By Kim Gardner, The Mountaineer, Waynesville, N.C.
Aug. 1–When Haywood Regional Medical Center lost its Medicare certification in late February and employees’ hours were cut because of a drop in patient numbers, nurse Lynn Lepak had no reservations about staying with the hospital.
“I love it here,”she said. “It’s always tickled me to see visitors going from room to room because everybody knows each other. Plus it’s small and (the staff) feels like a family.”
Lepak has been with the hospital for seven years and now serves as a mentor for new nurses starting out at Haywood Regional. She said she wakes up every morning and looks forward to going to work.
“There are so many miracles that happen here at the hospital, and the staff has never once made me feel as though I’m not needed,”Lepak said. “I live only eight minutes from here and my heart is here.”
Since Haywood Regional regained its Medicare and Medicaid certification in May, hospital officials have been working to increase the staffing level of nurses, who are an important cog in the hospital operations. An employment coordinator, Julia Queen, was hired in June to increase staffing levels throughout the hospital.
As of July 24, 127 applications have been processed or completed for hire. Out of those, 47 are registered nurses. When fully staffed, the hospital will employ about 270 nurses. Haywood Regional maintains a nurse to patient ratio of one to five, with a tighter ratio in the Definitive Observation Care Unit (one to four) and the Intensive Care Unit (one to two).
There are currently 232 nurses on staff at the hospital (including home care service nurses and supervisor positions), and there are plans to bring the number of nurses up as patient numbers increase. When fully staffed with nurses, there are 80 to 90 beds available. The hospital is licensed for 170 beds, with some of those beds dedicated to mental health care.
While Queen handles applications and the screening process for all open positions in the hospital, Royanne Schumacher, who is clinical coordinator and nursing administrator, focuses on filling the nursing positions.
Together, the two women have seen a good number of applicants — both with years of experience and new graduates — looking for work at Haywood Regional, with many coming from towns and cities outside of the county.
Queen said she has had applicants from different counties where there are other hospitals, yet still choose to apply at Haywood Regional.
“We have one applicant who is an experienced nurse from Andrews, and (once hired) it’s our responsibility to keep her,” Queen said. “We tell her ‘you’re important to our organization,’ and we value you.”
This is something hospital personnel tell the staff, she said, and the idea fits in with the new nursing mission and philosophy, which is centered around patient care.
A common complaint heard after Haywood Regional’s decertification was hospital administrators maintained an atmosphere of fear among employees. Now that the hospital is working on changing gears and bringing the organization up from the ashes, nurses are told they are an integral part of change.
“Communication, communication and more communication (is the key to success),” Schumacher said. “Our current environment is changing environment. We hate to see it, but some people might choose not to stay with it, and we’re very sorry to see that happen. We’re working on dealing with it. But we tell people if we find cracks, it’s imperative to fix them right away. We are open to identifying areas that need attention and dealing with it.” Both Queen and Schumacher said they have been open and honest with potential hires about the troubles the hospital has experienced this year. But they also let candidates know they will be part of the change to a new future.
“New hires always have new ideas,” Queen said. “It’s good if they know if they suggest changes and they are put in place, that (employees) know they have a vested interest in the organization.”
New employees are not the only ones to go with changes. “Many current employees are on board with changes, and their experience is appreciated,” said Robin Tindall-Taylor, public relations director for the hospital.
“Not everything is being thrown out,” Schumacher added. One of those changes has been continued nursing education and training.
Patrick LaRose was hired last month to provide that continuing education, as well as orient new hires to Haywood Regional’s corporate culture.
“My focus is on looking at tasks and helping nurses do their best job,” he said.
LaRose assembled an orientation manual for all nurses, which provides a working guide about hospital procedures and concepts.
Contin-uous training and education is important in the nursing field, LaRose said, and his job is to make sure nurses stay on top of the latest in the field.
“They need more training because of advances in technology and nursing is a rapidly changing environment,” LaRose said. “Nurses need continuous training on new technologies, new medicines and new equipment. Nursing is a lifelong learning profession, and as a lifelong learning profession, nurses need to be committed to continuing education whether it’s with higher degrees or certification.”
As the nurse educator, LaRose is tasked with ensuring Haywood Regional nurses are at the top of their game.
“My primary role is to make sure the nursing staff has the tools to work with and that’s huge,” he said. “School teaches nurses the basic skills to sufficiently pass the boards. Experience teaches nurses about critical thinking, technology and administering patient care, and you get that experience through actual hands-on with patients and also through continuing education.”
With new hires, LaRose introduces nurses to how Haywood Regional operates and the health care methods used. He said like with other jobs, company culture differs with each facility.
“What I try to do with new nurses is tell them what our policies are,” LaRose said. “We teach them about us.”
One way new nurses learn is through group meetings, where LaRose discusses and demonstrates how certain pieces of equipment work. He has pictures of crash carts with every item labeled, so nurses know what a cart should look like in case of an emergency.
In addition to group training, LaRose holds one-on-one training for medicine reconciliation so patient care and medication administration is consistent throughout a patient’s stay.
“We have a lot of education,” LaRose said. “We have a monthly education calendar and a software application that nurses have the ability to get on either at home or at the hospital where they can find out about classes, sign up for classes or take classes which are followed up with another RN to validate skills.”
In addition to continuous training, new nurses are partnered with a seasoned nurse through a mentoring program, like what Lepak does. LaRose said it is a six-month period which is then transitioned into a buddy program. LaRose also meets weekly with new nurses to ensure they are adjusting well.
Lepak said she loved her mentoring period when she was a new nurse.
“When I first started, everybody mentored me and I felt wanted and appreciated,” Lepak said. “I love teaching and mentoring.”
At the end of July, Lepak was passing on her knowledge and love for nursing and Haywood Regional to her new nurse charge, Libby Robinson.
The Haywood County native said she came to Haywood Regional in part because her father retired from the hospital.
“It’s a part of me because of him,” Robinson said. “Also, (the hospital) is a part of the community and I want to make a difference and help rebuild.”
Haywood Regional continues to hire nurses as more patients come to the hospital for health care. As part of that effort, there will be an open house next week to attract and recruit registered nurses.
The drop-in event is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6, in the classroom on the seventh floor at Haywood Regional Medical Center.
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