Kenmore Mercy Hospital
Connections
News and announcements for associates, volunteers, and providers. Fall 2019
Nurses Celebrate Changing of The Guard
A Message from Walt Ludwig, President As we move into fall, I wanted to provide an update on my goals for 2019 that I noted in the spring newsletter. • Improvement in our patient experience. We have made some strides here, having gone from a score of 72.9 in 2018 to 74.1 this year. I have great confidence that the reboot of our “Picture Perfect Room” project and our white noise machines will help to further enhance our patient experience.
This past June, Cheryl W. Hayes, MS, ANP, NEABC, passed the torch to Heather Telford, MS, BSN, CEN, NEA-BC, who became the hospital’s new vice president of Patient Care Services & Chief Nursing Officer. Heather is ready to put her more than 30 years of experience in nursing and healthcare administration to use in her new position. She has been with Kenmore Mercy since 2008, first serving as nurse manager of the Emergency Department. More recently, she was the hospital’s director of Nursing since 2013. She played an integral role in the opening of a new ER in 2013 and was also a key player in the hospital achieving Magnet status and the Beacon-silver award. “We welcome Heather’s experience, leadership, and dedication to maintaining our commitment to clinical and patientcare standards,” Walt Ludwig, president of Kenmore Mercy said.
• A stronger night shift focus. Hopefully you have seen me and other members of the management team rounding more often from 7 pm – 7 am. We also opened our Kenmore Mercy Marketplace on the second floor by the chapel as an easy way for night shift associates to get a quick snack, salad, or cold drink. • Market expansion into North Tonawanda. Though still a strong part of our patient population, we have lost some market share in North Tonawanda over the past year. It will be important to refocus on this area. • Increase our orthopedic business. With our partnership with Excelsior Orthopedics, we are seeing our volumes return to 2018 levels. Thank you to all the members of our surgical team and everyone who supports this service line for your work in bringing more surgeons and more volume back to Kenmore Mercy. • Maintain a closer working relationship with labor unions. We’ve reorganized many of our working committees to try to be more effective in communicating with each other. I also participate in a monthly meeting with union leadership. • Have Fun! Hopefully you were able to participate in one of our many summer activities – Gateway Harbor concerts, food trucks, 5K races, Riviera Theatre, and Rockin’ on the River. I was very proud of the great participation we had from many associates this summer and we’ll be renewing many of these sponsorships for 2020. Thank you for your continued dedication to Kenmore Mercy Hospital and our patients. You are making a difference in all you do every day.