Thank You for Your Efforts
Dear Nurse Colleague:
As we move through the months of summer, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your outstanding efforts at ensuring quality patient care during a particularly busy period of time. In a season traditionally reserved for vacations and long weekends, patient volume at BWH has been exceptionally strong and steady.
With census levels continually near full capacity, the issue of volume raises a number of important staffing issues. The hospital is working extremely hard to gauge the level of staffing necessary to meet our high standards of patient care. I am engaged in weekly meetings with Matt Van Vranken and key members of senior management to make sure that we have appropriate levels of staffing to meet patient needs. In addition there are daily reviews with the Directors of Nursing and the Nurse Administrators for specific daily requirements.
We continue to pursue active programs to help support of nursing efforts. Recruitment activities remain focused. Since January, we have hired more than 120 new nurses to help meet the ongoing needs and we are actively engaged in attracting more nursing talent to BWH. We have additionally made available a summer incentive program that provides a bonus to nurses who are interested in voluntarily taking on additional shifts over the weekend.
Of course, all of our efforts center on sustaining quality patient care. Your steadfast commitment to preserving quality care at BWH is critical and well recognized by management. We respect the work you have done to make sure that this remains our highest priority. Rest assured that we are doing everything we can to provide you with the support you need during this challenging time.
We will keep you posted on our progress at bringing top-notch new nursing talent to the hospital and our efforts to make sure appropriate staffing levels are maintained. In the meantime, please accept my warmest gratitude for your ongoing efforts.
Sincerely,
Nancy Kruger, DNSc, RN
Vice President, Patient Care Services
Chief Nursing Officer