Trinity Health Of New England Colleagues Recognized as Health Care Heroes

The 2024 honorees will be recognized by the Hartford Business Journal at the awards dinner on November 7. 

Taylor Fusco-Ruiz, BS, RN, Saint Francis Hospital

Fusco-Ruiz, who is being honored in the Nursing category, joined Saint Francis in 2017 as an emergency department nurse, following in the footsteps of her great-grandmother and aunt. After working closely with Trauma Department leadership as a member of the Trauma Committee, she joined the team as a Performance Improvement Nurse in 2021, playing a crucial role in the hospital’s work to become reverified with a Level I Trauma designation in 2022. Fusco-Ruiz was promoted to her current role in August 2023, and has been instrumental in developing new programs and initiatives. She is a leader on the hospital’s Injury Prevention Team, works collaboratively with community partners on the Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP), and has taken on roles with firearm violence prevention efforts. In addition to her role at Saint Francis, Fusco-Ruiz joined the Connecticut Department of Victim Services as a sexual assault nurse examiner in 2018 and became an instructor in 2023.

Saint Francis Hospital Injury Prevention Team

The Saint Francis Injury Prevention Team is being recognized in the Healthcare Prevention category. The team’s mission is to develop and implement comprehensive education and prevention initiatives that reduce the occurrence and consequence of injury in an attempt to ensure safer communities. The two main programs provided by the team are Let’s Not Meet By Accident and STOP THE BLEED®. 

Let’s Not Meet By Accident is a community outreach program aimed at teaching teens how to make safe decisions around driving, including the dangers of speeding and impaired or distracted driving. Participants visit the helipad and take part in a mock emergency in the Saint Francis trauma room. Students also learn how much impairment can affect mobility by attempting to complete simple tasks wearing “Fatal Vision Goggles,” which mimic vision changes that can occur when under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The Injury Prevention Team has initiated partnerships with several high schools in the greater Hartford area and has presented the program to over 450 students since 2022. 

In addition to Let’s Not Meet By Accident, the team conducts STOP THE BLEED® trainings throughout the greater Hartford region. While each Let’s Not Meet By Accident training incorporates STOP THE BLEED®, the Injury Prevention Team also offers this life-saving information as a separate training session. The team has trained 336 individuals from local schools and partnered with the Hartford Yard Goats to hold STOP THE BLEED® Night at Dunkin’ Park, where approximately 411 attendees of the game received the life-saving education.

Saint Mary’s Hospital Performance Excellence Team – LEAF Patient Monitoring System

The Saint Mary’s Performance Excellence Team is also being honored with the Health Care Hero award in the Health Care Prevention category for their implementation of the LEAF Patient Monitoring System, a technology which provides valuable information to nursing teams to help reduce pressure injuries in critical care patients. The LEAF Patient Monitoring System features a wearable sensor that measures body position and provides feedback about turn frequency and quality, helping to promote optimal turning practices. Data collected by the sensor is communicated wirelessly to central monitoring stations or mobile devices and provides valuable information to the nursing staff, including when patients are turned, the effectiveness of turning, and a countdown display at the nurse’s station as to when patients need to be repositioned. Embracing the technology, the Saint Mary’s team is able to ensure all monitored patients are turned according to their prescribed turning schedules, doing so in a way that minimizes caregiver work burden.

Since the LEAF system and supporting processes have been implemented, the Critical Care Unit at Saint Mary’s has seen a 60 percent reduction in Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries (HAPI). The exceptional engagement with the technology, reflected by an impressive 89 percent average adherence to the turn protocol, underscores the dedication of the staff and impactful benefits of prioritizing patient safety and quality care.

Trinity Health Of New England TogetherTeam Virtual Connected Care™

The Trinity Health Of New England TogetherTeam Virtual Connected Care™ is being recognized in the Innovation category. Through this care delivery model, built on the foundation of the Caritas Theory of Human Caring, patients are cared for through the collaboration of a direct care registered nurse (RN) partnered with a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or a nursing assistant, and a virtual registered nurse (vRN). This team approach provides enhanced coordination and comprehensive care for the patient. Virtual Connected Care has been implemented at Saint Francis and Saint Mary’s.

Trinity Health Of New England was the first in Connecticut to roll out a care model of this kind, which is addressing the national nursing workforce crisis head-on. This approach provides support and mentorship to newer care team members and offers career progression to more experience nurses. Virtual Connected Care is a prime example of reimaging the way care is delivered, combining the experience of a talented, caring workforce with technology to best meet the needs of patients. As leaders in this initiative, Trinity Health Of New England is strengthening the care provided to patients. All the while, it is progressing the nursing profession by employing an innovative nursing care model which allows nurses to extend their careers beyond their expectations.

Click HERE to see all of the 2024 Healthcare Heroes on the Hartford Business Journal site.