Welcome to The Pulse

Med/Surg Highlight

As a Med/Surg unit our patient population is very diverse (cardiac-tele, regular med/surg, chemotherapy/oncology, and other specialties as they develop). Our team has risen to a challenge presented to us by Stryker to help prevent falls in our facility. This picture represents our team and the celebration that we held when we had no falls for 15 days! Our team has done an excellent job focusing on patient safety and now we are striving to reach 30 days with no falls!!

-Jen Morris (Med/Surg Manager)

We recently made an adjustment in where our med/surg patients are admitted to, we now have all non-Covid patients in one section of our 3rd floor and our Covid patients in another section...don't worry, they are completely separated to protect all of our patients. The reason for this is to provide better monitoring for our patients. All of our 3rd floor rooms have Drager vital sign monitors in them, providing our team the ability to have them visible on our central monitors.

In addition, this move allows us the flexibility (once we bring in and train additional team members) to increase our non-Covid census from 24 (available beds on 2nd floor) to 30 on our 3rd floor. Our team will continue to grow in number, therefore allowing us the ability to overflow non-Covid patients onto 2nd floor when necessary. We have 15 rooms available to our patients admitted with Covid and have converted a patient room into a team breakroom located within our Covid unit to allow for our team members to take breaks while remaining near their patients.

What does this mean to ancillary team members providing care within our Covid unit?

It means that it is very important to wear the appropriate PPE upon entering the unit and doffing upon exit, this process must include thorough hand hygiene. The procedure for following necessary infection prevention guidelines will help to protect all patients, visitors, and team members that enter our facility.

There are exciting things happening in the Emergency Department right now. We have added several new and talented employees to our amazing ED family over the last few months. IFCH has partnered with Telespecialists for neuro coverage and we have a telemedicine Stroke Cart ready to go at a moment’s notice to help care for any stroke patients. Additionally, the hospital has submitted applications to the State of Idaho to start participating in the Time Sensitive Emergency (TSE) program. We are expecting surveyors to come in the springtime to help IFCH get our designations for Trauma, Stroke, and STEMI. Even though the ED is heavily involved in this entire process, we know that each department in our hospital will play a vital role to expertly care for these types of patients at IFCH, and we are so honored to be on this team with each of you.

Empower Retirement has acquired MassMutual’s retirement business, your workplace retirement plan service provider. We’re excited that your plan is coming to Empower and committed to making the transition as smooth as possible. As this transition unfolds, you’ll notice there’s a lot to be excited about too.

Please review the announcement with the button below. 

Tari Bryan, ED CNA

I’d like to nominate Tari Bryan ED CNA for Ace Award. She is always willing to help and goes above and beyond. One particular incident was when a patient soiled her clothes and shoes. Tari could have just taken off the clothing items and put them in a bag. Instead, she took time to wash them in the sink with soap and water and dried them off. Tari was so wonderful in the situation because the patient was so embarrassed, yet Tari made her so comfortable and made her smile.

Shout out to other ACE Award nominations

Christena Sparks, Nutrition Tech

I would like to nominate Christena Sparks, Nutrition Tech in the Nutritional Services Department for this month’s ACE Award. It takes departments working together and helping each other to make a hospital run smoothly. This month, Christena Spark did just that. The diet office gets print outs of all hospital discharges – this helps us know that we no longer need to feed a patient. Christena noticed an irregularity in the discharges. A baby from one room was discharged without his mother, and in another room a mother was discharged without a baby. Even though it didn’t have anything to do with her job responsibilities, Christena took a brief minute to check Cerner to confirm what she thought might be the case. She contacted Labor and Delivery nursing, who were unaware that an error occurred. L&D was quickly able to discharge the correct baby boy in the system and reactivate the baby who was still a patient. Being aware and taking a little extra care helped another department avert complications later. It’s all about teamwork… and teams reach beyond your own department.

Luis Elizarraraz, Radiology Technologist

What do you like about your job with IFCH? I enjoy working with my co-workers and the opportunity to help people as a team.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of work? I like to spend time outdoors: hiking and razor riding.

How long have you worked at IFCH? 6 months.

What is something most people don’t know about you? I enjoy reading.

What is your greatest accomplishment? Finishing college and starting a career that I enjoy.

Use three words to best describe you. Kind, Thoughtful, Quiet

What is the first thing you would buy if you won the lottery? A house

What is your favorite quote/motto? “Don’t stop until you’re proud.”