Methodist Willowbrook Hospital News
Sheila Fata
Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer
A Week In Review–Nurses’ Week 2013 Nurses’ Week at Methodist Willowbrook Hospital is the time of the year for our hospital to recognize nurses for the many contributions they make to patient care, and for our nurses to both celebrate the profession and recognize their colleagues for professional excellence. It’s also a time for us to have some fun! Our celebration last month lived up to these expectations. Our Nurses’ Week planning committee, led by Carol LaMonica-Way, RN, MSN, OBC, organized a broad range of events, from educational activities to a spa retreat, culminating in our annual Nurse Excellence Awards which were presented at the annual Nurses Gala. I was happy to see many of you take some time to enjoy some part of the festivities! We kicked off our week with the Blessing of the Hands, a ceremony that reminds us of the impact we have as caregivers through our hands. The CNO Forums provided an opportunity for dialogue between staff nurses and myself as I answered questions that had been submitted by nursing staff – nothing was off limits! You all had some good questions! We discussed professional development opportunities for RNs and PCAs alike, pay practices, suggestions regarding improving your experiences with MethOD, and ideas about improving patient satisfaction. On Tuesday, we were fortunate to have our Magnet consultant Kathleen Stolzenberger, PhD, RN, present “Nursing 2013 and Beyond,” which she did in two “standing room only” sessions. This inspiring presentation provided a brief history of nursing’s roots and the profession’s evolution over the last forty years, and highlighted the evolving role of the nurse as we meet current health care challenges while delivering excellent patient care, supporting patient experiences, and driving the profession forward. Kathleen masterfully connected these points to the Magnet Journey and shared her philosophy of what Magnet really means to nursing – “Upholding, Excelling, Accounting, and Growing” the profession. I enjoyed the opportunity to spend time working directly with nurses during our “Walk a Mile” activity. Both myself and Beryl Ramsey, CEO, were paired with nurses in CVCU and ED for a few hours on May 7th to work side by side them. Special thanks to Tammy Herrera, BSN, RN; Nathan Way, RN; and Sherry Costigan, RN; who allowed us to shadow them! This is one of my favorite activities as I gain a new perspective on the daily work of our nurses each time I am able to do this.
Sheila Fata, CNO, and Nathan Way, RN, working during “Walk a Mile in My Shoes Day” in CVCU.
Beryl Ramsey, CEO, and Tammy Herrera, RN, work during “Walk a Mile in My Shoes Day” in ED.
Other activities scattered throughout the week included a “Retro Nurse Uniform” day and “Make Your Own Nurses Cap” day – which grew to a 3-day event given its popularity! We officially kicked off the Daisy Award program and hosted informational sessions by local schools of nursing to assist nurses in applying to BSN and MSN programs. At the end of the week, it was terrific to see so many of you at the annual Nursing Awards Gala to honor our outstanding nurses! For those of you who may have missed earlier communications, the finalists were: Outstanding Nurse Clinician - Andrea Cuneo, Cristina Dimafiles, Sheila Naustdal; Outstanding Preceptor Jill Alvarado, Heather Clesi, Tammy Shea; Outstanding Graduate Nurse - Carrie Baker, Stefani Kalousek, Shantal Mosri; Nursing Innovation - Sheelu Joseph, Nathalie Laquindanum, Denise McNulty; Nursing Leadership - Glenn Dennis, Barbara Quandt, Jodie Turner; and Nurse Champion - Nick Hough, Pat Thompson, Kardaryl Wallace. Congratulations to all of you, the winners are highlighted later in this magazine on Page 9.
Speaking of awards, I want to congratulate Lourdes Deleon, BSN, RN, CVRN-BC and Cristina Dimafiles, BSN, RN, CVRN-BC for recently being recognized as outstanding nurses by the Philippine Nurse Association-Metropolitan Houston at their annual Awards and Recognition Gala! Nurses showing off their custom made nursing caps. 6 Methodist Nurse