Conference Committee

So 2021 is off to a BANG! Our first conference committee meeting was held on Jan. 13 and we are holding them virtually due to COVID restrictions. Unfortunately, that was also the day after the outrageous windstorm we had and both Tracie Skrinde from your HR department and Sue Dunlap from WSNA were unable to attend because of power outage and no way to connect virtually! It hammered home the truth about how much we all depend on modern conveniences. However, here are some things we have been working on in our group.

1. Making sure the staff who are outside facing COVID testing have shelter and warmth and maintain the safety precautions mandated by the governor. This might sound simple but there have been plenty of hiccups along the road!
2. Need for standardized process for testing including weekend duties when the medical clinic is closed and testing has been done by the ER staff. There needs to be consistent information provided to the patients / families as well as consistent documentation standards.
3. Review of the process with registration as there are instances where labels are not being printed correctly.
4. Issue with Epic charting and how that impacts patient information integrity. Apparently there are also instances where a nurse has logged into a compute and it has pulled up the previous operators sites that they had accessed during their log in. Safety features should be present so this does not occur. Leadership is looking into this.
5. Clinic staff remain very challenged for their staffing and now that there is talk of vaccine administration we have broached the conversation about being prepared with adequate personnel to handle flu clinics. This will continue to be monitored and leadership is actively working with corporate recruitment department to entice nurses to come work at Peace Island.

Remember, you can email any of the officers directly with any concerns or observations that may come up as you move through the course of your day. Let us help you create the healthy safe work environment!

Staffing Committee

Your staffing committee has been hard at work these past few months particularly as we have been impacted by the pandemic. Your consistency in filling out the staffing concern forms has really contributed to establishment of some changes.

Part of the duties of the staffing committee is to prepare and present to the executive director a staffing plan for each unit. These have to be approved by the director and are then submitted to the Department of Health for publication and can be found by anyone looking for them online. In addition, the staffing plan must be posted on your unit for anyone to see as well.

Your staffing committee is determined to delve into each concern, and we discuss the concern and the particular situation as well as solutions and remedies for each form submitted. Those are tracked on a spreadsheet and minutes are kept for all these meetings. We have managed to secure better staffing matrix in departments needing the extra staff and have contributed to helping management retain and recruit experienced staff for all positions. Know one knows better than all of you the challenge that can be on an isolated island with a high cost of living factored in! However, PeaceHealth has extensive resources within their recruitment department and are working on this. This will be a continued topic of discussion as we move forward as well.

You can help your staffing committee members by continuing to complete the online staffing concern forms and submitting them electronically. They are found at www.wsna.org/ado and you can fill them out on your smart phone as well. You can also contact your staffing committee representative directly via email for questions or concerns.

PeaceHealth Peace Island Staffing Committee:

Julie Bielau co-chair ~ Elizabeth Schaltenbrand ~ Arna Robins ~ Melissa Aylward ~ Amber Anderson ~ Dawn Alger ~ Rose Carlson ~ Zanna Cochran ~ Larry Wall

PPE Committee

We have a committee that addresses concerns about PPE now! This committee also was developed as a result of the Governor’s mandate. This committee has to have representation from clinical workers as well as leadership and is to address concerns about equipment safety and function, availability and supply as well as calculate out the burn rate for use. Friday Harbor has a great source in Bellingham which centralizes the supplies for all the northwest region. That includes St Joe’s in Bellingham as well as Friday Harbor and United in Sedro Woolley. This committee meets every other week virtually and discusses reports back from staff with questions and clarification regarding equipment issues. Here are some updates from our meetings:

1. PAPR comes in TWO sizes now. Regular and Large size. The package will say it is a “small” size but inside there is an R indicating its actually the REGULAR size.
2. There are various options to choose from for eyewear. View the document on the wsna.org website. All you need is the description and product number and have your manager request the supply for your to trial. i.e. the Honeywell UVEX has extendable arms and can be worn over regular glasses. The HexArmor is new and has very limited supply at this time but is reportedly VERY comfortable. **NB** Everyone should ask their manager to order the OptiPlus Anti-Fog Lens Wipes as they work on both glasses and shields.
3. There is good supply on hand of the various items of PPE. Please note that CPR is an aerosolizing procedure and needs higher level of PPE protection. The code carts and isolation carts should be equipped with PAPR as this is the standard for these situations. The action of CPR requires a level 3 mask and eye protection.
4. Face shields are disposable. The only exception is if you are wearing a shield in lieu of eye protection generally then you can clean and re use through the shift. The same is NOT true if you are using this as protective PPE in an isolation room i.e. for COVID positive patients or presumptive positive patients. Those shields must be considered as part of your whole PPE get-up. So when you remove mask, gown and gloves to discard you must do the same for your face shield. They are not to be reused. **NB** please watch the PAR levels of shields on your carts so your manager can order adequate supply for those patients who require the disposable use of face shields.

Product Concern Forms are currently available for anyone to complete if they have problems with their PPE. This can be found on the Crossroads website. Select “SUPPLY CHAIN” from under the System Departments Menu. Then click on “PRODUCT CONCERN FORM”, complete and submit them. It is also advisable to keep the original packaging if you are completing it due to defect in the product. This helps them track down others that may be defective within the same batch.

If you have any questions or concerns related to PPE, access, burn rate, supply, problems, please email one of your local officers directly or you can email your nurse representative ,Sue Dunlap, directly as well.

Nurse Representative Update

I just want to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2021! We have weathered the storm and chaos that was 2020 and hopefully things will return to relatively “normal” again soon.

We are all hard at work every day advocating for all the PeaceHealth nurses and your elected officers are hit quite often with requests and emails and questions from myself or our colleagues at the WSNA office. This year many of the hospitals will be in contract negotiations which could prove to be challenging given the financial climate we are living in. We are looking forward to a robust WSNA convention this year and I hope to be able to see you all there!

I am always available via email at sdunlap@wsna.org and I do my very best to respond quickly. Thank you all for everything you do for the patients you serve. Stay safe and stay healthy all!

Sue Dunlap MSN, RN, COS-C

Remember you can always contact one of your WSNA local unit officers for any questions or concerns!

Melissa Aylward BSN, RN, CNOR - Local Unit Chair
Larry Wall BSN, RN, CEN - Local Unit Co-Chair
Elizabeth Schaltenbrand BSN, RN, CMSRN – Local Unit Secretary
Julie Bielau RN – Local Unit Treasurer
Zanna Cochran RN – Local Unit Grievance Officer
Auralee Jameson BSN, RN – Local Unit Grievance Officer
Arna Robins MSN, RN, CFRN, CEN – Local Unit Grievance Officer
Cari Williams RN – Local Unit Grievance Officer