San Jose Medical Center
A message from Travis Maher, MSM, BSN, RN
Chief Nurse Executive, San Jose Medical Center
Reflecting on 2024, I’m incredibly grateful to be part of an outstanding nursing team and for their dedication to the patients and communities we serve at the San Jose Medical Center.
We expanded nursing professional governance enhancing patient care, maintaining low nurse vacancy rates, and strengthening our reputation as a top employer for nurses.
We celebrated our nurses with 338 DAISY nominations, and recognized excellence, teamwork, and leadership among non-nursing staff with our first PETAL Award.
We were recognized as a Top Hospital by the Leapfrog Group, named a Best Maternity Hospital, received Joint Commission Certification as a Primary Stroke Center, and Gold Plus honors from the American Heart Association for diabetes and stroke care.
Thank you for your commitment and dedication to excellence. Together, we will elevate nursing standards and build a healthier future for our communities.
A message from Traci Beebe, BSN, RN, PHN
Director of Nursing and Clinical Practice
Patient Safety Leader and Risk, Greater San Jose Area
As I reflect on 2024, this has been a year of advancing nursing excellence, contributing to our Magnet journey, and driving meaningful change through impactful initiatives.
This year, we made significant strides in promoting professional growth, innovation, and recognition within our nursing community. We provided robust opportunities for skill advancement, fostering a culture of continuous learning and development. This is evident in our nurses who have utilized the clinical ladder to achieve NP III, SN III, and SN IV status. Our staff received well-deserved recognition, including multiple DAISY Award winners and our first Petal Award, celebrating extraordinary contributions of staff from frontline to leadership. In addition to celebrating individual accomplishments, we advanced our collective efforts in the Magnet journey. Multiple teams including the ED, Cath Lab, IR and GI continue their magnet work and are committed to excellence and patient safety.
In 2024, we launched several initiatives designed to elevate nursing practice. The Ambulatory Patient Safety Committee initiative enhanced staff involvement in patient safety by implementing structured processes for time-outs and debriefs in the IR area. We developed and implemented nurse-led training sessions to improve the facility’s nursing skills across multiple outpatient areas.
As we look forward to 2025, we remain committed to building on this year’s successes. The opening of our Salinas Medical Offices in January 2025 is a great example of continued growth and our commitment to imaproving healthcare. We aim to further enhance our programs and initiatives, ensuring the highest standards of patient care and professional excellence. Together, we will continue to make meaningful strides, striving for an even more impactful year for our nursing community.
“Surgery is never fun, but the staff at Kaiser Permanente San Jose went out of their way to make me feel confident, comfortable and relaxed about the procedure and what was going to happen and what I would see and feel.”
—Karen, Ambulatory Surgery Center patient
About San Jose Medical Center
We are recognized as a top hospital in our community and honored for quality, patient safety and advanced medical care by industry and media organizations.
2024 By the Numbers
1,012
Registered nurses
25
Nurse residents hired
13%
Board certified nurses
20%
Associate’s degree/diploma in nursing
70%
Bachelor’s degree in nursing
9%
Master’s degree in nursing
1%
Doctorate degree in nursing
9
Conference posters & presentations
12
Evidence-Based Practice graduates
Transformational Leadership
Fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability to evolve the way we provide care.
Celebrating our San Jose nurses
Through our awards programs, we recognize nurses and care partners who exemplify excellence and provide high-quality, compassionate care to our members and patients.
New San Jose Medical Center breaks ground
The new 303-bed hospital is set to open in 2029. The project involves demolishing the existing 50-year-old hospital and constructing a state-of-the-art facility.
Structural Empowerment
Empowering nurses to actively contribute their ideas and suggestions to help achieve organizational goals and enhance health outcomes effectively.
Supporting the future of San Jose nursing
Several nurse leaders supported the future of nursing by serving as a mentor to nurses new to their practice.
San Jose nurses soar to new heights in 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.
The Geri-Cart as part of the Senior Surgical Care program
The Geriatric Cart, or Geri-Cart, was created as part of the Senior Surgical Care Program (SSCP) on 3 Med/Surg at Kaiser Permanente San Jose. The SSCP is a care initiative by Kaiser Permanente Northern California designed to improve the quality outcomes for patients aged 75 and older who are considering surgery.
New Knowledge, Innovation & Improvements
Continually evolving to advance patient care rooted in evidenced-based practice, research, and innovation.
Redesigned Patient Care Services orientation
In early Spring 2024 the Nursing Professional Development Specialist collaborated to redesign the existing process to align with adult learning theory.
Empirical Quality Outcomes
Demonstrating the impact Kaiser Permanente nurses are making in the lives of our members, patients, and communities we serve.
Early mobility crucial to short- and long-term recovery
Walking ventilated critical care patients, also known as early mobility, is a crucial intervention that offers numerous benefits for both short- and long-term recovery. Prolonged bed rest in the ICU can lead to muscle atrophy, including respiratory and skeletal muscles, as well as complications like deep vein thrombosis (DVT), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and ICU-acquired weakness.