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Mercy & Unity Hospitals Win Innovation of the Year Award from Minnesota Hospital Association
ST. PAUL, MN 01/24/2003--
At its annual awards banquet on Friday, Jan. 17, the Minnesota
Hospital Association (MHA) honored Mercy & Unity Hospitals of
Coon Rapids and Fridley with the Innovation of the Year in Patient
Care Award. One of the association’s most prestigious honors, the
award recognizes organizations that have implemented cutting-edge
programs that improve the lives of patients, employees and community
members.
This year, Mercy & Unity won for their Culture of Caring
Model. The new care delivery model is the result of a process that
started nearly three years ago and involved employees in all aspects
of patient care. The hospitals put it in place last year to improve
how employees meet patient needs and provide greater job satisfaction
in a cost-competitive manner.
“The new model is a collaborative effort of all of our staff,”
said Kathy Wilde, R.N., vice president of patient care for the
hospitals. “We are honored to receive this award. It truly is a
reflection of the hard work and dedication of our nurses and all of
our staff to make each patient’s stay the best.”
The Culture of Caring Model focuses on the core relationship
between the patient and the registered nurse. It pairs each patient
with an R.N., who leads the patient’s care team. As nurses manage
care needs, they support each other by sharing expertise and
experiences. Each team includes care associates who work with two or
more R.N.s to help with care needs. Other team members, from such
areas as occupational or physical therapy and social services, are
also involved to help provide the best overall care for the
patient.
The new model aims to give nurses more time to spend with patients
by decreasing the number of patients each nurse is assigned to care
for. This will ultimately lead to better patient care and a higher
level of job satisfaction for staff, hospital officials said. While
putting this innovative approach into practice, Mercy & Unity
have added 70 new registered nurse positions and lowered their RN
vacancy rate.
“Mercy & Unity Hospitals have done a great service to the
people of their communities. They have not only enhanced patient care
in their own hospitals, but have created an innovative model that can
be expanded to other hospitals across the state,” said Bruce Rueben,
president of MHA.
The Minnesota Hospital Association, formerly the Minnesota
Hospital and Healthcare Partnership, annually awards the best and
brightest in Minnesota health care in several categories. MHA is an
advocacy organization that represents Minnesota's 140 non-profit
hospitals and 19 health systems.
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