Post-partum OB Project Continues to Make Progress
The Post-partum OB project, one of the four ongoing Service Excellence projects at BWH, continues to make strides in improving the post-partum experience in the Connors Center for Women’s Health for mothers with newborns and their families.
Staff nurses, nurse managers, senior hospital leadership and physicians comprise the Post-partum OB Service Excellence team that continues to drive several projects, including:
• Call Light System: The team has identified three leaders in call light technology as potential vendors for the new system. Pending final selection and approval, revisions could begin to take place as soon as one year from now.
• Patient Acuity Tool: The team is taking a serious look at how patients are placed, based on acuity and working to develop tools that aid in better placement of patients overall. Currently, Miriam Trainer, RN, nurse manager, CWN 9, is working with Maureen Cunniffe, RN and other nurses to refine the patient acuity tool, which is comprised of descriptive categories from one (lowest acuity) to four (highest acuity). The tool will be rolled out to CWN 8, 9 and 10 upon completion.
• Team Approach: This team overview reporting system, under which all nurses discuss and review patient needs prior to each change of shift, has now been implemented throughout the Connors Center.
• Storkbytes: This employee newsletter continues to go out consistently.
• Commitment to Care: This care standard for all post-partum nurses is now being used as a tool to recruit new staff.
“Overall, we’ve seen an upward trend in the Press, Ganey patient satisfaction survey since the inception of the Post-partum OB Service Excellence project, which is extremely encouraging,” said Paula Gillette, RN, director of Women’s and Newborn Services at BWH, who explains that the team is also tackling several new projects. These include a single point of entry for the Connors Center (see related article, page 3) and an increased focus on customer service in the form of a “Theme of the Month” and other activities.