Patient experience is an essential aspect of measuring quality care. To enhance this part of care delivery at the Sacramento Medical Center, Esperanza Chavez, MSA, BSN, RN, Chief Nurse Executive led the implementation of interdisciplinary daily leader rounding—an initiative designed to build meaningful connections among leaders, patients, families, and staff.  

Leadership succession planning is imperative for organizational stability and serves as a structure for staff development and career advancement.

In the celebration of the Asian Pacific Islander Month and Nurses Week, the Greater Sacramento Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity hosted a special event to honor the contributions of Filipino American nurses.

The Patient Care Services Day Away is a quarterly event designed for Assistant Nurse Managers, Managers, House Supervisors, Nursing Professional Development Specialists, and Directors to engage in learning, reflection, and team-building activities.

Sacramento Medical Center has once again proven its excellence in advanced stroke care. The Joint Commission has recertified it as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, a distinction held by only 211 hospitals nationwide.

Sepsis continues to be a one of the primary reasons of hospital readmissions from skilled nursing facilities (SNF). Internal data shows that sepsis, predominantly resulting from Urinary Tract Infections, is the main cause of sepsis related admissions/readmissions from SNF to the Sacramento ED.

Ilya Guryanov BSN, RN (pictured above) Staff Nurse II   KP Nurse Residency Program   At 16, Ilya participated in the Kaiser Permanente high school internship program, which set the stage for…

Medical emergencies can occur anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. Bystanders, including the youth, play a critical role in saving lives. According to the American Heart Association, about 40% of people…

For 28 years, Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Eye Surgery Center has championed access to life-changing care by participating in Mission Cataract USA. This program offers free cataract surgeries to non-members/uninsured individuals who qualify and cannot afford the procedure. 

Nursing Professional Development Specialists (NPDS) and Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) are the backbone of nursing excellence, driving professional growth, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

Several nurse leaders supported the future of nursing by serving as a mentor to nurses new to their practice.

Kaiser Permanente nurses demonstrated their commitment to creating and sustaining a culture of excellence by advancing their professional practice through earning advanced degrees, moving to the next level of the clinical ladder, obtaining national board certification, and graduating from the nurse residency program.

Employee feedback shapes organizational priorities, work culture, and staff satisfaction. Voluntary and anonymous surveys and direct report rounding are some of the mechanisms for capturing and addressing staff input. Sacramento Medical Center embraces a culture of continuous listening, ensuring employees have multiple avenues to share their feedback.  

The advanced treatment for movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia, is now available at Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento.

Formalin is commonly used as a preservative for biological specimens, such as tissues removed during surgery, which must be stored for pathological examination. However, traditional manual formalin dispensing methods increased the staff's exposure risk to fumes.

As a local leader in advanced neuro care, Sacramento Medical Center expanded the Wellness to Prevent Stroke and Wellness After Stroke educational programs. These free educational programs are open to both members and non-members.

Congratulations to clinical nurses who have presented their work in local and national professional conferences and meetings, which highlight evidence-based practices, quality improvement initiatives, and patient-centered care strategies.

Hospital throughput is the movement of patients from admission to discharge, ensuring they receive timely, appropriate care at every stage of their hospital stay. An efficient throughput process affects clinical outcomes and many other aspects of care, such as care experience and cost of care, as documented in numerous studies.  

A team of nurses, physicians, technicians, and other ancillary members worked together on a quality improvement project in the Sacramento Emergency Department focused on reducing the time between patient arrival and Neurointerventional Radiology treatment by redesigning the flow and processes.  

In the September 2024 issue of the Outpatient Surgery Magazine, OR Excellence Awards Edition, the Racho Cordova- Eye Surgery Center received an Honorable Mention to recognize their impactful work.  

In Med-Surg Telemetry Units, the management and outcomes of a Code Blue (cardiac arrest or medical emergency) event rely, among other processes, on clear role delineation to improve communication and team dynamics.

As part of an ongoing quality improvement initiative to address CLABSI in the ICU, the Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Council, a clinical nurse-led structure at Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center, evaluated the evidence behind the patient bathing practice.

A quality improvement initiative led by the ICU Unit Practice Council- Quality Committee addressed the increasing incidence of CLABSI observed in unit-level trended data.

Effective communication between nurses and patients is essential in improving patient outcomes by building trust, enhancing adherence to treatment plans, and increasing patient satisfaction.

Identifying issues with discharge instructions, the unit’s Care Experience Committee, a clinical nurse led group, and the leadership team revised their process and workflow in providing discharge instructions, which earned the center the 2024 Outpatient Surgery Magazine OR Excellence Award for Patient Satisfaction and Experience.