Page 46 - Life in Naples November 2018

doctor’s corner
State Representative

Proven Conservative. Compassionate Leader.

Working

for Southwest

Each area implemented whiteboards as a tool to facilitate
huddles. The boards serve two purposes: to facilitate meaningful
DAILY discussion and to promote the sharing and transparency of Florida to create
information. In most clinical areas, the huddle boards can be
HUDDLES viewed by patients and visitors. Patients are taking notice of jobs, build better
our transparency and team dynamics, as evidenced by a recent
letter written to the nurse manager, RN Marcia Swasey on 5N
Baker Campus, from a discharged patient: ‘ I stopped to read the
by Allen Weiss, MD, MBA, FACP, FACR RMV large whiteboard with the unit’s quality scores/patient satisfaction
President and CEO, NCH HealthcareSystem scores along with staff input, improvement suggestions, outcomes of businesses, protect
interventions etc. Wow. I found the transparency comforting. And
Associate Chief Nursing Officer Ilia Echevarria recently shared I felt like I was being cared for by a staff that was a team working
the following essay with me. together to give the safest and best care possible.’

Topics covered during the huddle include performance outcomes our natural
n the June 2017 Quick Safety newsletter, the Joint
related to quality, service, and finance; staff recognition; safety-
Commission deemed daily safety briefings, also called
related targets; and idea generation and discussion. The huddles in
“I safety huddles or daily check-ins, as ‘hallmarks of high
clinical areas are usually led by a charge nurse or another front-line
reliability organizations.’ Safety huddles in healthcare have resources, and
staff member on both days and nights. All front-line staff meet at
also been endorsed by a number of organizations, including
the “huddle board” to discuss key huddle topics as well as the state of
the American Hospital Association, Institute for Healthcare
the unit as it pertains to any safety related issues, anticipated needs
Improvement, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
and challenges, and resources. The non-clinical departments also
Daily huddles are used to keep the front-line staff informed preserve our
conduct huddles that are led by either leaders of those departments
and aware of ongoing organizational initiatives and outcomes.
or front-line staff with similar topics covered.
These gatherings have been shown to promote a culture of safety,
While daily huddles are not new to healthcare, the manner in
improve clinical outcomes, and advance team dynamics. Huddles
which we are conducting them at our organization by including
at NCH have always been the norm, but these efforts were unparalleled
both clinical and non-clinical departments, having them led
enhanced and maximized over the past year with support from our
by front-line staff with an opportunity to generate solutions to
Lean Transformation Department, under the direction of Mustafa
problems, and using transparent huddle boards viewable to patients
Abdulali. All clinical units and related departments were educated
and visitors have added a new dynamic to this process that has been way of life.
on the most effective ways of facilitating daily huddles using
recognized and appreciated by both staff and our patients.”
meaningful and relevant information.
Daily huddles occur at both hospitals in all clinical areas
and in non-direct patient care departments including Food & P.S. DO YOU HAVE A COLLEAGUE OR FRIEND
Nutrition and Environmental Services. All multidisciplinary WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN UPDATES ?

team members including nursing, pharmacy, social work, physical
Please enter their email address at nchmd.org/straighttalk ,
therapy, respiratory therapy, and lab services conduct daily
and we will add them to our complimentary mailing list.
huddles in their respective departments. Paid by Bob Rommel, Republican, for State Representative
46 Life in Naples | November 2018
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