It isn’t enough for a hospital to grow by simply adding more walls and beds; administrators around the state are realizing that education, patient care and a knowledgeable staff are essential components of a successful health care system.
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| Arkansas’s hospitals are implementing programs completing expansions for the health of residents. |
As Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff has integrated the Eclipsys electronic medical records system over the past several years, nurses have played an increasingly vital role in the development and implementation of the program. Not only have nurses learned an entirely new skill set through utilization of the program, but a number of nurses have been re-assigned to the Clinical Informatics and Clinical Applications department, where they have learned to develop, configure and teach computer programs to serve the specific needs of JRMC. This new role for nurses at JRMC continues to grow and develop, and will offer more and more opportunities in the coming years.
JRMC’s commitment to advanced technology is also being recognized on a national level. Nurses and administrators from hospitals around the U.S. are visiting JRMC to see how the Eclipsys system is used. The hospital has also been recognized by HIMSS (Health care Information and Management System Society) Analytics as a Stage 6 facility for implementation of the program. There are less than 50 hospitals in the United States which have attained this status, and JRMC is the only one in tArkansas to do so.
Planning ahead
Dr. Sue McLarry, the chair of the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Arkansas State University, believes the demand for “all health professionals” will continue to grow in the future. To meet this continued need, the university’s College of Nursing and Health Professions recently moved to the newly opened Donald W. Reynolds Center for Health Sciences building.
The “fantastic growth” of the university’s nursing program fueled the need for the 50,000-square-foot facility, says Susan Hanrahan, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professionals.
“Our college had grown tremendously and we were out of space,” she says.
The new building doubles the square footage available for the health care programs, and houses the general nursing center, complete with simulation rooms, laboratories and classrooms.
The facility also includes a speech and hearing clinic and the Beck Pride Center for America’s Wounded Veterans. The second floor features a 104-seat auditorium and a 45-station computer lab, while the stimulation labs are located on the third floor.
The expansion offers students greater opportunities for learning before they begin caring for patients in a clinical setting.
“It’s a very exciting time at ASU,” Dr. McLarry says.
Stroke Center of Excellence
The CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System Stroke Team wants you to be aware of a new campaign to help recognize stroke systems. It’s called Act F.A.S.T., and it was developed by the National Stroke Association. F=Face - Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop? A=Arm - Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? S=SPEECH - Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Does the speech sound slurred or strange? T=TIME - If you observe any of these signs, call 911 immediately!
The program is part of an effort by the CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System’s Stroke Team Committee and Stroke Response Team members to enhance our methods of caring for acute stroke patients.
The 6 South nursing unit is a dedicated Stroke Unit, working to optimize patient care. It’s all part of a plan to maximize long-term outcomes, ultimately making CHRISTUS St. Michael a Stroke Center of Excellence.
The hospital is also equipped with a team of dedicated therapy professionals to help stroke patients gain back their independence. Treatment is supplemented with a continuing Stroke Support Group that meets on the second Thursday of each month at the CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital’s Woodland Café.
Meeting demands of the future
Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is seeing a surge in student enrollment, whether on campus or online.
Rebecca Burris, Ph.D. RN, is head of the nursing department and chair of the university’s masters program. She says a lot of students are returning to college.
“Many already have a degree but want to further their education,” she says.
In response to the demand, her department is now offering a 30-hour registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing degree, also known as RN-to-BSN at the university.
“It’s completely online,” Burris says.
That means a student who has a job can complete the class work at home when its convenient and do clinicals at the local hospital—where students often work.
By offering nurses a chance to build upon their education, Burris says, “this will have a positive impact on Arkansas’s health care in the future.”
It would take something on the scale of a terrorist attack or the threat of a pandemic flu to bring emergency management to the forefront of public consciousness. But in response to a growing need, ATU offers a nursing program designed to prepare students who are planning to enter health care administration, leadership or emergency management.
New technology at work
White River Medical Center (WRMC) in Batesville recently announced the addition of digital mammography, and is now able to offer women the latest in imaging technology. For those who travel to central Arkansas for the procedure, it offers convenience and personal service one would expect from Arkansas.
Digital mammography has superior image quality and allows the radiologist to magnify, adjust and change the contrast of an image while reading it. By using digital imaging, instead of conventional film, radiologists can better analyze an image and focus on areas of concern.
“As a regional hospital, our goal is to bring the latest technology, such as digital mammography or the da Vinci Surgical System, to the community where people live, says the hospital’s chief nursing officer Dede Strecker, RN, MSN.
Also, the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville is offering a LPN (licensed practical nurse) to RN (registered nurse) degree that is benefiting WRMC’s personnel.
“We’re a clinical site and feel like this degree program will help us raise the percentage of RNs compared to the number of LPNs we have,” says the hospital’s inpatient rehab director Michelle Bishop. Classes are available online.
Healing more than hearts
Conway Regional’s Wound Healing Center, specializing in the treatment and healing of chronic wounds, opened last year.
The wound center treats chronic wounds and non-responsive conditions and offers hospital-based outpatient wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. These wounds are caused by diabetes, circulatory disease, radiation burns, and other conditions. The center serves as an adjunct to the care provided in the physician’s office.
Physicians practicing in the Wound Healing Center have had specialized training in wound healing, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy. They are experts in treating diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, venous ulcers, and various other wounds.
The center treated 54 active patients in August with three regularly undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Conway Regional Wound Healing Center is a National Healing Corporation Wound Center, which has earned The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification for wound care.
“We chose National Healing Corporation as our partner because the specialized expertise they bring to our Wound Healing Center makes us a better partner for physicians in caring for your patients,” says Jim Lambert, Conway Regional president and CEO.
Back to the future
Starting with the spring 2010 semester, Baptist Health Schools Little Rock School of Nursing (BHSLR-SN) will offer an accelerated track program for licensed practical nurses (LPN) or paramedics to pursue a registered nurse (RN) degree. It will blend traditional classroom face-time with online classes.
“It’s a hybrid option,” says Baptist Health Schools of Little Rock enrollment coordinator Melissa Jackson.
During the first semester, the college’s online courses will be limited to 20 students and there will be no additional fees for hybrid courses at this time.
“It will allow students who already have the basic skills to build upon them,” she says.
The college facility believes hybrid programs, with traditional clinical labs, lectures and online classes, is the wave of the future.
“Our students have expressed interest in a program like this,” Jackson says.
Also, for those who already have a degree or college hours behind them, the college is offering an accelerated express track RN program.
“This is a great option for students who have their science hours or other prerequisites. They might be able to finish their degree in two or two-and-a-half years,” Jackson says.
Meeting demands today
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s assistant professor of nursing, Kimberly Porter, says the future is here now.
“We’ve started an online BSN (bachelor of science in nursing), that can be done completely online,” she says. “It’s been so well-received that our enrollment numbers have exceeded our expectations.”
One of the requirements of the program is that the student be employed as an RN (registered nurse) but “you don’t have to live in central Arkansas to get a degree,” she says.
Also, the program can be completed in 12 months.
In addition to the changing technological expectations of today’s students, this program will be able to fill the growing demand for BSNs in the health care workplace.
“With several Arkansas hospitals going for Magnet status, they will have a need for more BSNs,” she says.
Arkansas’s hospitals, she explains, need nurses who are well-trained in the latest technology the health care industry has to offer, can work as part of a team and are able to think critically.
“The best nurses can stand on their own two feet. They know their stuff and are accountable for their decisions,” Porter says.
Changing the face of care
At Arkansas State Hospital the nursing staff is playing an integral part in the care of its patients. In fact, Bryan Hall, a registered nurse with a master’s degree in health care administration helped design their successful Therapeutic Mall patient program, of which he is now Program Director.
“Basically it’s a recovery program that allows patients to choose a program they’re interested in,” says Hall.
Day-to-day, patients are allowed to pick the program in which they participate. By selecting the program instead of being assigned an activity, Hall says, “patients are more likely to participate.”
Programs include art, drama, dance, music, gardening, general recreation and more.
“Art has been our most successful program, and in August we had our first art show,” Hall says. Not only was the show open to the public, but all 35 pieces on display were sold.
“The proceeds (about $3,000) went to the artists,” he says. One patient, who had never picked up a paintbrush before, found he had an artistic flare - the public agreed, buying all of his pieces for a total of $400.
The show gave the patients a few positive strokes, as well as “helping bridge the gap between the public and mental illness,” says Hall.
“We’re just getting started. Maybe we’ll have a concert or play, or both, next spring.”
Saving lives
Beginning in April, Baxter Regional Medical Center, the UAMS Center for Distance Health, the Arkansas Department of Health and Sparks Regional Health System in Fort Smith began a partnership to establish Stroke Assistance through Virtual Emergency Support (SAVES), also known as AR SAVES.
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| CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System’s Stroke Response Team members work to enhance their care. |
Typically, patients are rushed to emergency rooms where neurologists are not available. AR SAVES can significantly reduce disability or death resulting from stroke by providing access to specialized care when it is most urgent.
First responders are trained in stroke assessment and can alert the emergency room physicians that such cases will be arriving. Once there, doctors and nurses trained in stroke assessment examine the patient.
The physician can then call a hotline that will link the on-call neurologist to the physician in the emergency room.
This partnership provides “telehealth” services to stroke patients using a video communications system that can monitor patients 24 hours a day.
“This is an important part of UAMS’ mission, reaching out to rural areas of the state and helping local physicians identify stroke patients and improve those patients’ outcomes,” says Salah Keyrouz, M.D., Arkansas SAVES director and assistant professor of neurology at UAMS.
The future of nurse care
It was a little over two years ago, that Central Arkansas Veterans Health care System (CAVHS) was named a recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE).
The grant was to be used as part of a nationwide program, Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB), and CAVHS was one of 68 hospitals – and one of only four VA hospitals - across the nation to participate.
“We are extremely proud of these hospitals who have committed to join AONE and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in our TCAB dissemination project,” says AONE president Linda Q. Everett.
TCAB is designed to improve the quality and safety of patient care in medical and surgical units, to increase the vitality and retention of nurses and to improve the effectiveness of the entire care team.
“It’s been a wonderful opportunity,” says the hospital’s Nurse Executive Julie Brandt. Both patients and nurses scored the program with high marks.
The program engages nurses to develop interventions and design new processes that improve care and lead to better staff morale. AONE will disseminate a set of practical, easy-to-use tools to help hospitals redesign delivery of care processes in order to improve patient care.
While the program wrapped up this summer, she says they’re in the process of implementing the program throughout the hospital.
Cutting edge
Sparks Health System’s Service Line Concept in health care is a horizontal matrix of independent clinical units that focus on specific patient populations and clinical expertise. Product line strategy targets institutional areas for focused clinical specialty growth in order to improve continuity of care, to develop innovations in service delivery, and to focus resource allocation to services that support patient care strategies.
Sparks Health System offers a comprehensive line of cardiac, cardiopulmonary/vascular services and programs that include: cardiovascular, valvular and minimally invasive surgery units; a medical/surgical cardiovascular intensive care unit; three cath labs including electrophysiology therapy, cardiac rehabilitation, and pulmonary rehabilitation; and a 13-bed cardiovascular/vascular unit. Acute inpatient units are part of the service line with 40 post-op, post-coronary inpatient beds.
Cardiovascular and pulmonary outpatient services are consolidated in the rehabilitation unit, adding a much-needed capacity for the service line once the patients are discharged. A new Health and Wellness program managed from the Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center will offer employees, as well as the community, programs ranging from smoking cessation to weight loss, healthy eating habits to diabetic care/education as well as care-giver programs and exercise programs.
The objective for the Sparks’ Cardiac/CV service line is to integrate all stakeholders involved in cardiac/pulmonary/vascular diseases in the medical system to focus and achieve the following goals: improve cardiac, cardiovascular and endovascular case volume; improve efficiency in the care of heart and vascular patients with decreased length of stay and hospital costs; develop regional marketing for new and unique clinical services; develop community outreach clinics and telemedicine infrastructure for rural hospitals; develop a combined heart and vascular non-invasive service; and to provide community education/screening programs.
The importance of nurses
Joyce Cloud, business development director at Pinnacle Point Behavioral Care System, says the hospital’s nursing staff has been “instrumental in our achievement of “Award Winning Facility” for the past three years.
Pinnacle Point was also named hospital of the year by the Arkansas Therapeutic Recreation Association (ARTA) and facility of the year by the Arkansas Psychological Association (APA). The facility is no stranger to such honors. The APA named Pinnacle Point hospital of the year in 2007. It was also named facility of the year by the ARTA in 2008.
“As we continue to be the largest behavioral health facility for children in Arkansas, we are seeking only nurses who share our goal of giving these children care from the heart. Our belief in balance of life is evidenced by our focus on retention of quality staff in areas such as outpatient and community-based services, day-treatment education and professional and community education,” says Lisa Evans, Pinnacle Point Chief Executive Officer.
In 2010, Pinnacle Point has plans for a 22-bed expansion.
