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 Patient Care

Nerlande Joseph, R.N., West Kendall Baptist Hospital’s director of nursing administration, advocated for compassionate end-of-life care for stillbirths. After a young mother experienced a stillbirth at the hospital, Ms. Joseph wanted to help parents experiencing the tragedy. She learned of a special cradle that would allow grieving parents and others a more compassionate way to go through the grieving process. By cooling the baby’s body and slowing the natural changes that occur in death, the Caring Cradle gives parents the opportunity to spend as much time as they need to say goodbye. Ms. Joseph successfully advocated for funds to purchase a Caring Cradle from Baptist Health South Florida Foundation and the West Kendall Baptist Hospital Center for Excellence in Nursing.

Managing Complex Patient Care During the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in acutely ill patients requiring a high level of care. In response to this challenge, West Kendall Baptist Hospital nursing leaders, spearheaded by Nursing Practice Manager Joanne Aberilla, R.N., created a 12-week, virtual professional development program that helped train medical-surgical nurses to become progressive care nurses. More than 60 med-surg nurses completed the program and West Kendall Baptist Hospital innovatively filled a staffing need.

Improving Health Outcomes

As part of aligning with the hospital’s mission to improve the health and wellbeing of the communities it serves, West Kendall Baptist Hospital offers free community health screenings. In 2022, clinical nurses, clinical partners and nurse practitioners volunteered their time to provide health screenings at Kendall Toyota and Lexus of West Kendall as well as at a Small Business Resource Fair.

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 2021 and 2022, more than 150 nurses were nominated for the award and Kristy Rivas R.N., Tatiana De La Rosa, R.N., Ayesha Pacheco, R.N., were named winners in the second half of 2021 and Marta Madrazo, R.N. and Yesenia Quintero, R.N. were honored in the first half of 2022.

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, 17 staff members who actively participated in shared governance as UBPC officers received promotions to leadership positions. This included 13 nurses and four other interprofessional staff.

Collaborating to Improve Community Health

Collaboration is at the heart of West Kendall Baptist Hospital’s nursing staff. Working with the hospital’s Community Relations team, nursing helped provide virtual education about infection prevention and control in the wake of COVID-19 to more than 3,400 students in 2020 and 3,600 students in 2021. Nurses are viewed as one of the most trusted professionals who influence health and wellness. At West Kendall Baptist Hospital they have the opportunity to share their knowledge and improve the lives of the community.

Exceeding Benchmarks

At West Kendall Baptist Hospital, the nursing culture promotes engagement and job satisfaction. The 2021 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.

Working Together to Improve Outcomes

Nursing and respiratory collaborated to address hospital acquired pressure injuries (HAPI) and the result optimized organizational performance and made a tangible difference at West Kendall Baptist Hospital. With proactive, daily rounding on all patients with respiratory devices, the team made sure protective barriers were in place and changed airway devices as needed. In the post-intervention period (October-November 2021), medical device-related pressure injuries (MDRPI) were zero per 1,000 patient days, representing a 100% decrease in the stepdown unit.

A second initiative, labeled “Turning Heads,” addressed medical device pressure injuries in the wake of a COVID-19 surge. In the third quarter of 2021, the ICU experienced a rapid increase of the HAPI rate to 13.94 per 1,000 patient days. As a result, nurses and other members of the care teams worked together to examine the problem and develop a strategy to improve it. The initiative led the team to reposition a patient’s head while in the prone position. In November 2021 after the program began, the ICU MDRPI and pronation facial HAPI rate was zero per 1,000 patient days, highlighting the importance and success of the professional collaboration.

Transforming the Patient Experience

In late 2021, the 4 South Unit Based Practice Council (UBPC) turned its attention to the patient experience. Press-Ganey patient satisfaction for nursing on 4 South had fallen below 40%. The UBPC identified communication between nurses and patients as an area of improvement. As a result, the UBPC developed a welcome brochure and educated team members on using the brochure to educate patients. The results prove the impact that collaboration has on patient outcomes. The “How well nurses kept you informed” question went from a low rank of 31 percentile in December 2021 to a high of 99 percentile in June 2022.

Supporting Mental Wellbeing

With the emotional and job-related pressures associated with the pandemic, frontline nurses needed extra attention to their mental wellbeing. As a result, the hospital transformed two conference rooms and one office into relaxation spaces which offered a stress-free environment, complete with aroma and music therapy. The response was overwhelming as the team used the space to reenergize and recharge.

Innovatively Improving the Emergency Department

Length of Stay (LOS) is an important measure of efficiency in the Emergency Department. Prolonged LOS can impact reimbursements for care as well as patient satisfaction. At West Kendall Baptist Hospital, the ED was below the benchmarks of LOS from June to September 2020 with an average of 196 minutes. In November 2020, the team implemented a specific dashboard RN to monitor the electronic dashboard for patients entering the ED. In the four months following the program, the LOS decreased by 20% to 157 minutes. The results demonstrated the innovative role of nurses.

Promoting Nurse-Led Initiatives

Integrating performance improvement, evidence-based practice, and nursing research initiatives into clinical operations is an important part of the nursing culture at West Kendall Baptist Hospital. In May 2022, 17 nurses showcased posters during Nurses Week and several more represented the hospital at the Nursing Consortium of Florida Spring Conference. Topics included improving sepsis outcomes, shared governance, nurses influencing community health and rounding.

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. In 2020, 11 nurses earned a Master of Science in Nursing degree, one earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, 13 earned specialty certifications and 48 advanced in Baptist Health’s Competency & Clinical Advancement Program.

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 category of nurse courtesy ranked between 78 and 94 percent in four care specialties. In addition, inpatient satisfaction ranked in the top decile at nearly 80 percent in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS).

Delivering Quality Care 

More than 90 percent of the West Kendall Baptist Hospital’s core measures performed in the top decile of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Quality Measure Benchmarks, indicating our nurses’ commitment to providing national standards of care and treatment processes that are proven to reduce complications and lead to better patient outcomes.