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Happy Nurses Week! Happy Hospital Week! The month of May is a special time of the year for those of us in healthcare. While we appreciate the hard work of all Pipeline Health employees throughout the year, we celebrate Nurses Week and Hospital Week with special thanks for the deep dedication our employees bring each day. A year or so ago we did a survey of our employees. They told us something wonderful that we already sensed. They – you – said you come to work to serve the community. It’s a privilege to serve the communities around us – underserved communities with individuals who definitely need us. They are individuals who may not be able to receive care anywhere but in our Pipeline hospitals. And, among all of us, we share the belief that our patients need – and deserve – safe quality healthcare, no matter their economic status. This year – as we celebrate our employees during Nurses Week and Hospital Week – I hope you will take pride in knowing that our hospitals are, in fact, expanding our service to our communities. The last year has been full of changes and challenges, and we have met those challenges by seizing opportunities to provide even better care to our patients.
Happy Nurses Week! Happy Hospital Week! The month of May is a special time of the year for those of us in healthcare. While we appreciate the hard work of all Pipeline Health employees throughout the year, we celebrate Nurses Week and Hospital Week with special thanks for the deep dedication our employees bring each day. A year or so ago we did a survey of our employees. They told us something wonderful that we already sensed. They – you – said you come to work to serve the community. It’s a privilege to serve the communities around us – underserved communities with individuals who definitely need us. They are individuals who may not be able to receive care anywhere but in our Pipeline hospitals. And, among all of us, we share the belief that our patients need – and deserve – safe quality healthcare, no matter their economic status. This year – as we celebrate our employees during Nurses Week and Hospital Week – I hope you will take pride in knowing that our hospitals are, in fact, expanding our service to our communities. The last year has been full of changes and challenges, and we have met those challenges by seizing opportunities to provide even better care to our patients.
Pipeline Welcomes Rehab Services Team A new team has formed within Pipeline Health to provide critical rehabilitation services to patients at all four hospitals. Pipeline CEO Robert Allen announced the news in an April 15 memo to all employees and physicians. He referred to the new in-house team as “the latest step in our ongoing restructuring work across Pipeline Health to provide more efficient, high-quality patient care.” The new Rehabilitation Services team within the Pipeline family is a significant change from providing those services to patients through a contracted team of therapists. The new team provides the full range of rehabilitation services, including physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology – each of which is important to the recovery of the patients we serve. “The change allows us to employ talented professionals in this field who share our dedication to our communities,” Allen wrote. “The change also brings the opportunity for cost savings.” As the new department took effect April 15, Pipeline welcomed 12 new hires, including Tina Stringfield, who serves as director of rehabilitation services. Stringfield has been associated with Pipeline for two years as a contract worker. The new hires will be augmented by several contract employees while recruitment efforts to fill all positions continue. The change was planned to create a seamless transition for patients, staff and physicians.
Community Commendation for East LA Doctors Hospital East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital was among 20 organizations taking part in the 6th Annual Health and Resource Fair sponsored by the East Los Angeles Women’s Center in collaboration with LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis. The event took place March 16 at the East LA Civic Center. Celeni Plaza, LVN, and Maria Angie Villegas, RN, staffed a booth to promote the hospital’s maternity services. The two post-partum employees received a certificate of commendation recognizing the hospital’s “service to the affairs of the community.” For decades, the staff and physicians at East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital have helped their community’s families grow. They proudly provide personalized maternity care for women before, during and after their labor and delivery.
Med/Surg Nurse Receives DAISY Award Memorial Hospital of Gardena has awarded Joyce Sanetti, R.N., the prestigious DAISY Award in recognition of her dedication to the patients she serves. The award was presented March 20. Sanetti works on the hospital’s fifth floor medical/surgery unit. She joined the hospital’s nursing team in January 2017. The patient who nominated Sanetti wrote the following about her: “(She was) on time, very attentive, assertive, efficient. I never had to ask for anything. Her energy was extremely awesome. Joyce would take time on her break to see how I was feeling mentally as well as physically, and that makes a difference for any patient.” Sanetti says she enjoys making a difference. ““What I love about my job is having the opportunity to touch and make a difference in the lives of others,” she said. “Nothing is more satisfying than being a part of someone’s healing process.” The DAISY Award is presented at hospitals across the country to extraordinary nurses for the compassionate contributions they make every day going above and beyond expectations in science and sensitivity.
Gardena Opens ED Surge Unit Memorial Hospital of Gardena has opened a new surge unit to alleviate crowding in the Emergency Department, decreasing ambulance diversion and providing more timely care to more patients. The new unit is the latest example of Pipeline Health’s restructuring work, which explores new and different ways of serving our patients. “This new unit came about from our need to address the overcrowding we have had in the Emergency Department, especially on the weekends,” explained hospital CEO Victor Carrasco. “By rethinking how we deliver emergency care, our team has opened this new unit to better serve our patients.” The unit opened March 4 in space that had been used for storage. Previously, the third floor unit housed the hospital’s Labor and Delivery service, which closed in 2020. “We are pleased to give more timely, efficient and safe care to our patients,” said Antaures Osborne, R.N., director of emergency services. “Our first night with patients on the unit went really well. I expected challenges opening week, but overall, it’s been a huge success.” To orient staff to the new unit, Osborne organized tours and a scavenger hunt for employees to find various items needed on the unit, such as sharps containers, patient care supplies, PPE, hazardous waste containers and more. The six-bed surge unit is open during the ED’s busiest days and times, Sunday through Tuesday, from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Unit staff include two nurses, an EMT and a physician.
East LA Marks Another Milestone On the heels of celebrating 12 consecutive months with no incidences of CLABSI infection, East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital has recorded 12 consecutive months – March 2023 to February 2024 – with no incidence of CAUTI. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) are hospital acquired infections that can be dangerous for patients. “We are proud of this achievement and the teamwork it took to get here,” said Chief Nursing Officer June Dumaguet, R.N. “Patient safety is our highest priority, and our daily surveillance and adherence to protocols have made a big difference in our ability to control and prevent these infections. Our goal now is to stay vigilant in our practice.”
Nurse Recruitment Makes Progress As Pipeline Health continues working on the initiative to restructure our organization, creating new efficiencies and improved quality in patient care, recruitment of nurses to reduce our dependence on costly contract labor remains a high priority. Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Guzman reports good progress in that area. Since Jan. 1, Pipeline’s hospitals have hired 70 new RNs and seven LVNs for direct patient care positions. “The hiring of these new RNs and LVNs in the last couple of months is a great accomplishment for our hospitals,” Guzman says. “Our chief nursing officers, nurse hiring managers and our Human Resources team have worked well to streamline the hiring process.” Guzman added that welcoming these new hires and building effective team relationships are key to retention of the new hires. Among the improvements to the hiring process for nurses are: • Enhanced presence on Indeed.com, a popular job search website, to attract qualified candidates and steer them toward appropriate job openings. • More efficient management of applications by hiring managers reviewing them on the Applicant Tracking System
East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital-Marks Success in Infection Control, Patient Experience Staff at East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital have two big reasons to take pride in the quality care they deliver to their patients. #1: No incidence of CLABSI infections over a 12-month period. (February 2023 through January 2024) #2: A 96th percentile top box score on HCAHPS for the month of January. “These are amazing achievements for our East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital team,” said Bryan Burklow, interim CEO for the East LA hospital and Community Hospital of Huntington Park. Burklow also serves as chief transformation officer for Pipeline Health. “Going 12 months with no incidents of CLABSI infection is terrific,” he said. “Achieving the extremely high HCAHPS score at the same time is truly commendable. Each one of our team members should take pride in these accomplishments and commit to keep this success going forward.” Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) are hospital-acquired infections that can be dangerous for patients. East LA is the second of Pipeline’s hospitals to achieve a one-year milestone with no such infections. Community Hospital of Huntington Park marked the same milestone in December. According to East LA Chief Nursing Officer June Dumaguet, the success can be attributed to a team approach in their commitment to patient safety.
East LA Employees Share Their Love Valentine’s Day activities started early on Feb. 14 as employees were invited to stop by the cafeteria between 7 and 9 a.m. to write valentine messages on cutout hearts for their fellow staff members. Huntington Park Staff Share Love and Healing Thoughts Staff at Community Hospital of Huntington Park spread Valentine’s Day cheer to their patients with cutout hearts featuring a message in English and Spanish. The message shared: Sending you love and healing thoughts this Valentine’s Day! Adding to the festivities, staff were treated to cupcakes passed out on the units.
East LA Employees Share Their Love Valentine’s Day activities started early on Feb. 14 as employees were invited to stop by the cafeteria between 7 and 9 a.m. to write valentine messages on cutout hearts for their fellow staff members. Huntington Park Staff Share Love and Healing Thoughts Staff at Community Hospital of Huntington Park spread Valentine’s Day cheer to their patients with cutout hearts featuring a message in English and Spanish. The message shared: Sending you love and healing thoughts this Valentine’s Day! Adding to the festivities, staff were treated to cupcakes passed out on the units.
Daisy Foundation Visits Gardena Hospital Representatives of the Daisy Foundation visited Memorial Hospital of Gardena Jan. 31 to shine a light on excellence in nursing care and the process for receiving nominations for deserving nurses. The prestigious Daisy Award is presented to exceptional nurses at hospitals around the country. The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died from complications of the autoimmune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) at the age of 33. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The award was created to honor excellent nursing care like that received by Barnes. Photographed here (left to right) are: Traci Siler, chief nursing officer at Memorial Hospital of Gardena; Janell Baker, hospital DAISY Award committee member; Milissa Barnes, vice president for operations at the Daisy Foundation and sister-in-law of Patrick Barnes; Nicole Dodson, West Coast DAISY program manager; London Simms, East Coast program manager; Devany Slaughter, hospital DAISY committee member; Gretchen Hallgreen, med-surg director; and Ruby Blake, med-surg director.
Daisy Foundation Visits Gardena Hospital Representatives of the Daisy Foundation visited Memorial Hospital of Gardena Jan. 31 to shine a light on excellence in nursing care and the process for receiving nominations for deserving nurses. The prestigious Daisy Award is presented to exceptional nurses at hospitals around the country. The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died from complications of the autoimmune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) at the age of 33. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The award was created to honor excellent nursing care like that received by Barnes. Photographed here (left to right) are: Traci Siler, chief nursing officer at Memorial Hospital of Gardena; Janell Baker, hospital DAISY Award committee member; Milissa Barnes, vice president for operations at the Daisy Foundation and sister-in-law of Patrick Barnes; Nicole Dodson, West Coast DAISY program manager; London Simms, East Coast program manager; Devany Slaughter, hospital DAISY committee member; Gretchen Hallgreen, med-surg director; and Ruby Blake, med-surg director.