The Trinity Health 2024 Nursing Summit was presented on Thursday, April 25. The theme for this year was Tap into Joy: Innovative Strategies to Finding Joy and Meaning at Work. The national summit was held virtually and was offered to all Trinity Health nursing colleagues.
Saint Mary’s Hospital nursing colleagues were among five nursing teams throughout the entire Trinity Health enterprise to participate as presenters. Representing Trinity Health Of New England were, Lisa Ciarlo, BSN, RN, Critical Care Nurse Leader; Stephanie Nelson, MSN, RN, Director of Safety, Quality, Performance Improvement; and Paula Bowley, MSN, RN, CCRN, Nursing Professional Development Specialist CCU/CVU/IMC. The title of their presentation was, “Feeling the Pressure? Get some re-LEAF!”
Their presentation was focused on the implementation of the LEAF technology on the Critical Care Unit. The technology is comprised of a sensor placed on the patient’s chest that is wirelessly connected to a monitoring station. The sensor alerts the care team when patient re-positioning is needed and informs caregivers on the effectiveness of off-loading the patient. Saint Mary’s launched the initiative in January 2023. Since going live with LEAF, Saint Mary’s has seen a 60% reduction in Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcer/Injury (HAPI) Incidences.
“LEAF has made a tremendous impact on our HAPI rates. We’ve surpassed our goal of reducing the rates,” said Stephanie Nelson. “The percentage of our nursing staff effectively utilizing the technology has also exceeded our expectations. We are certainly delighted by the success of the initiative and are thrilled to share our experience.”