Nowhere is this more evident than the long-term acute care units at the Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care. There, patients with multifactorial and complex conditions stay for an extended time period.
“Our nurses have to think critically, make decisions very quickly and have top assessment skills because they are often the ones noticing a change in patients’ conditions,” said Jennifer Davis, RN, clinical nurse manager of 3 West, a UC Health long-term acute care unit based at Christ Hospital.
This level of critical care requires that nurses work closely in teams. In the fall of 2018, nurses on 3 West organized an engagement committee to strengthen this staff unity and ultimately improve patient care.
“The engagement committee builds our teamwork and also builds our accountability to each other and to our patients to work as a more cohesive unit,” said Kim Lucas, RN, a member of the committee.
This team’s unity serves patients even beyond their stays in UC Health care settings.
In December, the 3 West engagement committee organized a fundraiser in their unit—ultimately collecting thousands of dollars from staff in a matter of weeks and donating items to Bethany House Services and St. Joseph Orphanage.
“All of us are in healthcare because we care about other people,” Kim said. “We recognize that there is a need in the communities we serve, especially in children and women.”