According to Nursing Management staff members, "the visionary nurse leader views nursing as both an art and a science by promoting caring and competence as the link between science and humanity." They must've had Betty in mind when this definition was set to paper!! Betty is a true visionary who brings an energetic and "hands-off" approach to motivating people at all levels. Through her fun and inspirational style she has increased nursing satisfaction, improved patient care, and promoted the image of nursing within the hospital and the community.
Betty moved to our community 6 years ago. Since then, her direct and indirect influence has had a major impact on the health of our citizens by clearly setting the standards for excellence. She's been recognized numerous times for her contributions, and for the past 4 years, Gallup Poll has identified her as a World Class Leader.
Betty's own enthusiasm is a driving force in spreading her vision to others throughout the organization and energizing others to reach their fullest potential. It's difficult to narrow Betty's qualities to only one from the six suggested by Nursing Management 's Visionary Leader award criteria. After much lively discussion and collegial dissent, we feel that Betty most exemplifies "quality of excellence" because she's passionate as an advocate for the personal and professional growth and development of nurses and of the profession using an innovative and visionary leadership approach.
Betty received her basic nursing education and her master's degree in New York. Her strong experience in upper management has helped her forge her own strong belief in the vital need to support nurses not only through orientation, but also throughout their careers. Betty models commitment to professional growth, which has led to achievement of the prestigious Wharton fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
Betty has been the ultimate leader in excellence for nursing. Through her insight and continual desire for exceptional nursing care, she's given all nurses at Holmes Regional Medical Center and Palm Bay Community Hospital (HRMC/PBCH) the opportunity to utilize their individual talents. In doing so, we now have the ability to put our personal signature on the future of nursing.
According to Barbara Hiser, clinical nurse coordinator and an associate of HRMC for 20 years, "Betty is down-to-earth and fun!! She's the real deal and has been able to reach individual nurses in a way that I've never seen in my 40 years of nursing practice. It's an honor to be a part of our nursing department with Betty as our leader."
Develops creative approaches to nursing practice[horizontal ellipsis]
Betty's hallmark is the use of formal and informal brainstorming with individuals and teams to encourage creative problem solving. She's been successful at managing extreme fluctuations in winter census by developing the in-house Winter Staffing and Bonus Program, resulting in a reduced dependence on outside agency help.
Over a period of 7 years, she's successfully led three facilities in New Jersey and Florida to Magnet designation. She's freely shared her expertise to local hospitals seeking this prestigious designation.
One of her most profound innovations came about when she was able to achieve board approval for specialty certification pay for RNs, contributing to a consistently low turnover rate of 5%. As a result, approximately one-third of the eligible nurses at HRMC/PBCH have become certified.
Through her emphasis on professional development, her leadership helped us develop the clinical charge nurse role, which supports the bedside nurse and the unit manager, while developing the individual nurse. Quality care was the emphasis when she supported development of interdisciplinary Partnership Councils, thereby promoting continuity of patient care and enhanced communication.
Through her persistence, she formally developed structure and processes to ensure consistent application of evidence-based practice, which was a first at our organization. One of many examples is how she has supported development and implementation of a nursing rapid response team. Within the first year of establishing the team, our inpatient codes realized a reduction of 29%.
Through her vision she supported, initiated, and implemented the Physician Hospitalist Program, thereby improving relations with community physicians and improving response time to patient issues. Betty also supported development of the corporate-wide eICU (electronic ICU), which provides early intervention and constant physician oversight. She also created an environment for development of the TICU (Transformational ICU) Project, resulting in decreased length of stay and mortality in the ICUs.
Betty has worked diligently and tirelessly to address the complex issues of throughput, including addition of a formal utilization review program, reaggregation of patients, initiation of temporary units to hold patients safely without lowering patient satisfaction, and a seamless discharge process.
Betty has worked collaboratively with the rehabilitation department to develop methods for determining appropriateness of referrals. She also formed formal communication networks between departments, thereby improving communication and workflow between nursing and the ancillary departments.
As part of streamlining throughput, her vision and strategic direction have promoted the transition to a more than half-million-dollar, state-of-the-art paperless charting system, with expected completion in 2006. This will enhance communication and safety for our patients during intraunit movement, interhospital transfer, and between the hospital and local physicians' offices.
Acts as a nurse advocate[horizontal ellipsis]
Betty's visionary leadership and innovative approach is legendary. She integrates these qualities through the following styles:
Excellent communication:
[white diamond suit] Increased physicians' understanding of nursing initiatives through active participation in medical staff meetings. In the past, this position was typically a figurehead for nursing.
[white diamond suit] Fostered development of systems to promote interfacility communication (for example, Corporate Nursing Leadership Council and Corporate Best Practice Committee).
[white diamond suit] Provided creative leadership to nursing staff, the organization, and the community during three hurricanes in 2 months in 2004, enabling us to manage triple capacity of patients and staff for 3 days during lockdown.
[white diamond suit] Strengthened staff communication and input by developing a Nurse Action Team, contributing to the defeat of a unionization attempt. This team is still an active entity and serves as an arena for discussion of controversial topics, with Betty in attendance.
Commitment to quality patient care:
[white diamond suit] Visioned and formed interdisciplinary Continuum of Care teams to improve quality of care for patients with specific disease processes.
[white diamond suit] Designed the Back to Basics Program, emphasizing the core elements of patient care vital to a positive hospital experience.
[white diamond suit] Promoted development of specialty nursing resource teams (for example, skin, pain, diabetes), which help to strengthen nursing performance, resulting in improved patient outcomes.
Support and promotion of nurses:
[white diamond suit] Enhanced infrastructure and support to specific patient populations and nursing units by expanding the role of advanced practice nurses and nursing director positions.
[white diamond suit] Supported and promoted the Windows of Opportunity Project, an associate development program which helps retention, contributing to our low nursing turnover rate.
Advances the science of nursing[horizontal ellipsis]
Betty's been instrumental in positioning the organization to make a cultural shift. Part of this cultural shift includes the incorporation of best-practice strategies into patient care, with interdisciplinary knowledge-based charting as the pivotal point for our evolving paperless documentation system.
Her passion to look beyond our own walls results in consistent encouragement of nursing involvement in poster development, professional writing and publishing, speaking engagements, and nursing research. Through her leadership, we formed the organization's first Nursing Research Committee.
A tradition under her leadership is the annual retreat for nurse leaders at a local yacht club, including education, speakers, strategic planning, and fun. Connecting education with patient satisfaction, she reinforced attendance at a 25-hour series which promotes patient satisfaction. She extends this passion for education into the community by serving on the advisory board of two local nursing programs and a private scholarship program. In addition, Betty has demonstrated her commitment to personal development by participating in the prestigious Leadership of Brevard Program.
In summary, today's complex and continually changing health-care arena is a challenge. It's Betty's visionary leadership that's helped our organization remain independent, fiscally sound, and best known for its high-quality patient care. Betty's vision and optimistic view toward the profession of nursing enable her to lead our nurses forward-illustrating the creative possibilities of nursing for today and the future.