It’s the “Year of the Nurse” according to the World Health Organization — and what a year 2020 has been so far! All of Pennsylvania Hospital’s frontline nurses have overcome unprecedented challenges posed by the coronavirus, going above and beyond and giving their all while courageously facing an enduring public health threat.
While social distancing prevented Pennsy from celebrating Nurses Week with parties, pet therapy pups, and activities, the department of Nursing Professional Practice didn’t want to miss an opportunity to salute PAH’s nursing staff. Throughout May and into June, each unit’s efforts were featured in spotlight emails and on the hospital’s intranet site — from the Mother Baby Unit, which collected $800 in 24 hours and delivered treats to units hit hard by COVID-19; to the diligent 7 Schiedt team, which hit a full year with no hospital-acquired infections; to the Behavioral Health team, which leveraged MARTTI and FaceTime to connect patients with their loved ones.
There was some normalcy amidst COVID-19 when nurses across the health system nominated their peers for the 20th Annual UPHS Nursing Clinical Excellence Awards. Each year, Penn Medicine honors nurses whose compassion and dedication have had a significant impact on their patients, colleagues, and community. Five extraordinary PAH nurses received special awards.
Elizabeth Quigley, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, nurse manager of the Intensive Care Nursery (ICN), received the Victoria L. Rich Transformational Leadership Award. For eight years, her dynamic, forward-thinking leadership has driven improvement projects that have positively impacted areas like patient experience scores, infection rates, transfer times, and discharges. She also served as chair of the Nurse Executive Board and interim clinical director, played a crucial role in ensuring PAH’s second successful Perinatal Care Certification through The Joint Commission, and implemented the TeamSTEPPS® patient safety and performance enhancement training, which educated all staff in the Women’s Health Division on strategies to prevent adverse events from reaching patients. In a video featuring dozens of clips from colleagues, Quigley was lauded as a “strong advocate for staff, patients, and families” and “a gift” to the Pennsy community who always aims to “bring out the best in others.”
Two other ICN nurses also picked up awards, including Rebecca DeGraff, MSN, RN-NIC, who received the Lillian Brunner Award for Exemplary Practice. DeGraff has earned a reputation as an empathetic mentor for new nurses and longtime colleagues alike, and she’s always available to answer questions, offer comfort, and provide non-judgmental advice. She shows this same commitment to each quality improvement project she takes on, and she has an excellent track record of successfully implementing new practices. After DeGraff led the ICN in a cooling blanket competency education course, for example, staff reported increased comfort with the equipment and demonstrated improved performance on post-cooling debrief assessments.
ICN nurse Nicole Meyers, BSN, RN-NIC, is an inspiration for her team, always encouraging her fellow nurses to investigate questions, debrief events, and pursue excellence. Her “spirit of inquiry” earned her the Helen McClelland Award for Research and Innovation. Not only have her proposed projects improved the patient experience — such as making the discharge process more efficient and creating a process to track and decrease unplanned extubations in the neonatal population — but she has also presented her findings to help others learn from her evidence-based practices. Meyers also serves as unit council chair and as the liaison between her unit and the Clinical Effectiveness Team.
Like Meyers, Frank Visco, BSN, RN, RN-BC — the winner of the Dianne Lanham Award for Leadership — has taken on additional roles, much to the admiration of his peers. Aside from being a knowledgeable preceptor for his 6 Schiedt colleagues, Visco serves on the Nursing Shared Governance Leadership Council, chairs the Night Council, and is a member of his unit-based council, the Research and Evidence Based Practice Council, and PAH’s mentorship program. His involvement in council projects has helped improve areas ranging from the discharge process and infection prevention practices, to creating a “restful night bundle” for patients and a quarterly research newsletter for clinical nurses.
Finally, Brandi Walker, BSN, RN, CPAN, a nurse liaison on the Perianesthia Care Unit, received the Rosalyn J. Watts Award for Community/Patient/Family Relationships. Walker is beloved by her coworkers for her promotion of interdepartmental teamwork, and is a welcome and familiar face for anxious family members. She is a passionate patient advocate, and she is committed to ensuring family members feel empowered to participate in their loved one’s care. Walker has made it her mission to not only improve communication between nurses and family members, but between all staff members. Her dedicated education efforts have resulted in an improvement in the Ambulatory Patient Experience scores.
“Despite all of the recent challenges, our clinical nurses have found new and creative ways to ensure our patients are getting the best care possible while maintaining our high quality standards,” said Elizabeth Craig, DNP, RN, FACHE, chief nursing officer. “Each of the Nursing Clinical Excellence Award winners is a leader, mentor, and innovator who develops therapeutic relationships at the bedside while also elevating our nursing practice and impacting the entire nursing team. Their compassion and commitment make me so proud to be a Penn Medicine nurse.”