Inside Inspira Newsletter - April 2023

April

Inspira Vineland & Mullica Hill Receive Accreditation for Bariatrics

Both Named Comprehensive Center of Excellence for Bariatric/Surgical Weight Loss

Our collective goal at Inspira is to deliver the best possible patient outcomes and experiences for the communities we serve. While delivering excellent care each and every day is our standard mode of operation, it’s a tremendous honor to be recognized among other industry leaders. We are excited to announce that not only did Inspira Medical Center Vineland earn a re-accreditation as a Comprehensive Center of Excellence for the bariatric and surgical weight loss program, but Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill has also been accredited as a Comprehensive Center of Excellence for its bariatric and surgical weight loss program.

The accreditation for both programs comes from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP®), a joint Quality Program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). To earn

the MBSAQIP designation, these programs met essential criteria for staffing, training, facility infrastructure and protocols for care, ensuring our ability to support our patients with obesity. The MBSAQIP standards ensure that our bariatric surgical patients enroll in, and receive, a high-quality multidisciplinary program, not just a surgical procedure, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success. The bariatric and surgical weight loss care teams at both Vineland and Mullica Hill should be extremely proud of this achievement. Please congratulate these teams on being recognized for the quality of care they produce every day.

Inspira Hosts “Topping Off Ceremony” at Woodbury

On March 3, Inspira hosted a “Topping Off Ceremony” celebrating the installation of the final steel beam for a building that will be the new home for our satellite emergency department and inpatient behavioral health program in Woodbury. Since last November, Inspira has been executing upon its multi-phased, multi-year construction and redevelopment project on our Woodbury campus; construction of the new building is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.

“With the move of our satellite emergency department and an inpatient behavioral health

program to a brand-new facility, we will be better able to meet the growing health care needs of the community,” said Warren E. Moore, FACHE, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Our community depends on us, and we want those we serve to know that we have the facilities, resources and expertise to provide them with high-quality and compassionate care when they need it most.”

The $71 million redevelopment project includes the recent consolidation of services on the campus into a newly remodeled medical office building and family medicine center; the construction of a

Continued on page 3

Eat, Sleep, Console

Inspira Marks OneYear Anniversary of Utilizing Method

In February, Inspira marked the one-year anniversary of utilizing the Eat Sleep Console (ESC) method. The opioid epidemic in the United States has resulted in an increased number of drug-exposed infants who are at risk for developing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Historically, these infants have been treated with the introduction and slow weaning of pharmaceuticals. ESC focuses on the comfort and care of these infants by maximizing nonpharmacologic methods, increasing family involvement in the treatment of their infant, or "as needed" use of morphine.

In the last year, 41 babies have been treated with this method at Inspira; as a result, 39 of those babies have been able to completely avoid pharmaceutical treatment. This method resulted in the prevention of more than 350 days of NICU stay for these babies.

“A hospital isn’t the best place for a baby’s development,” said Ashish Gupta, M.D., chief of Neonatology from Nemours Children's Health at Inspira Medical Centers Vineland and Mullica Hill. “Our philosophy centers around the family’s participation in their newborn’s care. The ESC method is beneficial because the infants can stay with their families and go home sooner with much less exposure to medication. I’m proud to say none of the children we’ve treated with the ESC method have required a readmission within 30 days of discharge.”

Continued from page 2

new state-of-the-art facility that will house the 24,900 square-foot 19-bed satellite emergency department and 21,500-square-foot 20-bed inpatient behavioral health center; and a new EMS station.

Pictured: The Maternity team at Inspira Mullica Hill celebrate the one-year anniversary of utilizing the Eat Sleep Console method.

Inspira Health employees, along with state, county and municipal officials, signed the final steel beam at the Topping Off Ceremony on Inspira Health’s Woodbury campus. Click here to view more photos from this event.

DAIS Y Award Winners

DAISY Nurse Leader Lucy Torres, MSN, PMH-BC, Nurse Manager, Adult Mental Health Unit, Bridgeton

“When Lucy became manager of the Adult Mental Health Unit, our unit was in turmoil. Lucy created a positive work environment with an open-door policy. She encouraged staff to work at our differences and become a more cohesive unit. She promotes the positive image of mental health nursing within Inspira. She encourages nurses and staff to engage in IHN councils to promote a more positive attitude towards mental health. Our unit is so well run now that we have completed several research projects (IRB approved) and have won the Betty Neuman and Research Council award twice! Lucy cares for her staff and encourages us to go above and beyond, creating a better work environment for nurses and staff. Lucy’s leadership has led to positive staff and patient outcomes. She leads by example and encourages staff to do the same. We now have a Zen Den, coffee bar, belongings bins, daily huddles, birthday recognitions, holiday events, and we give back to the community such as the M25 initiative where staff moved a mental health patient into a new apartment and donated houseware items. We participated in delivering Thanksgiving dinner to the elderly, Out of the Darkness Walk, Macy’s closet (donated clothes for our patients), and we have a daily prize cart to encourage group participation. The list goes on!” -

Coworker

Minh Thu Cole, R.N., Surgical Acute, Vineland

“Minh Thu always goes above and beyond for all of her patients. She has shown multiple acts of kindness. There is never a shift where she is not a team player and strong patient advocate. She not only assists with her patients but with their family members. For example, a patient's family member could not afford lunch. She offered them money and paid for their lunch so they could eat with their family member. This act of kindness was unprompted. She showed this family that there are still good people left in this world. She treats everyone as if they are her own family. Her empathetic, compassionate, and knowledgeable care always provides a welcoming and safe environment to all the patients that she takes care of. She truly is the definition of a Daisy Nurse.” - Coworker

DAIS Y Award Winners

Jonathan Whitelam, R.N., Intensive Care Unit, Mullica Hill

“My father and I would like to thank Jonathan from the ICU. My father was placed in the ICU due to a GI bleed. It was a very touch and go situation since he is 88 years old and a dialysis patient with AFIB who had just had a stroke a few weeks before. All the nurses and doctors in the ICU were wonderful, but my dad really bonded with Jonathan. His very calm demeanor made him feel confident that he was safe. He was very reassuring and patient with both of us. I was able to relax when I knew he was taking care of my dad. He worked the night shift, so I was able to go home and actually sleep peacefully. My father’s condition was embarrassing to him, but Jonathan treated him like it was no big deal. He treated him with respect and helped preserve my dad’s dignity by treating him like a man. My dad called him “his buddy”. Nothing was ever too much trouble for Jonathan. He spent time explaining things to me so I could understand what was going on and when he said he was going to do something he did it and we came to really trust him. I thank him for his patience, calmness, empathy, diligence, and skill. He is one amazing nurse.” – Patient’s Family Member

Desiree Wean, R.N.,

Emergency Department, Elmer

“I came into the Elmer emergency room with severe difficulty breathing. An emergency department can seem very impersonal and daunting, especially when one is struggling with a health issue like this. Now, due to ongoing health issues, I have had to go the emergency room more times than most and the emergency staff is always efficient and pleasant enough, but when one is anxious or scared that efficient manner can seem very impersonal. Nurse Desiree was on duty and from the beginning she had a way that made me feel like I was the only patient she had to attend to, which of course was not the case. She went out of her way to explain everything that was being done and she did little extra things like making sure I had enough blankets, water, and even something to eat as I had not eaten that day. Now I know the ER nurses all do those little things, but it was her friendly and funny way of being available. I feel like she was a friend and not just a nurse doing her duty. Her infectious good nature was so comforting.” - Patient

Petal Award Winners

Brittany Beach-Gandy, Unit clerk, 3 West Observation, Mullica Hill

“There is no more important individual to any medical unit than the unit secretary. Throughout the day, Brittany answers calls from physicians, family members, and other units within the hospital. Between those calls, the call bells are ringing with patient requests and calls for help. Brittany helps with patient charts, faxes, and files - she truly is a manager’s right-hand for making copies and researching anything anyone needs. She is the first face you see on the unit. She greets family members coming for a visit, ambulance transporters picking up or delivering a patient, transporters within the hospitals, and although she may get busy, her smile makes you feel comfortable and it never fades. She, and all those sitting in her seat and accomplishing tasks of the unit secretary, are jack of all trades and are most definitely the most important people we tend to overlook.” -

Coworker

Holly Gilliard, Patient care tech, Nursing Pool, Vineland

“Holly was exceptional with a very difficult patient. She was the best 1:1 aide I had in three days for this patient. She kept him engaged and calm throughout the entire shift. The patient connected with her so easily and effortlessly. She spoke to the patient with respect and treated him so kindly, which is exactly what he needed. She was able to notice right away when he was becoming upset and was able to speak to him and redirect him in a way that the patient had forgotten why he was upset in the first place. She is truly amazing and exceptional with the care she provides to her patients!” - Coworker

Debbie Nichols, Respiratory therapist, Cardiopulmonary, Elmer

“A patient came in to give Debbie a card and candy as a thank you! Debbie was previously going to do a diagnostic breathing test on this patient but couldn’t when his condition was contraindicated for medical reasons. Instead of sending him home and rescheduling him for testing, she looked further into his situation. His follow-up appointment was scheduled for at least a month out. Debbie was able to contact an Inspira practice and worked with them to see the patient much sooner. The patient went to that appointment and was diagnosed with cancer and was able to receive treatment with no delay. Debbie goes out of her way to listen to patients and provide them with a compassionate experience. She is the best!” - Coworker

Inspira Health Foundation Philanthropic Projects & Initiatives

As a highly reliable organization, Inspira is committed to providing our patients with the full continuum of care, but philanthropy enables us to do MORE. It allows us to go above and beyond to address the health care needs of patients in our region.

Contributions to Inspira Health Foundation help to create programs and services that support our patients, advance cutting-edge technology, and fund facility enhancements to enrich the health and wellness of our community. Together through philanthropy, we were able to support projects and initiatives such as these in 2022:

• Adult Activity Books for Patients at Guest Services in Inspira Medical Centers Mullica Hill, Vineland, and Elmer – The Foundation funded an assortment of activity books, coloring books, and colored pencils to have when patients contact Volunteer/Guest Services requesting something to do.

• Bereavement Resources Available Network-wide – Contributed to the newly developed bereavement packets to be given to families of those who pass in one of our facilities.

• Furniture for the Zen Den Outside the Deborah F. Sager Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Inspira Medical Center Vineland – The implementation of mindful meditation and opening of a meditation room has improved this unit’s patient interactions and decreased their errors. This can also be measured in our employee engagement scores as staff have been asking for a meditation room.

• Giraffe Infant Incubator at Maternal Child Health at Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill – These isolette beds enable our clinicians to provide care for infants while maintaining the baby’s body temperature. There was only one of these giraffe beds in the unit. Funding another one allows the team to provide more of this quality care to infants.

• Simulab Central Venous Catheterization in the Training Model Emergency Department at Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill – This equipment provides enhanced training tools for emergency department medical residents, allowing them to train on and earn certification in autonomous central line placement. This expedites care when time is critical and enhances the level of care our physicians are able to provide to the community we serve.

• Sponge Detection Initiative for ORs and Labor & Delivery Units at Inspira Medical Centers Mullica Hill, Vineland, and Elmer – Acquired new technology that assists with the elimination of retained sponges, a constant concern nationwide in all surgical areas. This technology allows patients to be scanned prior to closing the surgical site to provide confirmation that all sponges have been removed from the surgical site.

Thank you to our donors for supporting projects and initiatives such as these! To learn how your project or idea can be supported with Foundation funds, visit Inspira Health Foundation’s page on InspiraNet. Click here to view more photos of Foundation initiatives.

Pictured: The Maternity team at Inspira Medical Center Vineland celebrate the opening of the “Zen Den” outside the Deborah F. Sager Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Pictured are adult activity/coloring books for patients requesting something to do.

LearningBoards

Workplace Violence Team

Melissa Jones, director of Workplace Violence shared, “At the beginning of the New Year, we knew how important it was to renew and re-center our focus on creating and maintaining a safe work environment. As a health system we have a responsibility to our staff, as well as every patient and visitor that enters our walls; but each of us, as employees, are also responsible for the safety and wellbeing of ourselves, and others. One of the main ways we can hold ourselves accountable is through increased situational awareness – in which we are each aware of our surroundings at all times and any potential hazards. Preventing tailgating became a top priority, and our Workplace Violence Committee kickstarted a campaign around tailgating. Once the campaign launched, our Workplace Violence Team placed this as a sticky note in the New (red) section of the Learning Board, and we are excited to have placed it in the Solved (green) section of the Learning Board when our winners of the campaign around tailgating were selected.”

The campaign winners were Alexis McAllister, manager, Patient Relations, and Jennifer Carey, manager, Patient Relations. Their creative campaign slogan/ tagline and design concept will be utilized on signage across the organization, as well as during presentations and conversations about situational awareness and employee safety.

If you have any questions regarding Workplace Violence, please email Melissa Jones, director of Workplace Violence at wpv@ihn.org

Does your team use your department Learning Board effectively? Is there a Learning Board item that your department completed and would like to highlight? Email your Learning Board stories to Katy Perez (PerezK@ihn.org) for a chance to be featured!

Alexis McAllister, Manager of Patient Relations and Jennifer Carey, Manager of Patient Relations, who recently won the Tailgating Campaign contest.

Workplace Violence Prevention Month

April is National Workplace Violence Month, which is dedicated toward raising awareness of workplace violence prevention. As health care workers, we are more targeted by violence than any other profession. This fact, coupled with feedback from employees regarding their safety in past employee engagement surveys, prompted the institution of our Workplace Violence Program back in 2021. Though a few years into our program, this National Workplace Violence Month, we want to reiterate the background of the program, its importance and any resources you may need to continue to keep yourself, your patients and your colleagues safe.

What constitutes as workplace violence?

Workplace violence can take a number of forms, including physical violence, physical assault or threatening behavior, and can be experienced in a variety of ways, such as colleague-colleague, domestic violence, employee-patient, and more.

What is the goal of the Workplace Violence Program?

The goal of our program is to provide a safer environment for our staff, patients, and visitors by mitigating (or controlling) acts of violence within our facilities.

How do I report events?

Employees should report every safety event through RL6, as well as notify their immediate supervisor; when submitting a Workplace Violence event, please be sure to include reference of that (e.g., workplace violence, WPV) within the report, along with identifying the patient/visitor/staff involved, and clear details about the event (including direct quotes, if relevant to the incident).

Who can I go to for help?

Staff are encouraged to call, TEAMs or email the Workplace Violence Team if they have any questions or concerns surrounding Workplace Violence. Either Melissa Jones, Director of Workplace Violence Prevention Program ( JonesM5@ihn.org ); Lauren Nash-Mitchell, Program Manager and covering Bridgeton, Vineland and Elmer (NashMitchellL@ihn.org ); or Justin Rodriguez (rodriguezj4@ihn.org ) covering Mullica Hill and Woodbury, will be glad to field your query.

Pictured are members of Inspira’s Workplace Violence Prevention team. Clockwise from top center: Melissa Jones, director of Workplace Violence; Justin Rodriguez, program manager; Monica Rodriguez, department secretary; and Lauren Nash-Mitchell, program manager.

HRO Learning Series

Beginning in April, Inspira will be offering a 16-week HRO Learning Series for those interested in deepening their understanding of our HRO values and tools and honing their skills. The series will be facilitated by John Rodriguez, senior manager, Strategic Consulting at Press Ganey and Katy Perez, associate project manager of Quality & Patient Safety, along with Inspira Leaders and Safety Coaches that have placed our Value of “Reliability” at the core of all they do.

Session Highlights

• These weekly, optional, individual sessions are for all Inspira leaders and Safety Coaches that can be attended independently, or as an entire series

• Sessions feature a one-day interactive session, followed by a one-day office session allowing for presenters and attendees to continue with hands-on learning and work as a team

• Inspira Leaders and Safety Coaches will share the day-in and day-out practice and integration of high reliability tones, tools, behaviors and practices into Inspira’s organizational design and operations

• Topics will include Speak Up for Safety with Event Reporting and Cause Analysis: Risk Management; ARCC, The Action before the Escalation: Infection Control; Patient Experience & Relations; Clinical Transformation Team Leading the way to Zero Harm; Being Present for your Patients, Team and Yourself: Mindfulness and High Reliability; and many more.

• Please check your email for more information on this learning series or contact Katy Perez (perezk@ihn.org) with any questions.

Dress in Blue Day

National Dress in Blue Day® Celebrated at Inspira on March 3

Inspira employees supported Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month by wearing blue on National Dress in Blue Day® on March 3. By participating, departments from across the network encouraged everyone to learn about the causes of colon cancer, screenings, and raise a general awareness about the disease. Click here to view more photos from Dress in Blue Day.

Pictured: Staff from Cancer Services and Radiation Oncology at Inspira Vineland participate in Dress in Blue Day.