Folks,
Well, life certainly is an adventure. As summer sunsets, I’ve battled poison ivy, been bitten by a stray cat, swam away from bees in the creek (that could have gotten really ugly), and had my first bad crash on my bike (didn’t see that curb). This is why Paige often says she has five children, not four. Needless to say I’m not only having fun at the hospital but at home as well!
While July was about as busy as I’ve seen a hospital right in the middle of summer, August is turning out to be pretty slow. That’s not always bad as it gives us a chance to catch our breath. I was very distracted for a couple of weeks with our move from Arlington and unpacking/getting settled here, so it was great this week to get back into my routine in the hospital and get out and visit with patients, family members and of course you guys across all shifts. I want to talk about a couple of things that I think will provide good updates on some current topics that certainly were kicked around in the employee comments of the Engagement Survey this year.
First, let’s talk IV Pumps. I learned first-hand while working with the team in the ED last month that we have an IV pump issue. I questioned a couple of pumps that were sitting out in the hall. So I offered to take them down to Biomed and swap them out. They said, “Right. Good luck with that.” I tried anyway and sure enough learned that we were very short on working IV Pumps. Biomed did a great job that day to hustle and find us some, but only robbing Peter to pay Paul as the saying goes. The good news is that we’ve addressed the problem in large part due to your feedback. We have ordered ½ of the IV Pumps that we need—all brand new—and I think they will arrive in September. I have signed the paperwork to complete this process on the other ½. I know the IV Pumps are a critical piece of equipment you need to take care of your patients. As I told the surgeons yesterday at Surgery Committee, we are doing them (and you) a disservice if we settle for inferior instrumentation, equipment or supplies. While we will always have to prioritize the order in which we replace things or buy new stuff, the first step is knowing that we have a problem or there is an opportunity. So I appreciate your feedback on the Pumps. Keep the info flowing.
Second, let’s talk supplies. This sort of falls in the same category; if you don’t have the supplies you need at the right time in the right place, it really serves as a distraction when you are trying to do what you need to do in regards to patient care and service. This came through loud and clear in the engagement survey that we have room for improvement in this regard, particularly on the weekends. I’ve visited with the team on this one, and our Materials Management team has recently put together a plan, come up with some new processes and revised some old ones to take a hard look at what we stock, where we stock it and how much we stock. We’ve got to be able to get this right. Now having said that, the ownership of the process does not rest solely with Materials. Our nurses and others on the unit need to do their part to actively participate in the process and be proactive and communicative in regards to the process. Bottom line—we need to have what we need to take care of patients safely and efficiently when and where we need it—all of the time, no exceptions. We will give the Materials team some time to work through the leadership on each unit. Then in about three months, we will survey our internal customers again—specifically around supplies (probably through Survey Monkey on the Internet)—to make sure we are on track. This is too important to wait another 11 months for the next Employee Engagement Survey. We will share back w/ you those results once they are available.
Lastly, I can’t wait for our Intranet site to go live next month. We will have a Community section there, and I can tell you that we have events out in the community that we are involved with just about weekly it seems between now and Thanksgiving. I hope you will join me when you can to take part in those. Remember, we change perceptions about VVRMC one patient at a time, but we can fast track with our work in the community as folks get to know us and put a name or face with the organization well before they need our services!
Keep the Spirit,
Marc