public spaces.  The patient’s stress, pain levels and concern about her physical appearance often led her to refuse crucial therapy outside of her room. This case influenced the SCU team to develop a better solution for young patients in need of rehabilitation, especially burn patients.

“This award recognizes the safe, high quality clinical care provided to one of our patients under extremely traumatic circumstances,” says Linda Talley, M.S., M.S.N. R.N., N.E.-B.C., vice president of Nursing and chief nursing officer at Children’s National. “Demonstrating extraordinary care and compassion, this team identified potential safety risks and began to rethink our approach to pediatric burn care.  The resulting collaboration with community partners improved safety and provided improved care to our entire burn patient population. Kudos to this team for their work for this patient as well as for our future burn patients.” 

With the help of local foundations, the SCU team raised $50,000 for a special dedicated gym space featuring bright lighting, slip-resistant flooring and other features to ensure patient-focused goals can be achieved in a safe and more private environment. As an example of impact, the SCU outperformed national benchmarks for patient falls with injury over the past two years. What’s more, the patient who sparked this effort is now an active and thriving high schooler.

“This award exemplifies the compassion and tireless dedication of all of our nurses at Children’s National,” says Kathleen Chavanu Gorman, M.S.N., R.N., F.A.A.N., executive vice president of Patient Care Services and chief operating officer. “I am so impressed with the SCU team’s ability to address the physical and emotional needs of this patient and all of the patients and families they care for every day.  They not only identified the underlying global patient care need, but brought it to the next level by finding a solution that benefits all children being cared for on their unit. As a nurse myself and as a hospital leader, I know that this kind of team collaboration, empathy and clinical excellence are essential to the high-quality care we provide. I am so proud of this team for their never-ending efforts to help children grow up stronger.”

This award program derives from the DAISY Foundation’s signature program, the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. More than 3,000 health care facilities and schools of nursing across the United States and in 17 other countries participate in the DAISY program, recognizing nurses and teams throughout the year for their extraordinary compassionate care. Nearly 100 nurses and nurse-led teams honored within their own organizations between January 2016 and June 2017 were candidates for the 2018 international awards being announced today, which emphasize work that improves workforce and patient safety.

“IHI’s partnership with the DAISY Foundation provides a way to recognize and honor the nursing profession and exceptional contributions to patient safety,” said Patricia McGaffigan, R.N., M.S., C.P.P.S., vice president of safety at IHI. “All of this year’s nominees demonstrated extraordinary dedication to their patients and to providing safe health care, and this year’s awardees have particularly inspiring contributions that address behavioral health and equity.”

Bonnie Barnes, F.A.A.N., co-founder and president of the DAISY Foundation, added: “This year’s honorees were chosen from a pool of truly awe-inspiring nurses. All of their stories demonstrate the extraordinary levels of care being provided to patients and families every day in our hospitals. As we continue to express gratitude to nurses around the world for their compassion, we are proud to partner with IHI to put a powerful spotlight on the important contributions nurses are making to safe, high-quality care.”

The awards will be conferred during the IHI/NPSF Patient Safety Congress, which takes place May 23-25, 2018, in Boston.

Media Contact: Jennifer Stinebiser |   703-568-8825 (mobile) | 202-476-4500 (office)

 

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