Boards on Board with Nursing

Purpose:
To assist Nurse Executives in delivering information to Boards that links quality and finance to direct nursing care measures.

Significance:
Fostering a Boards understanding of nursing process,nursing sensitive indicators and nursing quality will establish the relationships necessary to maintain a quality environment for a culture of excellence in nursing.

Strategy and Implementation:
Each quarter the CNO presents to the Board the NDNQI nurse sensitive indicators in a graphic format utilizing powerpoint and links the indicators to quality of care, financial indicators, and Magnet culture. The CNO utilizes standard definitions and transforms the information into terms that the Board can understand and relate to. Graphic displays are used that show comparison with our hospital results and best perfomance results. The results are framed into 8 statements of "what nursing excellence looks like at Schneck Medical Center". The Board is encouraged to ask questions and to respond to examples of situations presented by the CNO. Questions are posed such as: Earlier you heard a presentation regarding Length of Stay and Heart Failure, can you see how a pressure ulcer will further compound this patients LOS, decrease quality and increase the financial burden of the hospital in providing care?

Evaluation:
Success is measured by gaining support for new technology, nursing hours per patient day that are in the upper quartile, and a knowledgable Board. The CNO regularly receives praise from the Board regarding our quality performance and nursing competency.

Implications for Practice:
Support for the Nursing capital budget allowed implementation of pressure reducing mattresses on all patient beds; an admission nurse position, NP case managers for heart failure, and specialty beds in our ICU. Education is supported throughout nursing to maintain our certification levels.