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NSICU receives national critical care honor
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by Megan Fink
Public Relations
When a patient battles for survival in the intensive care unit, family
and friends can only wait and hope they are in the best hands. At MUSC,
the hands in the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit (NSICU) are award
winning.
 Some
of the 41-member NSICU award-winning team includes Cheryl Holderfield,
Dr. Ron Neyens, Sarah Gay, Trent Bishop, Leah Ramos, Nicole Thomas,
Kate Imperial, Melissa Hill, Jessica Walkup, Danielle Prox, Chaz
Farmer, Linda Huey, Dr. Julio Chalela, and Daniel Cobb.
Recognized as among the nation’s top adult critical care, pediatric
critical care and progressive care units; NSICU was given the American
Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) Beacon Award for Excellence
last month. Only 130 of the estimated 6,000 ICU units nationwide have
been recognized with this distinction, and MUSC’s NSICU is the first
academic critical care unit in the state of South Carolina to receive
the Beacon Award.
“It means so much that my nurses set this example of excellence in
patient care,” said Cheryl W. Holderfield, R.N., NSICU nurse manager.
“Our goal is to provide a light like a beacon for people needing
direction on how to provide the best care. We’re setting the standard
of care by adhering to protocols, policies and guidelines.”
Holderfield also credits her staff’s superior critical thinking skills
and expertise as reasons for their honorable achievement.
NSICU nurses, who care for acutely ill patients suffering from
neurological injury, operate seamlessly as a team, said Jessica Walkup,
R.N. “We work together to get things done quickly and efficiently.
Communication is what makes it work so well. Everyone within the team
listens and talks to each other with mutual respect.”
NSICU nurses also collaborate with pharmacists, physicians, aides,
dieticians and respiratory care professionals on a regular basis.
In addition to looking at a unit’s scoring based on national care
standards, AACN considered other criteria such as, recruitment and
retention, quality of care goals, family visitation and the reduction
of ventilator instigated phenomena, urinary tract infections and
pressure ulcers.
“This award recognizes our model of care, which is very specialized in
this unit,” said Julio Chalela, M.D., NSICU medical director. “Our
nurses are very involved in patient care and decision making. They are
the ones who present patients to the physicians and know the patient as
well as the doctor. It’s this multidisciplinary approach that makes our
rounding so successful.”
Additionally, NSICU nurses also are active in publishing and presenting research at a national level.
Considered as prestigious as the American Nurses Association’s Magnet
award, the Beacon Award provides units a way to measure their system
and outcomes, and tends to be connected to patient safety initiatives.
“The significance of this award is powerful. It really exemplifies the
nursing staff’s drive towards excellence,” said June Darby, R.N.,
Neuroscience Institute Service Line administrator. “It’s a very high
standard and it just shows the staff’s initiative to want to learn and
improve our patient’s care.”
Friday, Feb. 13, 2009
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