Award-winning teams share their secrets to improved scores

Participants at the Rewards and Recognition workshop this afternoon (March 13) heard how teams that have won Southern California’s quarterly award used the program as inspiration to improve care for Kaiser Permanente members.

The team members from Irvine Telemetry and West LA Maternal Child Health say that the Unit-Based Team Reward and Recognition program has helped inspire positive changes in their units. Staff members feel more engaged and are encouraged to continue doing their best possible work—and HCHAPS survey response scores show that Kaiser Permanente members are appreciating the efforts of the nursing staff.

The Telemetry team used a light-hearted “Hourly Rounding” karaoke moment—to the tune of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”—to underscore the importance of rounding. They told the workshop attendees that after they started hourly rounding:

• patients didn’t use their call buttons as often;
• nurse communication scores went from the 20^th percentile to the 80^th, and overall rating of hospital scores increased from the 80^th percentile to the 90^th percentile;and
• one of the most skeptical staff members went ahead and tried it—and was voted employee of the month by the patients.

Moreover, when other unit-based teams in the medical center tried rounding, their inpatient scores improved as well.

The ironic consequence? Finding the time for hourly rounding actually saved them time.

Team members from West L.A.’s Maternal Child Health shared their success secrets as well. They met other MCH teams in the region and learned their successful practices—and then implemented their CASE (Copy and Steal Everything!) strategy. Ideas that worked for other teams had already been tried and tested and could work for them too. And then they added ideas of their own.

Among their successful practices:

• The loudspeakers play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” or “Hush Little Baby” when babies are born, so that the whole tower can celebrate with the family.
• They think about the physical and mental health of the mom and give them warm, lemon-scented wash cloths, quiet time, a robe and slippers for walking around, afternoon tea time, and a celebratory meal for mom and dad. They use every opportunity possible to educate the parents.
• Before the mom and baby leave, follow-up appointments are made, and the nurses make discharge phone calls to see if the mother has any questions. It’s important, the team members said, not to “cut the cord” too early.

How do they find support for all this? West L.A.’s Gaynor Kelly, RN, Family Centered Care department administrator, said, “Take data to all presentations. We’re doing this for the executives, the patients, and for the organization. Show your HCAHPS scores. Help the administration to understand the importance of giving their support.”

Tanisha Dickens, Labor and Delivery department administrator, reminded everyone that the extras take care of the patient’s total health—mind and body.