Nursing at West Kendall Baptist Hospital

Recognizing Excellence

With the understanding that teamwork is critical to promoting and supporting a Magnet culture of nursing excellence, the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) developed the Sunflower Award to recognize clinical partners (CP) and technicians (Tech). Since its inception, CPs and Techs have expressed gratitude for their recognition as key members of the care team. Sunflower Award winners receive a commemorative tote bag, lapel pin, certificate and statue. All nominated CPs and Techs receive a recognition letter and pin.

Addressing Emotional Wellbeing

As studies have documented the strain of the last two years on frontline nurses’ emotional wellbeing, the CNO has collaborated with the system’s resources to provide mental health support for nurses and other staff. With regularly scheduled, intentional rounding by mental health practitioners, nurses are supported in real-time, creating a robust wellness program.

Advocating for Staff Education

Jennifer Canales, MSN, RN, RNC-OB, clinical nurse on Labor and Delivery, spearheaded a program to improve breast feeding rates on the unit. Based on the evidence, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) has been shown to be optimal for mother and baby. In August 2022, Ms. Canales identified an opportunity for improvement in EBF rates by advocating for and receiving approval from nursing leadership for lactation consultants to provide lactation educational classes for the OB team. This helped give the OB team the skills and confidence to effectively promote EBF and as a result the EBF rate improved. 

Improving Health Outcomes

As part of aligning with Baptist Health’s mission to improve the health and wellbeing of the communities it serves, West Kendall Baptist Hospital offers free community health screenings. In the first half of 2023, clinical nurses, clinical partners and nurse practitioners volunteered their time to provide health screenings at nine community events at locations, including local high schools and churches and at swim safety events. 

Recognizing Nursing Excellence 

Celebrating nursing excellence increases nursing satisfaction, and in turn, improves the quality of care. Each quarter, West Kendall Baptist Hospital honors deserving nurses with the prestigious DAISY Award. Grateful patients, families and peers nominate DAISY honorees, who demonstrated clinical excellence and compassion and made a difference to their patients. In the first half of 2023, more than 150 nurses and nurse leaders were nominated for the award. Kristine Aguinaldo, BSN, RN, RN-BC, patient care manager, 3 South, received the Daisy Nurse Leader Award. Miguel Camargo, BSN, RN, clinical nurse, Emergency Department, and Javier Ballon De La Cruz, BSN, RN, clinical nurse, ICU, each received the Daisy Award for extraordinary patient care. 

Building a Culture Of Growth

By actively engaging in decision-making, nurses develop leadership skills. West Kendall Baptist Hospital established unit-based practice councils (UBPC) shortly after opening its doors in 2011. These councils have helped shape policies while providing tangible ways for nurses to grow their careers. By participating in UBPC, nurses gain experience leading teams through system improvements and presenting those projects to the larger nursing community. From 2017-2021, 18 staff members who actively participated in shared governance as UBPC officers received promotions to leadership positions. This included 14 nurses and four other interprofessional staff.

Leading in the Community

Nurse of the Year 2023 Awards were presented during Nurses Month celebrations in May. More than 50 nurses, nurse practitioners and friends of nursing were nominated for the various honors. The 2023 winners were: Jennifer Canales, Unit Clinical Nurse of the Year; Dhanya Paul, Transformational Leader of the Year; Rosemarie Schwitzer, APRN of the Year; Julia Caballero, Clinical Nurse Educator of the Year; Liset Plasencia, RN Other Role of the Year; and Nicole Boswell, Friend of Nursing of the Year.

Sandra McLean, MHSA, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, vice president and chief nursing officer of West Kendall Baptist Hospital, was recognized as one of Black America’s Best Executives and Professionals in South Florida by the Identifying, Connecting and Activating the Black Accomplished (ICABA) World Network on February 25, 2023.

Exceeding Standards

At West Kendall Baptist Hospital, the nursing culture promotes engagement and job satisfaction. The 2022 NDNQI RN Satisfaction Survey reflects this. Each participating department had a high rate of engagement and performed strongly. The overall hospital-wide Practice Environment Score (PES) and Job Satisfaction Score outperformed the NDNQI benchmark scores for similar-sized hospitals.

Outperforming Benchmarks

At West Kendall Baptist Hospital, measuring clinical excellence through performance benchmarks is a crucial way to quantify how teams meet patients’ needs. To conclude fiscal year 2022, departments earned a medal for each metric that exceeded the benchmark. The top three were recognized with Olympic medals. ICU earned gold, Obstetrics earned silver and Surgical Services earned bronze. The department with the highest medal count received a celebratory meal provided by the CNO. The program evaluated nursing excellence and celebrated those who exceeded expectations.

With the goal of streamlining processes to improve patient outcomes, West Kendall Baptist Hospital used Lean Six Sigma methodology as a framework for three projects. The initiatives, called E⁷, resulted in measurable impact on patient care.

Helping Discharged Patients

A multidisciplinary E⁷ team reviewed the HCAHPS discharge information score and recognized an opportunity for improvement. The scores revealed that patients did not always receive and understand discharge information, including when to call healthcare providers with concerns. The team developed interventions such as reviewing the teach back method, using preferred language, demonstrating how to use the patient portal and calling attention to key information of discharge paperwork by highlighting it. The results are promising as discharge information scores are trending upward. 

Responding to Patient Needs

A second E⁷ team addressed the HCAHPS responsiveness of hospital staff score. A close examination of the score showed that it was impacted by higher patient ratios, time of day and type of task with pain medication and toileting most common. Interventions included staff education, purposeful rounding as well as patient education on using the phone as opposed to the call button. The result has been an increase in purposeful rounding and improved HCAHPS scores.

Reducing Infections

The final E⁷ team examined CLABSI occurrences and noted a correlation of infection rates and a lack of bundle compliance. The team developed processes for consistent bundle performance every 12 hours, proper kit retrieval, reeducation on securing central lines and live chart audits on every shift. The initiatives successfully decreased CLABSIs. 

Sharing Expertise

West Kendall Baptist Hospital nurses continually seek to improve or enhance their nursing practice through participation in evidence-based practice or research projects. Once completed, the project outcomes are shared with other nurses throughout the industry. From January to July 2023, more than 20 nurses presented posters at three different local and state nursing conferences, including the 9th Annual Florida Nurses Association Nursing Research & Evidence-Based Practice Conference. 

Engaging the Nursing Team

Engaged and satisfied nurses are central to effective and efficient caregiving teams. Healthcare industry surveys reveal that West Kendall Baptist Hospital nurses are highly engaged and rank their job enjoyment, satisfaction and professional advancement opportunities above the national averages.

Advancing Nursing Education

Nurses with advanced education are better prepared to care for patients in an increasingly complex healthcare delivery system. More than 80 percent of our nurses hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and more than 52 percent are certified in their area of nursing specialty. In the first half of 2023, two nurses earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, two earned a Master of Science in Nursing and seven earned nursing specialty certifications.  

Enhancing Patient Satisfaction

Proof of the positive impact our nurses make in the lives of those we serve can be found in patient feedback and outcomes. Press Ganey survey results in the nursing domain ranked between 76 and 94 percent in four care specialties: med-surg, observation, OB and surgery. In addition, inpatient satisfaction ranked in the top decile at 83.4% in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS).

Delivering Quality Care 

In fiscal year 2022, West Kendall Baptist Hospital ranked in the top decile for National Quality Measures for sepsis early bundle, endoscopy screening and elective deliveries and earned NSQIP meritorious achievement in high-risk categories. It has also outperformed goal percentages for readmission rates and in nurse-sensitive indicators for falls, hospital acquired pressure injuries, percentage of nurses with BSNs or higher and percentage of nurses with certifications. This indicates the nurses’ commitment to providing national standards of care and treatment processes that are proven to reduce complications and lead to better patient outcomes.