2 minute read
Battery Evaluation and Impact on Nursing - 2022 Magnet Abstract
from Within REACH
Battery Evaluation and Impact on Nursing - 2022 Magnet Abstract
Adam Church ASN, RN, CCRN; Donna Bond DNP, RN, CCNS, AE-C, CTTS, FCNS; Sara Wohlford RN, MPH; Tonja Locklear PhD, Marina Sotelo M. Eng, MA Ed; Kimberly Carter RN, PhD, NEA-BC; Sean McGinnis PhD
Advertisement
Purpose:
Identify the 9-volt battery (Ultralife® Lithium (UL), Energizer® Lithium (EL), or Energizer® Alkaline (EA) with the longest life cycle for inpatient telemetry modules to reduce the number of batteries and low battery alarms with attention to cost and environmental impact.
Relevance/Significance:
When new telemetry modules were initiated at our organization, the number of battery changes increased significantly. This resulted in a surge in phone calls to the units from the virtual center requiring frontline staff to redirect their focus from patient care to change batteries. There was also an increase in low battery alarms contributing to alarm fatigue. The issues surrounding battery life introduced patient safety concerns and a need to identify potential solutions.
Strategy/Implementation/Methods:
This IRB-determined quality improvement project examined data sets for 15 adult patients who had a projected length of stay (LOS) of greater than 5 days in a progressive care unit. The sample size was sufficient for statistical power using the Kruskal-Wallis test and descriptive statistics. Data collection included battery type, time battery was placed and removed, telemetry module number, and patient physiological parameters. The average monthly battery cost was calculated by adding the number of monthly batteries and median salary of the Registered Nurse and the Virtual Monitor Technician. Staff installed batteries in a set order and recorded the begin and end times.
Evaluation/Outcomes/Results:
Battery life of EA was 16.4 hours, EL was 27.4 hours, and UL was 40.8 hours. Using the unit monthly mean LOS of 144 hours, with 100 patients per month, it was determined that 900 EA, 600 EL, and 400 UL batteries would be used per month. Median time for staff to change a battery was 3.57 minutes. The average monthly battery cost was $1977 for EA, $4107 for EL, and $2191 for UL. The UL battery is $214 a month higher but saves 30 hours a month of staff time and results in 500 fewer low battery alarms. Lowering the interruption frequency of critical and vigilance tasks decreases probability for errors as well as environmental waste by 600 batteries.
Conclusions/Implications for Practice:
Monthly, UL costs $214 more but results in 30 hours saved staff time and 500 less low battery alarms. Lowering the interruption of critical and vigilance tasks decreases probability for errors and environmental waste by 600 batteries. More study is needed to examine impact with shorter LOS.
Acknowledgements:
The authors acknowledge the support of Beth Assenat and Emily Sullivan for the administrative assistance, John LaCoy and Jordan Ashby for technical support, Iona Holland BSN, RN, Case Manager, Christina Dehart, 8MPCU staff.
*Batteries used for this study were supplied by Carilion Clinic and General Electric
