2008 NursiNg ANNuAl report - Catholic Health System

Message From The CNO
Dear Nursing Colleagues,
2008 was another busy year and we saw much progress in our
journey of nursing excellence at Sisters of Charity Hospital. We were
very proud to be represented at the 2008 National Nursing Congress in
Las Vegas by Marilyn Boehler, Director of Emergency and Critical Care
Nursing and Terry Finiki, Nurse Manager of 4 North Telemetry unit.
Terry and Marilyn presented a poster on our Remote Monitoring program
which has been very successful and is now in its second year. We
have seen growth in our shared decision making model with increased
participation by our staff nurses. Unit Practice Councils are active on
most nursing units and they continue to mature and produce results to
improve the practice of professional nursing and collaborative patient
care.
We have added two nursing committees with strong representation by staff nurses from various
units-the Nurse Recognition and Retention Committee and the Results Council. The Nurse Recognition and
Retention Committee assists in planning our annual Nurses Week celebration, and also generates and works
on ideas that contribute to the many reasons Sisters of Charity Hospital is a great place to work. The Results
Council is the interdisciplinary part of our Relationship-Based Care initiative and helps to foster communication
and cooperation among the various disciplines involved in the planning and delivery of care to our
patients.
We once again honored and recognized our registered nurses during Nurses Week. Our 2008 Nurse
of Distinction was Lynette Wryk from the Emergency Department and our Outstanding Staff Nurses were
Mary Miller from the NICU and Sandra Nagro from 4 North Telemetry. Sandra Nagro was also chosen as the
Outstanding Staff Nurse for Western New York by the WNY Professional Nurses Association, District 1.
In July, I was joined by our Nurse Managers and Directors for a Nursing Management Retreat to review
the vision for nursing and further define the structure it represents.
In 2008, we also developed an education program for senior level nursing students that provides instruction
in patient care skills such as 12 lead EKG, phlebotomy, and BGT’s; as well as unit secretary and nursing
assistant functions. This training leads to employment as a PCA III where the students provide needed
support to nursing staff on a variety of patient care units. The goal is to provide these students with real time
exposure to patients and bedside care, while adding to the care delivered by the unit staff. We have eight nursing
students working as PCA IIIs and hope to offer them permanent nursing positions in the spring when they
graduate
I would like to thank each of your for your professional work and dedication to the patients and families
in our care.
Sincerely,
Mary E. Dillon
Vice President & CNO
Sisters of Charity Hospital
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