Greetings!
I hope you’re enjoying the new format of our nursing newsletter and find the content helpful in your work here at UAMS. If you have suggestions on how to make this even more meaningful for you, please share them by sending an e-mail to me.
A lot has happened since our last newsletter, but I would like to highlight a couple of major accomplishments. First, we had great follow-up visit from two Joint Commission surveyors at the end of last month. The physician surveyor was extremely complimentary of nursing and your ownership of the workflow changes needed to ensure high-quality, safe care in a couple of areas. The number of COVID patients in our hospital has declined significantly in the past few weeks. Let’s hope the trend continues. This doesn’t mean we’re any less busy or that the hospital doesn’t remain full, but it does mean we are able to once again care for all the moms and babies, cancer, stroke, ortho and trauma patients, routine surgeries and everyone else who needs our care.
Several other important events are coming up. Be sure you:
- Complete your Tobacco Pledge in ESS by Nov. 12
- Update your 2022 Benefits by Nov. 12
- Attend the 2021 UAMS State of Nursing by Zoom on Nov. 16
- Get your Flu Shot by Nov. 17
I’d also like to highlight Caring for the Nurse, our on-going wellness retreats for UAMS nurses. We have expanded these to twice a month so more of you can participate, and we are looking forward to continuing this program thanks to a $30,000 Chancellor’s Circle award presented last month and $20,000 raised through an e-mail campaign from UAMS Institutional Advancement. This retreat is just one way UAMS is working to help address the strain from the pandemic and the burnout so many in healthcare are facing. If you haven’t taken time to attend this half day paid session, please sign up here. Please also visit Get Healthy UAMS for more wellness resources and send me suggestions on how we can better address these needs for our nursing team.
As we enter the upcoming holiday season, I encourage you to take time to reflect on all the positives in your life and share gratitude with those around you. I’m so grateful to work with such an amazing team. Thank you for all you do!
Trenda