MidState Staffers Team Up to Win

Business New Haven
10/30/2006
by BNH

MERIDEN - A new initiative to bring health-care providers together and improve the hospital working environment has won MidState Medical Center top honors from the Connecticut Nurses' Association. The Meriden hospital won the group's Excellence in the Workplace Award for 2006 for innovations in coordinating patient care and improving quality.

Key to the hospital's strategy are two specialized teams that coordinate care. Patients at MidState are visited daily during rounds by a team consisting of a doctor, specialist, nurse, pharmacist, nutritionist and social worker.

"What we have is an opportunity to bring the disciplines together," says Linda Berger Spivack, RN, vice president of patient care services. "They're doing it collaboratively; they're face-to-face in the moment, not beeping each other and calling each other."

Because the 130-bed facility is not a teaching hospital and lacks interns and residents, the health-care team can help bring off-site physicians up to date on a patient's treatment plan, Spivack says. Family members also benefit from the approach.

"All members of the team, including the patient and family, are aware of the plan and provide input," explains Nursing Director Abbi Bruce. "This provides a more optimal transition for the patient and family throughout their hospital stay."

A second team, led by a bedside nurse, brings together nursing assistants, housekeeping and clerical staff to make sure the patient's day-to-day needs are being met.

"The nurse is the bridge; she integrates the care between those two teams," Spivack says.

MidState was also cited for a program to help cut down on workplace injuries caused by the strain of lifting patients. Staffers underwent ergonomic training and administrators spent more than $300,000 on new equipment to make patient movement safer for workers.

"As patients become more chronically ill, we're looking at how we move them from beds to chairs. It puts staff at risk," Spivack says, adding that many patients weigh more than 200 pounds. "This is an area that staff has voiced concern about."