Patients and family members to be included in hospital response team

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November 27, 2008

By JEFF MEYERS The Press Republican Fri Nov 28, 2008, 05:00 AM EST

PLATTSBURGH -- CVPH Medical Center patients and their family members will soon become active players in the hospital's process for handling potentially severe medical conditions.

The Medical Center's Rapid Response Team was formed three years ago to address national concerns that hospitals were losing patients who could have otherwise been saved with prompt advanced care.

The team -- consisting of a nurse from the Intensive Care Unit, a respiratory therapist and a patient-care coordinator -- responds to patient floors when a health-care provider notices an unusual change in a patient's condition.

CONSULTATIONS

"When nurses want a consult, when they feel something is going on and they want another opinion, they'll call for the Rapid Response Team," said Erica Wood, a clinical practice coordinator for the hospital.

"The consult nurse can provide a separate set of eyes."

Over the past three years, the team has responded to more than 600 calls.

"There are many more patients who are not coming to Intensive Care because their condition is being managed on the floor," said Intensive Care Nurse Jennifer Kanaly.

"I do feel some of these patients would have ended up in code (the response for a person suffering a fatal cardiac arrest). The program has been a wonderful thing."

FAST RESPONSE

Team members arrive at the patient's room within five to seven minutes and work with the nurse to address the concerns that initiated the response.

Cases can last a few minutes or beyond an hour, depending on what kind of treatment may be required.

The ICU nurse plays an important role by bringing a specific expertise into the patient's room, and the respiratory therapist is a valuable addition because many situations involve a patient's failing respiratory system.

HELP FROM FAMILY

With the program's success, the hospital has decided to take an additional step to include patients and their family members as part of the Rapid Response Team.

"We felt it was important that family members can have a hand in making sure their loved ones are cared for," said Shawn Fleming, the assistant nursing director for the hospital's Skilled Nursing Facility.

"It's one way to help promote communication between the patients, their families and nurses."

The concept helps patients and their families become advocates in their personal health-care needs.

"By educating families about Rapid Response, we are encouraging people to become vocal," said Michael Hildebran, director of marketing and public relations at CVPH.

"People often give up their voice when they give themselves over to our charge. We're giving them our tacit approval to get involved."

The program, which goes into effect Dec. 16, will be used exclusively for medical conditions. If a patient or family member has questions or concerns about overall care, those should still be dealt with through the nurse or floor manager.

But the family member is often well suited to recognize a change in a patient's condition and can take those first steps in initiating the hospital's professional rapid response.

"We're committed to providing our patients the best possible care," Wood said.

"Part of the health-care team is the family, and this will enable them to speak up."

jmeyers@pressrepublican.com