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Join the Research and Innovation Academy Grand Rounds hosted by nurses on Dec. 18, 2023. During the event you will learn how Kaiser Permanente Northern California developed and implemented a predictive analytic scoring system called Advance Alert Monitor (AAM). AAM brought together evidence-based predictive analytics and a virtual nursing team to monitor alerts with in-person care to proactively identify and intervene in high-risk patients with clinical deterioration. Click here to register. Speakers include: Shirley S. Paulson, DNP, MPA, RN, NEA-BC Director, Regional Adult Patient Care Services Kaiser Permanente, Northern California Vanessa A. Martinez, DNP, MHA, RN, CPH Director of Virtual Nursing Care Programs Kaiser Permanente, Northern California Stella Abhyankar, MD Dr. Stella Abhyankar is the AAM Physician and Regional Lead at KP Redwood City Medical Center The Research and Innovation Academy Grand Rounds provides a forum for modeling collegial collaboration between interprofessional members including physicians, nurses, subject matter experts, and clinicians on the Kaiser Permanente care team. Learn more about Evidence-Based Practice and integrating evidence into Professional Governance Committee work. The monthly virtual event is accessible to all Kaiser Permanente health care professionals. Continuing education credits are available for all California nurses who attend.  

Most nurses choose their career because they have a strong desire to comfort and care for those who are sick or in pain. The best validation they can receive is a compliment or thank you from a patient or family member whose lives they touched so deeply. The DAISY Award is a way for patients and their families, along with co-workers and volunteers, to recognize the extraordinary effort and compassion that our nurses display every day. Kaiser Permanente is a national DAISY Award hospital partner, and regularly recognizes nurses, nurse leaders and teams who meet the award criteria. We also recently awarded the DAISY Award for Nurses Advancing Health Equity. Congratulations to all our new DAISY Award winners! Thank you for providing extraordinary nursing care, every patient, every time.

When Kaiser Permanente member Donna Artrip, pictured above in pink, awoke from her double mastectomy at the Ambulatory Surgery Unit in Stockton in Dec. 2022,  she described it as a little party in her room. "The nurses were so sweet and came into my room to deliver a care package. Those moments with the nurses set the tone for my recovery, and put me in a good frame of mind for healing." The welcome distraction for Donna was part of a project by Stockton Ambulatory Surgery Unit nurses Katie Marziano, BSN, RN, AMB-BC, and Kristie Silva, BSN, RN, who wanted to provide additional care and support to breast cancer patients.  Donna was the first recipient of the breast cancer care package. (Katie and Kristie are pictured above at left and right of Donna.) "Any cancer diagnosis is traumatic, but a breast cancer diagnosis can be an extremely emotional experience," explained Katie.  "And for many, this is just one of many surgeries related to breast cancer, and some long length of stays at our facilities." To help ease anxiety around the procedures, Katie led the development of the care packets to increase comfort and provide distraction, as well as enhance home care. The packets are a small pink breast cancer awareness bag that include ear plugs, cozy socks, lip balm, aromatherapy, crossword puzzle books, a specially-designed button-up pajama top, and a special pillow to help protect the incisions following surgery. "We want our members to feel like we are taking care of them, not just their diagnosis," said Kristie, who provided post-op care to Donna. Donna's favorite gift was the pajama top and the special pockets inside that could hold the surgical drains she had following surgery. The sentiment of the pillow was appreciated, but with her feedback they now provide an improved pillow design that is larger and has a belt so it can be used hands-free. With the newly designed pillow incorporated, approximately 50 care packets have been provided to mastectomy patients.  Added Kristie, "We are so grateful for Donna's feedback and collaboration, which allowed us to better support the needs of our breast cancer patients. Her friends have been a huge help for us in creating the pillow pattern and sewing the pillows for our members." Donna completed her reconstructive surgery in August, and when she reunited with Katie and Kristie in October for this story's photo, she said it felt like a big pink bow tying up her breast cancer journey.

Join the first-ever Research and Innovation Academy Grand Rounds hosted by nurses on October 30, 2023, featuring Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, APRN-CNP, EBP-C, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN – an icon in nursing and our speaker on this day! Dr. “Bern” Melnyk is recognized globally for her expertise in Evidence-based Practice, child, adolescent, and clinician mental health, and intervention research as well as her innovative approaches to population health and well-being. She is Vice President for Health Promotion and Chief Wellness Officer for The Ohio State University. Dr. Melnyk is also the Executive Director of the Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice (EBP), the Helene Fuld Health Trust Professor of Evidence-based Practice, and Dean Emeritus of Ohio State’s College of Nursing. In addition, she is a Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Ohio State’s College of Medicine. The Research and Innovation Academy Grand Rounds provides a forum for modeling collegial collaboration between interprofessional members including physicians, nurses, subject matter experts, and clinicians on the Kaiser Permanente care team. Learn more about Evidence-Based Practice and integrating evidence into Professional Governance Committee work. The monthly virtual event is accessible to all Kaiser Permanente health care professionals. Continuing education credits are available for all California nurses who attend. Click here to register.

During a recent Roseville Voice of Nursing council meeting, Chief Nurse Executive Debbie Reitter, DNP, RN, CNS, NEA-BC, was surprised to see her family walk into the conference room. With her family beaming with pride, and a room full of nurses and colleagues, Debbie was presented with the DAISY Nurse Leader Award -- the first CNE in Northern California to receive this honor.     "Debbie is a heart-led leader who is passionate and relentless in the pursuit of excellence for the Roseville Medical Center," said Kim Menzel, MHA, RN, NEA-BC, Senior Vice President and Area Manager for the Roseville Medical Center. "Daily, I have the honor of witnessing her compassion for human beings, and the support she provides her team so they can deliver exceptional care to our patients.  I have observed her rounding on the nursing units, and how she engages the frontline nurses." Nurse engagement over the last year has grown exponentially in Roseville, as evidenced by the Voice of Nursing Council where over 100 nurses attend and participate monthly.  "Debbie is the definition of an exceptional nurse leader," said Toby Marsh, MSN, RN, FACHE, NEA-BC, Regional Chief Nurse Executive and Vice President of Clinical Integration. “A mentor to many, she leads by example with care and a deep compassion for our members, patients, and staff. She is an inspiration to her team and empowers them to do their best to provide extraordinary care, every patient, every time." Roseville nurses also describe Debbie as empathetic, approachable, remarkable and humble, and someone who always has a smile on her face and makes you feel at ease and part of the team. Added one nurse in Debbie's nomination, "Debbie achieved influencer status long before the term was popularized by social media.  Her dedication to our patients and staff is a model for all leaders who are drawn to Debbie’s leader presence with full commitment and loyalty.  Debbie demonstrates compassionate inquiry when driving high standards and her lifetime learning example is revered by all.”  Congratulations, Debbie!

Santa Clara NICU nurses have taken their extraordinary nursing care above and beyond by reading to babies under their care to help benefit brain growth and development.  Although reading to the infants is something they do year-round, the team was recently recognized for winning the annual Babies with Books read-a-thon. The friendly competition included over 190 NICUs from around the world. During the 7 days of the read-a-thon, Santa Clara NICU nurses, leaders, and parents recorded 1,151 reading sessions which was the equivalent of each baby in the NICU being read to 12 to 13 times per day. Watch a short video about those efforts here. "Reading promotes wellness for the neonates, the parents, and the nurses themselves," said Stacy Alves, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nurse Executive at the Santa Clara Medical Center. "Our professional registered nurses provide the extraordinary care on a daily basis and this read-a-thon helps bring awareness to the highly specialized needs of this patient population and a celebration of the harrowing journeys of these babies and families." Santa Clara registered nurses have coordinated the read-a-thon for the past few years, and are what Alves described as a shining example of what makes Kaiser Permanente so great.  She continued, "They have taken the empirical evidence around developmental needs of pre-term babies in the intensive care setting, integrated that with our nursing theory of Caring Science to create a reading program that meets the holistic needs of our babies and their families." The work of the Santa Clara team was also presented at the National Association of Neonatal Nurse conferences to spread this best practice beyond the walls of our organization, and they were also featured in the San Jose Mercury News, and on NBC Bay Area. "I could not be more proud of this team, and how they are advancing the care delivery for this vulnerable and precious patient population," added Alves.

Most nurses choose their career because they have a strong desire to comfort and care for those who are sick or in pain. The best validation they can receive is a compliment or thank you from a patient or family member whose lives they touched so deeply. The DAISY Award is a way for patients and their families, along with co-workers and volunteers, to recognize the extraordinary effort and compassion that our nurses display every day. Kaiser Permanente is a national DAISY Award hospital partner, and regularly recognizes nurses, nurse leaders and teams who meet the award criteria. We also recently awarded the DAISY Award for Nurses Advancing Health Equity. Congratulations to all our new DAISY Award winners! Thank you for providing extraordinary nursing care, every patient, every time.

The Caring Science Academy (CSA) is a new program designed to help nurses increase resilience, promote inner balance, and connect with what is most important in their lives. The pilot program was developed by 4 Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Caritas Coaches and HeartMath Trainers in response to widespread burnout, physical exhaustion, and compassion fatigue among health care workers during the pandemic. “We did a research study with our first cohort to see if Caring Science can truly help reduce burnout and we proved that it does,” said Rachel Wyatt, DNP, MHA, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nurse Executive, South Sacramento Medical Center. This was the first nurse research study conducted by her team. They opened the program to staff who have been with the organization for at least 6 months and provide direct patient care, even providing continuing education credits. Participants can benefit from a transformational experience that aims to build resilience and provide participants with tools that help them connect back to purpose and ultimately improve patient outcomes. “The focus is on resilience and caring for self, and how that connects you back to your purpose as a nurse. Hearing from the staff who were in the course, and what it did for them personally and professionally… It’s truly transformative. For me personally, it’s been a cup-filler to see what it does for our nurses,” Rachel continued. The enhanced Caring Science Academy modules and program plan will be offered across the region. To learn more about the Caring Science Academy and how to get involved in this work, please contact kpnursescholars@kp.org.