How COVID-19 inspired two nurses to rethink visitation
In the spring of 2020, Duke University hospital adopted a restricted visitation policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it impossible for patients to see their families in person. Two nurses in the ICU at Duke’s Heart Center quickly created a program to empower virtual visits via iPad.
Working in partnership with Duke’s School of Nursing, frontline staff and the Heart Center’s leadership team, Mollie Kettle and Kelly Kester developed workflows, trained staff, secured approval and implemented the process in just over a week. Not only did they make it possible to maintain a high level of care for patients and their families, they demonstrated how a crisis can lead to the rapid roll-out of evidence-based innovation.
In this episode, Dan speaks with Mollie and Kelly about their process and its outcomes, which were detailed in a study that recently appeared in AACN Advanced Critical Care. Mollie and Kelly also talk about their approach to change management and lessons for other nurse leaders.
Links to recommended reading:
The full transcript for this episode can be found here: http://www.trustedhealth.com/the-handoff-podcast/mollie-kelly
