San Rafael Medical Center
A message from Itamar Bikszer, MSN, RN
Associate Chief Administrative Officer
Director of Nursing and Clinical Practice
As we close another year and look ahead to new challenges and opportunities, I want to take a moment to reaffirm our collective commitment to the safety and quality of the care we provide our patients. As part of our Magnet journey, we are dedicated to creating an environment where nursing excellence thrives, and we should all be proud of the hard work that we have done and the many accomplishments that we have achieved to support that environment.
As part of our important Magnet journey work, we have worked to support professional growth, foster a collaborative culture, and continually improve patient outcomes through evidence-based practices. This work highlights our commitment to Magnet principles and is reflected in our shared vision of providing exceptional care and achieving the highest standards in nursing. By prioritizing professional development, evidence-based care, and interdisciplinary, collaborative teamwork, we, as a San Rafael team, reaffirm our pledge to deliver the highest standards of care.
I want to personally thank each one of you and the amazing work you do each day to not only provide the highest level of care quality to our patients, but to also continually strive to work together with our hospital partners to achieve the important goals set out in the onset of our Magnet journey.
Thank you for your unwavering dedication to our patients, our communities, and to one another, and for embodying the values that make San Rafael a leader in safe and compassion care. Together, we will continue to set the standard for excellence.
“All of the nurses are great. They are authentic, caring, and just so great!”
About San Rafael 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
429
Registered nurses
41
Nurses hired
18
Nurse residents hired
8.8%
Average turnover
15%
Board certified nurses
23%
Associate’s degree in nursing
63%
Bachelor’s degree in nursing
13%
Master’s degree in nursing
1%
Doctorate degree in nursing
4
Conference posters & presentations
5
New Caritas Coaches
4
Evidence-Based Practice graduates
Transformational Leadership
Fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability to evolve the way we provide care.
Celebrating our San Rafael 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.
Perioperative journal club fuels continuous learning
Perioperative Services first Journal Club commenced in November of 2024. The journal club serves as a critical platform for continuous learning and professional development in healthcare.
We C.A.R.E. peer support program for well-being
We C.A.R.E. is a caritas nurse peer support program offers emotional first aid to peers within the medical center. Ten caritas nurses participated in additional training using Dr. Jean Watson’s Human Caring Theory and Dr. Susan Scott’s Three-Tiered Interventional Model.
San Rafael nurses attend ANCC Magnet Conference
Seventeen San Rafael nurses attended the 2024 annual conference in New Orleans, joining several hundred Kaiser Permanente Northern California nurse colleagues.
Structural Empowerment
Empowering nurses to actively contribute their ideas and suggestions to help achieve organizational goals and enhance health outcomes effectively.
Rapid improvement event for emergency department to inpatient units
An interdisciplinary team worked together to evaluate current workflows for patients from the emergency department that need admission to an inpatient unit.
Mobility is medicine
An interdisciplinary team of clinical nurses, patient care technicians, nurse leaders, HBS, PT, and quality partnered to improve mobility across inpatient units at the San Rafael Medical Center.
Sidewalk CPR event trains community members to assist in an emergency
San Rafael emergency department staff volunteered during the Sidewalk CPR event in August.
Nurses join Marin-Sonoma Alzheimer’s Walk
Nurse leaders and physician partners were out to educate the community on the age friendly care and Senior Surgical Care Program in San Rafael.
Interventional services care experience
The Interventional Services unit council identified an opportunity to collect the voice of the patient to gain insight into patient’s satisfaction with the care provided while in interventional services.
San Rafael hosts inaugural Magnet Fair
The fun, educational event was held during Nurses Week to engage nurses in a variety of topics.
Exemplary Professional Practice
Utilizing evidence to deliver care that aligns with Kaiser Permanente’s mission and vision, and our nursing Professional Practice Model.
Ticket to ride: Fast-tracking surgery readiness with a scan
Patients from emergency and inpatient units were transferred to the preoperative holding area with missing elements needed for surgery such as signed consents, required lab tests, full medical histories, and NPO status, thus causing surgical delays.
Red meat allergy in the OR
The San Rafael perioperative nursing professional development specialist partnered with the perioperative team to ensure a safe surgical environment for a patient with an anaphylactic allergy to red meat.
CALM Initiative aims to minimize delirium risk
A project by the NICHE committee, CALM is a bundle of interventions to minimize delirium risk in patients 70 and older on the 4th floor.
New Knowledge, Innovation & Improvements
Continually evolving to advance patient care rooted in evidenced-based practice, research, and innovation.
KP Cares 2.0
Kimberly Shankel, MSN, RN, CNL, Co-PI and Chief Nurse Executive Denise Laws, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Caritas Coach and Faculty led San Rafael’s KP Cares 2.0 research study.
Nurses participate in Caring Science Series
Two cohorts of San Rafael clinical nurses and healthcare professionals participated in the Caring Science Series.
Championing pediatric safety: Uncovering the hidden clannges of emergency department triage
In a pivotal study, San Rafael Emergency Department (ED) leaders Tina J. Vitale McDowell, MSN, RN, CPEN, PECC, and Dana Sax, MD, have brought to light critical insights into the…
(Re) Brilliancy Study helps with compassion fatigue, burnout and trauma
The daily work of bedside nursing care is stressful, and stressors have increased dramatically since the pandemic. Well documented literature points to compassion fatigue, burnout and secondary trauma causing many nurses to leave the profession.
New robotics program comes to San Rafael
After attending a robotics workshop in September, the perioperative team began preparing for the launch of the new robotics program in San Rafael.
Nurses present at Research and Innovation Academy Conference
San Rafael Medical Center nurses had three poster presentations on topics such from our NICHE committee, mindfulness, and HAPI prevention at the 2024 conference.
Empirical Quality Outcomes
Demonstrating the impact Kaiser Permanente nurses are making in the lives of our members, patients, and communities we serve.
Team works to reduce falls with Injury
Falls with Injury observed/expected ratio peaked in October 2023 at 1.92. The falls committee, made up of interdisciplinary team members, participated in a gap analysis to identify gaps in adherence to the fall prevention bundle.
Reduction in surgical site infections, perioperative services
In May 2024, the new perioperative leader team partnered with quality and created an interprofessional team to review surgical site infections and opportunities for improvement.