Hurley Medical Center recognizes the teamwork that is important in fulfilling the mission of “Clinical Excellence, Service to People.” A Team of the Season is honored for its collaborative spirit, mutual accountability, support to others, fulfilling Hurley’s mission and overall positive attitude.
The Neuro/Trauma/Surgical/Burn (NTSB) ICU unit is Hurley’s current Team of the Season. Every nurse in NTSB is an integral part of the team’s effectiveness in patient care. Nurse Manager Kim Lipka says, “If the unit didn’t have the team it does, it wouldn’t be successful. That’s why we’ve all stayed in the unit for so long.” Trauma Clinician Chris Berry says his coworkers constantly “have the willingness to adapt and learn, to understand and improve the care we give to patients.”
The unit is busy, multitasking constantly, so no one works as an individual. Assistant Nurse Manager Kim Campbell says, “We’re like a family and nothing makes us happier than seeing a patient who had suffered devastating injuries being able to walk back into the unit on their own.”
The NTSB ICU, which is the only trauma team in the country to receive a Gold Beacon Award of Excellence in 2023, follows the inaugural Team of the Season honoree, The A-Team or Ambulatory Team. When seniors choose Hurley, Jabari Brown, Moniquea Henry and Darius Taylor get them up and walking so they can return home. Nurse Case Manager Angela Gagne says, “They help patients so they can advance home, so they don’t have to go to a nursing home.”
“If the unit didn’t have the team it does, it wouldn’t be successful. That’s why we’ve all stayed in the unit for so long.”
Chris Berry,
Trauma Nurse Clinician
“Increasing mobility is one of the most difficult jobs nurses have to do. The very first month the A-Team came into CCU, mobility scores increased more than 25%,” says Seth DuQuette, ICU Nurse Clinician. “If they weren’t here, it wouldn’t get done with the efficacy and efficiency it’s getting done with.”
Michelle McLaughlin, Nurse Manager for ICCU adds, “Not only is mobility up, but delirium is down, and skin issues have reduced. They work really well with our staff, their insight and intuition is amazing, and they spend time with patients and build relationships with them.”
The way A-Team talks with patients and builds relationships resonates with this team. “The chance to connect with the patients is the best part. It’s not always medical – sometimes we just go in and comfort the patients, we’ll sit them up and talk to them when others can’t,” says Darius.
