Nurses Innovate
to Tackle the
Dangers of Discharge
Cullman Regional Medical Center caregivers take top honors
for using iPods and intelligence to connect with patients.
By Gary Baldwin
Like hospitals everywhere, Cullman (Ala.) Regional Medical Center faces pen- alties for preventable read- missions within 30 days of discharge. Yet readmissions
often stem from lack of patient compliance
with—or even understanding of—discharge
instructions. To address that issue, the 145-
bed community hospital deployed technology which enables nurses to record their discharge instruction meeting with the patient,
offer a link to that recording to the patient
online, and provide a secure Web site embedded with other materials related to their follow-up care. The nurse-led project resulted in
an immediate reduction in readmissions and
helped boost patient satisfaction scores.
Nursing
Information
Technology
Innovation
Award
NURSING I. T. INNOVATION AWARD
GOLD: Cullman Regional
Medical Center
SILVER: Texas Health
Resources
BRONZE: Penn
Medicine
At discharge, patients typically have one
thing on their mind: getting home. “At dis-
charge, nursing is the only thing standing be-
tween the patient and the door,” says Cheryl
Bailey, R.N., Cullman’s chief nursing officer
who served as manager of the discharge sum-
mary project. “There is so much information
given to the patient and the family. It can be
overwhelming. Patients were not listening,
did not understand or were afraid to ask ques-
tions. Patients get home and they might say
to the family, ‘they made some medication
changes,’ but they don’t remember them.”
Cullman’s bedside patient discharge pro-
cess was time-honored. Responding to the
physician’s discharge order, a nurse would
gather up all the information a patient need-
ed, such as a to-do list for follow-up visits,
Cullman (Alabama) Regional Medical
Center took first place in the 8th annual
2013 Nursing I. T. Innovation Award contest,
which is conducted by Health Data Man-
agement. Cullman’s winning entry—judged
by a panel of nursing informatics experts
and Health Data Management staff—used
I. T. to improve discharge communications
with patients. Runner-up for the Silver
prize was Texas Health Resources, whose
project tackled catheter-associated urinary
tract infections. Winning the Bronze was
Penn Medicine, for its nurse-driven vaccine
protocol project. The winners were select-
Meet the Nursing I. T. Innovation Award Winners
ed from several dozen entries submitted to
Health Data Management last fall. Judges
evaluated the entries based primarily on
the project’s demonstrated benefits, nurse
role and overall innovation. The award goes
to a team of nurses and is open to provider
organizations across the industry.
