Nursing initiative at KEMH in the spotlight at international conference

Friday 9 December 2022: A procedure developed by Bermuda Hospitals Board nurses was presented at the British Geriatrics Society Autumn Conference on 17 November. It will be published in the Society’s Age and Ageing Journal in a few months.

The abstract, ‘A Novel Pressure Injury Care Bundle for Dependent Patients with Pressure Injuries in Bermuda’, details a nurse-driven initiative of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital’s Gordon Long Term Care Unit. It was presented by the unit’s quality and safety team, including registered nurses Girlie Baldonado, Jerry De La Cruz, Bernadette Diaz and Bernadine Edwards, Long Term Care Clinical Educator Katrina Drummond, and Gordon Unit Clinical Manager Maxine Simmons.

“Our unit-based quality and safety team – all nurses – developed a procedure to help us better manage pressure injuries and prevent our patients developing them,” said Ms Simmons. “These are wounds that occur on the skin as a result of sustained pressure. When pressure cuts off the oxygen supply to a particular area, an ulcer or wound can appear.

“Long-term care residents, especially those who are confined to bed, are more susceptible to developing pressure injuries.”

The goal of the initiative is to address severe pressure injury cases in patients who are transferred into long-term care. The team created and implemented a specific set of actions which augments the existing pressure injury management care pathway.

Nurse Jerry De La Cruz spoke at the virtual conference, which included more than 700 professionals in the field of geriatrics from around the world. His video presentation detailed the project and documented how the majority of pressure injuries, even in severe cases, healed significantly. The wounds healed completely in half of the cases.

“We looked at 30 patients who were admitted to the unit in this study,” said Mr De La Cruz.

“The results of introducing this pressure injury bundle have been very encouraging for all of us carers on the unit,” said Ms Simmons. “We worked hard looking at actions we felt would address the problem, and I can’t describe the gratification in seeing that it has worked.”

Chief of Nursing Judy Richardson said: “Providing patient-centred care, where we focus on the needs of the patient first, is a BHB value which our Gordon Unit nurses exemplified when they developed this care plan. BHB is proud of their work. The British Geriatrics Society publishing it in their journal gives international recognition of its importance.”

9 December 2022 Home Page, News

Extended – week day evening hours only at the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre

Wednesday 2 February 2022:  Bermuda Hospitals Board today announces that the change in hours at the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre (UCC) will continue to the end of February at which time it will be re-assessed.

The UCC is currently open from 6pm to 10pm Monday to Friday and 9am -9pm on Saturday and Sunday. The move to evening hours only on weekdays, was to assist with ensuring adequate staffing levels are available in the Emergency Department at KEMH.

Dr Chikezie Dean Okereke, Chief of Emergency, comments: “The temporary change in the weekday hours implemented last month has helped. As we remain under the same pressures the decision was made to extend the current hours until the end of this month.”

Judy Richardson, Chief of Nursing, comments: “ The reduced UCC hours allow us to redeploy a full time nurse back to the ED which assists in delivering care where the most unwell people are in need.”

-ends-

2 February 2022 Home Page, News

Bermuda Hospitals Board thanks Frontline Foundation

Friday 25 June 2021: Bermuda Hospitals Board thanks philanthropist Sean McNulty and his charity, Frontline Foundation, for the generous donation of a $50 gift card to each member of staff. Mr McNulty presented the gift cards on Tuesday 22 June 2021.

In a letter to hospital staff he stated: “This is an everyone initiative, and is a small gesture from us to say thank you very much for all that you do. And particularly for your exceptional effort during this pandemic, which is on top of all the important things that you already do.  What you and other front line workers are doing for the community is really what we are thankful for; and is the main reason we have started this foundation in the first place.”

The gift cards can be used at more than 65 local businesses.

BHB Chief of Nursing Judy Richardson accepted the cards on behalf of staff and thanked Mr McNulty for recognising and rewarding the work of BHB staff.

She stated: “Our frontline healthcare workers worked tirelessly to treat and save patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their unfaltering commitment to service our community was on display every day. With their compassion, these frontline heroes continued to ‘pursue excellence through improvement, to make Bermuda proud.’  We are very pleased to continue our community support with the recent addition of the vaccination clinic, which has supported the Ministry of Health in its effort to improve vaccination rates in Bermuda. We are proud to be part of this important national strategy.

“Recipients of the gift include mental health and acute care staff, long-term care, nurse auxiliary, allied health services, outpatient services, environmental service workers, food service workers, transporters and multiple layers of administrative and support staff. We are appreciative of this recognition and are committed to our mission ‘to continuously strive to deliver the highest quality and safest care to our patients, every day’.

25 June 2021 Home Page, News

Local couple donates $2,500 to BHB nurses

Tuesday 1 June 2021: Richard and Rebecca Wilson said the extent of their gratitude for the work of hospital staff in the fight against COVID-19 cannot be sufficiently expressed in words. The local couple donated $2,500 to nurses in May in an effort to convey their deep feelings.

They presented BHB Chief of Nursing Judy Richardson with the donation, which included a card with this handwritten message:

We are proud to recognise “Nurses Appreciation Month”. We are grateful for your dedication, hard work and perseverance during these difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nurses are all making incredible sacrifices to keep us safe as they impact the health and wellbeing of Bermuda’s people.

Your compassion for taking care of every life is remarkable.

We can never thank you enough, but we would like to try by donating $2,500 to you, our Health Care Heroes!

With Love.

Ms Richardson said: “On behalf of our 500 Bermuda Hospitals Board nurses, I thank the Wilsons for this most unexpected and generous gift.”

1 June 2021 Home Page, News

Sixty handcrafted gifts donated to BHB nurses

Thursday 6 May 2021: Sixty Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) nurses will receive a hand-crafted gift bag in memory of Bermudian missionary Freida Nusum, who died of COVID-19 in Panama last April.

Ms Nusum and her husband, Sheridan, were living in Panama as missionaries when the pandemic started last year. Unfortunately, the couple both contracted the virus and were hospitalised in Panama, both in serious condition. Ms Nusum succumbed to the illness. Her husband recovered.

Judith Lawrence was crestfallen at the loss of her sister.

“To help me recover and to honour Freida’s life, I decided to make a donation,” said Ms Lawrence. “Freida was a giving and caring person and so I thought a donation to nurses who have worked so hard during this pandemic would be fitting.”

A sampling of the handcrafted gift bags created by Judith Lawrence in memory of her sister Freida.

“I enjoy crafts and decided to make 60 gift bags. I used materials Freida had collected for me in her travels. Other family donated products to put in the bags – socks, candy, hand sanitiser, cream and tissues,” she continued.

BHB has made the donation a week-long event, holding daily draws to determine the winning nurses.

“We extend our sympathies to Ms Lawrence and her family on the loss of her sister,” said BHB Chief of Nursing Judy Richardson. “Our nurses are touched by this kind gesture. The recent surge of COVID 19 in Bermuda has had a huge impact on our frontline nurses and healthcare workers. Her beautiful gift bags will be appreciated by each of our nurses who receives one. Our nurses tend to the needs of patients at every stage of their existence – from birth through to end of life.”

Ms Richardson continued: “Just being there for patients, their carers and their families in these pressured times is so critical.  We thank Ms Lawrence for her generosity.”

6 May 2021 Home Page, News

Caring for the Caregiver donates to BHB nursing staff

Tuesday 9 March 2021: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) nurses and nursing aides on the Ace Barber Unit received gift boxes from two local students this month.

Alaiyah Hayward from Bermuda College and Jezhari Talbot from Berkeley Institute made the donation from their newly formed charity – Caring for the Caregivers (CFTC).

“CFTC’s purpose is to support our essential workers while also contributing to our local economy, by creating self-care baskets for workers with items sourced from local businesses,” the duo said in an email to BHB.

The email continued: “We have chosen to donate boxes to essential workers at your place of employment. We are looking forward to your reply to this email so we can organize how we can distribute them. We are truly thankful for what you have done for our country!”

When contacted, Ms Hayward and Ms Talbot said they wanted the gifts to be given to nurses on the Ace Barber Unit as this is the ward where the majority of patients who test positive for COVID-19 are admitted, unless they require ICU treatment.

On Monday 1 March, Ms Hayward presented 15 boxes at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital to BHB Chief of Nursing Judy Richardson, Clinical Director Medical/Surgical Services Karen Raynor and Ace Barber Clinical Resource Nurse Dunae Richards.

“This is such a thoughtful gesture from Ms Hayward and Ms Talbot,” said Ms Richardson. “We truly appreciate the gifts and I’m sure our nurses will love them. They are beautifully packaged, demonstrating the care their charity is all about.”

“The nurses and nursing aides were excited with their gifts,” said Ms Richards. “They were unexpected and welcomed. It completely brightened the day of the 15 recipients.”

Each box contained a mixture of items sourced from local vendors, including Coco Aroma, MarketPlace, Royalty Rootz, Esso, Quench Bermuda, Salt+Cedar, Naked Zero, Ahmani’s Cookie Company and ESC Limited.

The gift boxes were made possible through donations from Chubb and Validus Re.

Pictured Above: Judy Richardson, Chief of Nursing; nurse Carolann Tacklyn; Karen Raynor, Clinical Director Medical and Surgical Services; Alaiyah Hayward, Caring For the Caregiver; Dunae Richards, Clinical Resource Manager, Ace Barber; and nursing assistant Elizabeth Dore

 

9 March 2021 Home Page, News

Bermuda Hospitals Board Nurse Practitioner Obtains the Right to Write Prescriptions

24 September 2018: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) Nurse Practitioner Myrian Balitian-Dill is one of only a handful of registered nurses who have attained nurse practitioner designation in Bermuda. She is now the first to be granted authority to write prescriptions locally. Mrs Balitian-Dill received the news from the Bermuda Pharmacy Council on 31 August 2018.

Mrs Balitian-Dill is the only nurse practitioner at BHB. On obtaining her qualification she moved into a nurse practitioner role in the hospital’s Cardiology Department. In November 2016 she transitioned to help set up a new service at BHB, the Patient-Centred Medical Home. The small dynamic team of this service also includes a physician medical director, a staff nurse and an office administrator. The setting provided the ideal environment for Mrs Balitian-Dill to be afforded the right to prescribe as Bermuda legislation dictates that prescribing rights can be granted to nurse practitioners “under the authority of a medical practitioner”.

The new development is the result of several years of collaboration to ensure all the necessary regulatory documents were in place. Mrs Balitian-Dill is pleased with the move and sees it as a starting point and an important way to help reduce health care costs.

While the permission only exists under the direct supervision of a physician, Mrs Balitian-Dill explains the benefit.

“I believe it makes the system more efficient,” said Mrs Balitian-Dill. “If the nurse practitioner can prescribe evidence-based therapy at point of care, why do we need to wait for another practitioner (physician) to prescribe that therapy?”

“I applaud the path Myrian has taken in her nursing career,” said BHB Chief of Nursing Judy Richardson. “Myrian is passionate about advancing nursing practice in Bermuda. Her work with the Patient Centered Medical Home is yielding positive results. Early evidence shows improved health of clinic patients who had frequently used other services.

Our Clinical Services Plan identified the need for a more diverse workforce which includes more advanced practice nurses like Mrs. Balitian-Dill.”

BHB CEO Venetta Symonds said: “We welcome this move by the Pharmacy Council and are proud of Myrian’s accomplishments and her dedication to provide our patients with the best possible care.”

Editor’s note:

The Patient-Centred Medical Home is an outpatient clinic within BHB created to provide a more coordinated, comprehensive, and patient-centred approach to care to un-insured and under-insured patients who also have chronic medical conditions.  The service is available by referral.

24 September 2018 Home Page, News