Time and Place

A meeting of the Nurse Executives of Polk County was held on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at Regency Medical Center.

Attendance

Those in attendance were: Walter Lupke (President), Tracy Ayers, Jenny Blank, Valerie Butler, Ruth Clifford, Pal Good, Susie Hart (Secretary), Lea Herring, Michelle Lloyd, Jean Masterson, Leslie Medders, Sally Raiden, Lisa Schlagel, Mary Jo Schreiber, Robin Testerman, and Dorothea Thompson from WHH/Regency;   Julie Collins, Kathy Hunt, , Mary Beth Perry, Cheryle Smith and Margie Voyles from LRMC;  Mavra Kear from Florida Southern College; and Annette Hutcherson from Polk Community College.

Call to Order

Walter Lupke, President, called the meeting to order at 8:02 AM.

Meeting Minutes

The minutes from the November 11, 2008 meeting were approved as written.

Treasurer Report

Katherine Handlin-Rowe was not available to present the treasurer’s report.

Education Committee

• Mavra Kear reported that our educational program has been rescheduled for March 21 from 9am – 1pm at Florida Southern College.  Speakers will be Willa Fuller, FNA Executive Director who will speak on how nurses influence healthcare legislation, Sue Hartranft who will speak on the role of the Clinical Nurse Leader and a panel discussion about staff nurses and research.

By-Laws Committee

Kathy Hunt reported that no new revisions were suggested by the membership.

President’s Report

Legislative Update – No update.

FONE Report – Board meeting dates were shared. 

NEPC 2008 – 2010 Strategic Plan - The FONE plan was approved at the November meeting.

Hot Topics

• Logistics of Tracking and Handling Large Groups of People – This topic was discussed in the context of a mass casualty disaster.  Jenny Blank discussed how the Polk County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the tracking of patients following the pile up on I-4 last year.  Leslie Medders discussed the purchase of “Live Process” and other Emergency Management Systems that are used for communication between hospitals and the Emergency Operations Center.  The county is investigating the purchase of a management system, as is WHH.

Old Business

• Polk County Nursing Research Consortium – Ruth Clifford reported that members of the Research Consortium have been invited from PCC, FSC, LRMC, BRMC and WHH.  Meetings may be set to immediately follow the NEPC meetings.  Mavra Kear and Annette Hutcherson are inviting faculty to attend also.  Initial discussions may be centered on what research is being conducted in each institution and suggestions for identifying strategies for the recruitment and retention of nurses.

New Business

None reported

Roundtable Discussion

• WHH reported that Magnet designation was awarded on December 15 (to the cheers of many).  The organization went tobacco-free the first of October and several people have quit smoking as a result.
• Mavra Kear from Florida Southern College reported that the FNA Florida Legislative agenda will include the ARNP prescribing bill and safe staffing.  FNA does not endorse mandated rations and supports staffing decisions that occur at the unit level.  Lobby days are March 17 and 18 with many informative activities in Tallahassee.  She also reported that FSC is adding an Adult Nurse Practitioner track and hopes that it will be approved and ready for the Fall term. Mavra reported that graduate teas at FSC will expand to include research from others in the community with posters and abstracts.

• Annette Hutcherson from Polk Community College reported that the SW Team of the Florida Center for Nursing is meeting on February 5^th at 2pm at University Community Hospital to focus on nursing education capacity and easing the nursing shortage thorough recruitment and retention.  This meeting is open to anyone and covers the area from Sarasota to Pasco County, East to Polk County.  Their goal is to identify within this area, what are the problems, what are possible solutions, what steps individual facilities are taking, and how students are being educated.  She also reported that PCC will host the NLN Accreditation Committee on Oct. 6, 7, and 8.  The committee will be talking with hospital leaders and staff on Oct. 7.
• Mary Beth Perry reported that they are beginning computer documentation in the OR, they are reducing ‘Flash’ sterilization and they are hosting the Central Florida OR Directors on Feb 6 at LRMC.  They will share policies and discuss topics related to the OR.
• Michelle Lloyd of RMC reported that they have celebrated their first 6 months with the OB Hospitalists and have experienced increases in patient and staff satisfaction.
• Dorothea Thompson of WHH reported that they just opened a 16-bed Medical Observation Unit.
• Sally Raiden, Magnet Coordinator for WHH, reported that the Magnet Designation Survey went well and now she has access to lots of other Magnet Hospitals to assist with questions regarding best practice.  She also has DVDs of all the lectures form the National Magnet Conference and is willing to share them with anyone who would like to borrow them.  She is making a catalog to make topic choices easier.
• Cheryle Smith of LRMC Ambulatory Surgery reported that they are building a new 48 bed Outpatient unit.  They will do pre-admit testing and possibly have satellite offices at Watson Clinic to improve productivity.
• Margie Voyles reported that the LRMC Leadership Institute is in its second year and includes both clinical and non-clinical leaders.  This year they are taking it to their supervisors and team leaders.  It revolves around their corporate priorities and they have received great feedback.
• Leslie Medders reported that WHH is doing it’s 1000^th open heart surgery this morning.  The ORs are building their new surgical documentation, scheduling and inventory system.
• Lisa Schlagel reported that Cardiac Rehab has opened at WHH.
• Mary Jo Schreiber reported that WHH is expecting the JC surveyors any day.  They have been implementing FormFast (computer generated chart forms). Horizon Patient Folders (on-line access to patient charts following discharge), and AdminRx (bar-coding medication administration).  Next year they will tackle electronic nursing documentation and then CPOE.  They are looking for a Clinical Trials Coordinator and Diabetic ARNP.  Four staff went to Jean Watson’s last training program and 2 have become ‘caring coaches’.  They are doing caring projects.  She will be a speaker at the next Caring Consortium and Jean has asked us to host the 2010 Caring Consortium Seminar.  They received the call from Magnet on December 15^th and a 4-year designation as a Magnet Hospital.  They will re-certify in 2012.  The focus at that time will be research, best practice and outcomes.  They are obliged to share their knowledge and practices with others and have already answered lots of questions.  A formal celebration will be held in the Healing Garden with a day long celebration on February 24.
• Jenny Blank reported the WHH ED has capacity management issues and the percentage of patients admitted from the ED has increased.
• Kathy Hunt reported the LRMC Nursing Shared Governance council planned a reception next Thursday to celebrate the Power of Nursing and the Nursing Strategic Plan.  They have eliminated two councils and added 2 – Nursing Research and the Nursing Staff Advisory Council.
• Ruth Clifford that an additional 18 nurses just received their certification and 2 ICUs are applying for the ACN Beacon Award.

Schedule of meetings:

2009 NEPC Meetings-

• March – Lakeland Regional Medical Center
• May – no meeting
• July – Florida Southern College
• Sept – Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center
• Nov – Bartow Regional Medical Center

With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00am.

Respectfully Submitted,

Susie Hart, Secretary