Making a Difference

 

Each and every day our dedicated and passionate employees make a difference in the lives of our patients, visitors, and colleagues. We would like to highlight some of those stories. If you have a colleague you would like to recognize, please send the employee's name and how he or she made a difference to slhrounds@saint-lukes.org.

I wanted to drop a quick note to tell you about the amazing care and teamwork displayed last Friday in the care of a dying patient and her family. A young mother was passing away in CVICU, and she had a 12-year-old daughter who was obviously struggling to say goodbye.

Heather Boyd, the R.N. taking care of the patient, had read that allowing a child to paint the mother's nails can be a good way for the child to say goodbye and have a pleasant last memory with her mother. Boyd, along with the CVICU staff, went on a mission to find nail polish before the mother passed away. They called several departments and asked anyone they came in contact with for help. Sherise Martin, R.D., was able to bring a bottle of nail polish, and housekeeper Felicia Littlejohn was able to find a multi-color pack of polishes to bring to the daughter just in time. The daughter painted each of her mother's fingernails a different color because she said "Mom would think this is fun."

Because of the efforts of all of these employees, the patient's daughter was able to spend her last moments with her mother making a loving memory. I was very proud of the actions displayed by all our employees involved.

- Emily Beerman

House Supervisor

top

top

We need 5,000 "likes" by June 15, and the SLHS Marketing Department would like you to be one of them! SLHS employs nearly 10,000 people. This goal is easily reached if the entire system clicks the 'like' button. Spread the word with your family and friends and help make the SLHS Facebook page a success! Click here to visit the SLHS Facebook page. 

top

Good Friday Chef's Special

Grilled catfish tacos served with corn salsa, only $4.99!

top

New yellow socks identify patients at high risk for falling

Yellow is the color of sunshine, spring, daffodils, and patients identified as a higher than usual risk for falling while in the hospital. Several years ago, yellow was adopted as the color to signify patients who nursing staff identified as being at a high risk for falling.

Currently, a yellow armband that says FALL RISK identifies these patients. Very soon, at-risk patients will also wear yellow non-slip socks. The socks can be more easily seen than the armband by hospital staff members. All employees should be prepared to assist any patient wearing a yellow armband or yellow socks. These yellow alerts are an easily recognized warning that the patient will need assistance with ambulation and may have a history of falls, dizziness, balance problems, fatigability, or confusion about their current surroundings.

Please join the Falls Prevention Committee and the Department of Nursing in our quest to eliminate patient falls.

top

Saint Luke's receives honor for improvements in language interpretation services

Saint Luke's Hospital was recognized with a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "Bright Spot" award for its efforts in the area of language interpretation.

SLH won the award for its project entitled "Language Quality Improvement Collaborative" and was recognized for making a number of improvements in its system for collecting patient language preferences, identifying limited English proficient (LEP) patients, and educating patients about the availability of interpreter services. As a result, the hospital increased its utilization of interpreters and its identification of the need for interpreters at admission and discharge from 33 percent to more than 92 percent in one year.

"It's very important to determine a patient's need for interpreters at admission, so that patients and caregivers are aware and more likely to use them during the stay," said Michael Weaver, M.D., vice president of clinical diversity for Saint Luke's Health System. "Discharge is a critical time as well so that we can make sure patients understand their care and are less likely to have medication errors after they leave or require readmission to the hospital."

Based on their involvement and key roles in the project, the hospital recognized Joyce Kinney, director of Patient and Professional Advocacy and Interpreter Services, and Jackie Bartlett, manager of Interpretive Services. Dr. Weaver led the project for Saint Luke's.

The language project also involved improving the system for collecting data on preferred spoken language. For instance, as data was discovered about providers who weren't utilizing interpreters for patients, those providers could be made aware of the importance of using the service to increase utilization. Other tools included the use of visual door reminders on patient room doors to prompt care teams of the need for an interpreter.

"I would like to thank Joyce, Jackie, and all of my colleagues who worked so hard on this project," said Dr. Weaver. "Their contributions were extremely important to patients and to our ability to deliver the best care and improve patient safety and quality."

top

Incident reporting on CS Stars

When you turn on the news, flip on the radio, or open up a newspaper, you're trying to find out what happened, who did it, and where and when it happened. Good incident reporting using CS Stars is no different. The Medication Safety Team wants you to know that the medication incident reports you provide are dispatches from the front lines of patient care that help the team understand the who, what, when, where, and why of a medication process breakdown at SLH.

Your medication-related incident reports are reviewed by the Medication Safety Team on a monthly basis for trends, quality, patient safety issues, and for any process breakdowns in the medication use process. Representatives from Nursing, Pharmacy, Quality, and Administration combine their knowledge and expertise to develop and implement education and/or process changes.

The more information you can provide the team - the who, what, when, where, and why of the incident - the better they will be able to understand what took place and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

CS Stars is the Saint Luke's Health System's new incident reporting system. The next time you have an incident to report, help us as we try to help you. Remember those elements of good reporting: who, what, when, where, and why.

top

Information security awareness

Visual privacy, shoulder surfing, and privacy filters

As technology advances, so do the terms to describe privacy considerations and nosy behavior...Have you ever been on an airplane and were able to read someone's laptop while they were working? Eavesdropping on someone else's data transactions is called "shoulder surfing," and it is your responsibility to prevent others from seeing what you are working on especially in public places. In the world of HIPAA, when you are accessing patient information and a bystander sees the same information, it could be interpreted as a HIPAA violation.

Our human tendency is to depend on high-tech methods to protect our electronic information such as health records. However, we sometimes overlook the human factor such as inattention to our surroundings, especially in public areas, by not paying attention to bystanders and assuming our computer will take care of the privacy. When working with sensitive protected health information (PHI), you need to be continually aware of who is around you and what you have on the screen. You may need to change what is on your screen, adjust your monitor's position, and take measures to protect data that is not for "public eyes." This is a real threat - as we deploy more and more solutions on mobile devices, the risk of exposure to "shoulder surfing" incidents increases.

One solution that SLHS has implemented within our facilities is the use of privacy filters. These filters adhere to the screen and assist in making it harder for others to read what is on the screen when not directly in front of it. You can also use privacy filters on smart phones and tablets. It is considered a violation of SLHS policy to remove the filters currently in place. Attempting to remove the filters will cause damage to the SLHS computer screens. If you need to share your screen with others, it is recommended that you find a system that does not have a privacy filter attached.

Considerations for protecting the visual privacy of data:

• Use of privacy filters - in use today on targeted systems within our facilities
• Be aware of your surroundings!
• Use systems in low-traffic areas
• Don't walk away without locking screens or logging off
• Use screensavers
• Change position of monitor/laptop
• Close lid of laptop (if no other method is available)

If you currently have a requirement to protect monitors in high-traffic areas and would like more information about privacy filters, please contact the Client Support Center at ishelp@saint-lukes.org or call 816-251-9999.

top

Eat right, your way, every day!

March is National Nutrition Month. This month, challenge yourself to "eat right, your way, every day." Do you have questions about nutrition? Have you ever considered consulting a dietitian for nutrition guidance? The SLHS health plan covers 100 percent of the cost associated with your visit with a registered dietitian. Dietitians can give you personally tailored advice on how nutrition can help manage or prevent a chronic disease, help you set up a personalized weight loss program, or provide guidance on specific dietary needs. Click here to find the phone number to set up an appointment with your registered dietitian.

Want to learn more? Go to the My Wellness Matters webpage located on the Employee eLink, or email mywellnessmatters@saint-lukes.org.

top