Wyoming Nurses Association awards St. John’s Health

St. John’s Health is pleased and grateful to have been recognized by the Wyoming Nurses Association with two awards for 2020. St. John’s was granted the Collaborative Practice Award; and Brittany Jones, a hospitalist at St. John’s, received the Nursing Leadership Award in Advanced Practice Nursing.

“On behalf of St. John’s, I am very proud of the dedication and extraordinary effort of the nurses and other members of our team during this difficult time,” said Chief Nursing Officer Marsha Sensat, MSN. “I am also deeply thankful to our community and patients from across the state who have trusted us to keep them safe.”

Collaborative Practice Award

St. John’s was nominated for Collaborative Practice Award based on its multidisciplinary preparation and response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wyoming.

According to St. John’s CEO Paul Beaupré, MD, the key to St. John’s success was preparedness and quick action. It was through a well-established discipline of participating in emergency preparedness drills—and some luck with the choice of drill topic—that, in 2019, St. John’s ran a communicable disease training drill in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security. Also fortuitously, staff from multiple departments participated in a FEMA-approved emerging disease preparedness course in November. “We could not have foreseen what lay ahead, but the recent training and practice working together as a team was invaluable,” said Beaupré.

Beaupré pointed to several major steps and initiatives, among many, that demonstrated collaboration and teamwork:

• A new nurse hotline to evaluate for COVID-19
• Rapid expansion of the telehealth program to prevent spread of disease in the facilities
• The use of the electronic medical record (EMR) and other technology across the organization to ensure that information was available to make quick decisions. These included a travel screening tool in the EMR and an online learning course for staff.
• Extensive training for proper usage of PPE by clinical staff
• Development of a flex plan to expand isolation room capacity as needed
• A testing plan that allowed us to use limited resources as effectively as possible, including a program to test all patients in advance of elective procedures
• The tireless efforts from the purchasing team for supplies and PPE acquisition and real-time updates on inventory as needed
• The internal leadership team was quickly assembled to convene daily COVID update and planning meetings. With all of the key players meeting regularly, we were able to respond quickly to changes.
• The publication of a daily digital dashboard of COVID metrics and expanded website to keep the community informed
• New visitor and patient safety policies
• Special precautions to protect the staff and residents of our senior living community, St. John’s Living Center

Nursing Leadership in Advanced Practice Nursing Award

Brittany Jones, ACNP, received the WNA’s 2020 Nursing Leadership in Advanced Practice Nursing Award. Jones is a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner who works as a hospitalist in the primary and intensive care units.

“I am thrilled that Brittany has received this well-deserved recognition. Brittany excels at everything she is asked to do. She is smart, efficient, personable and a great communicator,” said Marcia Lux, MD, Medical Director of Hospitalist Services at St. John’s Health. “She always goes the extra mile for her patients. We are beyond fortunate to have her on our team.”

A hospitalist is a primary care provider who exclusively cares for patients while they are hospitalized. Jones is the first nurse practitioner in the hospitalist group to work with high acuity patients.

“Brittany is an amazing example of the role an ACNP plays in the care of acute patients,” said Naomi Starcevich, BSN, Director of Case Management, who nominated Jones for the award. “She has the skills, training, education, and compassion that makes her an asset to our hospital and our patients. She is calm and confident during critical situations and numerous nurses have told me how grateful they are to have her there during those times.”

Jones holds a BS in Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia and an MS in Nursing, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, from Emory University. She previously worked at a large hospital in Atlanta, where she routinely performed complicated procedures and managed ICU patients.

##

Media contact: Karen Connelly, Chief Communications Officer, 307.739.7380, kconnelly@stjohns.health