Nadin Knippschild, MSN, RN-BC, Editor
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November 2012
There’s a new team in town ... the Sepsis Team.
submitted by Lou Turnipseed
CVMC has a newly formed group of professionals to promote quality care and improve patient outcomes. In response to a call from CVMC’s Patient Care Committee, the sepsis team, an inter-disciplinary group of healthcare providers from various areas within hospital, recently began its work throughout the organization. The team’s objective is to develop an evidence-based process to detect, diagnose, and treat sepsis with the overarching goal of decreasing the mortality rate related to the medical emergency of sepsis.
Although just formed, the sepsis team has already accomplished a lot. The team has evaluated CVMC’s sepsis bundle and conferred with other hospitals regarding their protocols and practices related to sepsis prevention, detection, and management. A chart review tool has been developed to identify sepsis and address the implementation of a sepsis bundle with its subsequent interventions (such as drawing lactic acid levels, evaluating Mean Arterial Pressures [MAPs], etc.). The team also is investigating the use of a sepsis alerting mechanism that would warn specific individuals when a patient exhibits certain sepsis parameters.
The sepsis team’s focus will initially be in the ED and CCU. The team hopes to heighten healthcare providers’ awareness about sepsis as nurses’ and doctors’ vigilance is the key to proactive utilization of best practice to improve patient outcomes.
Currently the sepsis team consists of Joelle Calloway, Michelle Mace, Dr. Wheaton Williams (Infectious Disease), Sarah Bailey, Ann Moore, Sandy Beckler, Monica Jack, Maureen Driscoll, Lisa Wike, Stephanie Chapman, Tina Eckerd, Melanie Lutz, and Sheri Combs. §
Specialty Certifications
Bradley Morgan, BSN, RN, CCRN, Resource Coordinator CCU/Tele, successfully completed the Critical Care Registered Nurse Certification Exam.
Juree Lytton, BSN, RN, OCN, Infusion Center, has successfully passed the Oncology Certification Nurse Exam.
Doris Goff, MSN, RN, PCCN, Telemetry, successfully completed the Progressive Care Certification Nurse Exam.
Congratulations to Bradley, Juree, and Doris on their achievements!
Other Achievements
Kudos to the Orthopedic Unit! Not only has the unit been able to achieve continuous Top-box performance for patient satisfaction for several months in a row, the Orthopedic Unit has also achieved 100% orthopedic specialty certification for eligible nurses. Congratulation to the Ortho-Team! §
My Half Marathon Experience
by Susan Bumgarner
On October 14th, I had an experience of a lifetime. I traveled to San Francisco, California (my 1st trip to CA) to participate in an event sponsored by Nike to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This was a “women’s-only event” with over 26,000 women registered. My daughter and sister were with me and we worked together as a team to raise over $10,000. Many of CVMC employees supported my efforts with donations and many, many encouraging words. Little did I realize how much that support would carry me through the most grueling and challenging experience of my life. Over $10 million was raised by the 26,000 women involved…what a miracle!
I trained hard all summer. It was awesome to lineup with 26,000 women in downtown San Fran to begin the run…very powerful and moving. As we started, the fog was so thick that we could not see the bay or Golden Gate Bridge as we ran along the coast. The hills were straight up and forever long…taking us above the fog. I set two goals for this challenge: run the entire 13.1 miles and finish in less than 2.5 hours. Not really sure why I set these goals but it kept me focused to keep my head up and my feet moving.
As I approached the finish line, my leg muscles were screaming but my heart was bursting with joy…first to see the finish line!! And second, to see all the people who were there to support our efforts … cancer survivors, family and friends of survivors and everyone who is ever touched by cancer.
My message to you is take a challenge, push yourself, prove something and do it for a great cause. “The woman who started the run, is not the same woman who finished”.
PS-I reached both my goals. My finish time was 2 hours 15 minutes and I finished in the top 25%. §
Sheri Combs, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, Surgical Hospitalist Nurse Practitioner
submitted by Lisa Wike
Sheri is a board certified family nurse practitioner who took on the newly created role of Surgical Hospitalist Nurse Practitioner at CVMC in October 2011. Sheri serves as an “in-house” provider for surgical patients who are admitted through the emergency department. In this role, she makes rounds daily on surgical patients throughout the hospital and facilitates the transition from admission to peri-operative care and ultimately to their home setting. “I am here at the hospital, so it is easy for the nurses to reach me quickly. I can admit patients and have them ready for surgery or discharge patients while the surgeon is in the operating room or at the office which makes the process quicker and easier for everyone.”
Sheri graduated with her ADN from CVCC in 1998 and her BSN from UNCG in 2005. She completed her Master’s Degree in the Science of Nursing with concentration in family nurse practitioner from Winston-Salem State in 2008 and received board certification as a family nurse practitioner from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). She lives in Bethlehem with her husband and three children. In her spare time, Sheri enjoys reading and traveling with her family.
Sheri has been impressed with CVMC's commitment to staff education. “As a student, we have EBP drilled into us, but this is the only facility that has made it a standard and dedicated the resources for staff to use it. When we use what has been proven to work based on research, we are giving the highest quality care.” Sheri commends CVMC for supporting Advanced Practice Nurses and realizing the impact they make on patient care and satisfaction. §
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