Case Study

The Challenge

Holy Spirit Hospital, a 332-bed acute care facility located in Camp Hill, Pa, is one of Harrisburg's three major medical facilities. The hospital offers a comprehensive array of inpatient and outpatient services, including open-heart and general surgery and maternity care. Holy Spirit Health System owns and operates six family health centers, a pediatrics practice, a women's health center, an internal medicine practice, an endocrinology practice, a home health agency and a pre-hospital provider. Holy Spirit offers other services through freestanding centers and in partnership with other local healthcare providers. Holy Spirit wanted to advance its excellent cardiac care by helping the nursing staff integrate evidence-based practices into their work.

The Solution

Lisa Lewis, Holy Spirit's Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services, had previously used Nielsen Healthcare Group (NHG), a pioneer and leader in providing interim managers and executives to the healthcare industry. With a network of more than 15,000 experienced healthcare managers, NHG had responded to her previous inquiries with suitable candidates within just a few days. Ms. Lewis hoped the firm would be able to meet this different, and difficult, challenge. "This was a new challenge," Ms. Lewis said of her goal. "We wanted someone who could evaluate our nursing staff's practices, enhance their working knowledge of best practices, and boost the skills of our managers. I was used to bringing in interims, but not as an enhancer and teacher." NHG found the professional whom Holy Spirit wanted, Janice B., a 10-year veteran in nursing management with seven years' experience in cardiac care, extensive clinical knowledge, and great rapport - an essential ingredient for training and mentoring. "From what I already knew about Nielsen, I expected a quick response," Lewis said. "They actually had two candidates within a few days." NHG presented Janice to the hospital after checking her references and verifying her credentials. It was up to the hospital to interview the candidate and negotiate compensation. Only when a candidate is hired does the hospital pay the placement fee, a modest sum based on salary, to Nielsen.

The Outcome

"Janice quickly analyzed our situation," Lewis said. "She figured out what were the most important practice enhancements, coached the mangers, worked as one of the staff, and brought the latest cardiac nursing research to our hospital." Holy Spirit was very pleased with Janice's three-month engagement and re-hired her for a second term, this time to work with its medical/surgical floor nurses and coach the new manager. "It was a very interesting way to do this," Lewis said of Janice's training and mentoring. "We needed someone who could live with and work with us every day for several months. It worked out just beautifully." Interim staff from NHG can do more than fill crucial open positions while hospitals search for replacements. NHG interims also can:

• Analyze a hospital's training needs in best practices.
• Mentor staff to actualize new research on best practices for a quality hospital.
• Offer immediate training and longer-term mentoring to nurses and managers.

Thanks to a contractual agreement between Amerinet Inc and NHG, members are eligible for a 10% discount on this service. For additional information about NHG interim services, contact Bruce Nielsen or Craig Venneman at 800-681-8901.