Exemplary Professional Practice

Kaiser Roseville has long recognized the unique needs of its aging population, with approximately 60% of its adult patients aged 65 and older. In 2020, the hospital launched the NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystems Elders) program to enhance care for older adults. Nurses were also encouraged to become Geriatric Resource Nurses (GRNs), who, through specialized training, address geriatric syndromes such as depression, delirium, malnutrition, frailty, falls, and pressure injuries.

In November 2023, Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center was honored as a Level 1 Age-Friendly Health System Participant by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), a recognition driven by the GRNs after attending the NICHE conference earlier that year. This achievement validated the integration of the 4Ms framework—what matters most, mentation, medication, and mobility—into the care of older adults. Building on this success, in July 2024, the hospital reached the highest level of Age-Friendly Health System recognition, Committed to Care Excellence, further cementing its commitment to delivering exceptional care to its aging population.

In late 2023, Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center’s “Likelihood to Recommend” score was below target, highlighting an opportunity to enhance the patient experience.

In response, Associate Chief Nurse Executive Gertrude Tiangco Alba, DNP, MSA, RN, and Area Experience Leader Erica Menzer, LCSW, CPXP launched the Care Experience Circle meetings in early 2024. These meetings brought together adult inpatient service line leaders to review evidence-based interventions such as authentic hourly rounding, nursing communication via bedside handoff, and the principles of nurse leader rounds, predictive rounding, and the hospital’s care connection bundle. By May 2024, the initiative expanded to include the emergency department and maternal-child inpatient service line leaders. Through these collaborative sessions, individual unit data, best practices, and improvement strategies were shared. As a result of these efforts, Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center’s “Likelihood to Recommend” scores improved, successfully meeting the target and demonstrating the positive impact of the Care Experience Circle initiative on patient satisfaction.