Experience

Happily Retired

• Education Management

• Chief Leisure Consultant

  • Jan 2019 - Present

  Wellness Clinic Lead Nurse for Summit Health Wellness Clinic Lead Nurse for Summit Health



Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA)

• HPNA Approved Educator

  • Feb 2011 - Jan 2019

  Provide hospice-related education for interdisciplinary hospice professionals Provide hospice-related education for interdisciplinary hospice professionals



Hospice Compassus

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 1 - 100 Employee

• RN Case Manager PRN

  • Aug 2010 - Jan 2019

• RN Case Manager

  • Nov 2008 - Aug 2010

  * Organizational provider of quality service, comprehensive end-of-life care and grief support to patients with life-limiting illnesses, their families and their health care teams; Evaluates patients in alignment with organizational policies and procedures * Provides compassionate clinical and psychosocial services in concert with case management / care planning * Produces comprehensive reports concerning performance such as observations and treatments * Collaborates with the Interdisciplinary Team (IDT), the Medical Director and the attending physician in facilitating symptom alleviation while monitoring effects * Collaborates with the psychosocial team to provide physical and emotional support to patients and families * Circumvents unnecessary hospitalizations with in-home and long-term care facility service * Leads case management for routine and emergency patient care * Partners with IDT on clinical and psychosocial interventions and development of appropriate hospice care * Reviews and updates the plan of care for IDT * Chairs IDT meetings every two weeks * Counsels patients, families and caregivers regarding patient care, the disease and dying process, symptom control and wound care * Provides comprehensive communication with physicians and Medical Director * Manages bedside documentation and conveys physician concerns * Completes and submits all appropriate documentation in a timely manner * Ensures all required legal and regulatory compliance.Major Achievements: • Consistently leads the business unit of 4 offices to the highest patient / physician satisfaction reviews• Achieved the largest growth among any program within the corporation for 2nd quarter 2010• Completed graduate school with academic excellence and was received into Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing• Selected to participate in the ongoing Hospice Compassus National Educator Registry and the Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) team Show less



CAPITOL REGION MEDICAL CENTER

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 300 - 400 Employee

• RN Quality and Risk Analyst

  • Aug 2007 - Nov 2008

  Effectively managed required inpatient public reporting - meeting deadlines for Joint Commission and CMS • Partnered with infection control, employee health and medical teams in infection prevention • Educated physicians, directors and managers about approaching quality requirements • Assessed failed quality measures, and recommended remedial actions • Conducted root cause analysis • Effectively analyzed data from quality reports for internal stakeholders and facility scorecards • Proactively collaborated with IT staff in hardwiring documentation of quality data into electronic records • Major Achievements: • Ensured comprehensive public reporting by mentoring abstractors, coders and case managers • Enhanced customer satisfaction as a member of a multidisciplinary waiting room rounding team hailed by Press-Ganey • Collaborated on 2008 Missouri Quality Award application as a team writer • Served as a member of the Missouri Association for Healthcare Quality, as well as the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society • Enabled the hospital to collect all withheld reimbursements with accurate and timely reporting • Selected as Facilitator for the Treatment Process Council, AMI and Pneumonia Core Measure process improvement teams • Contributing author of an operations improvement plan for reduction of inpatient Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection Show less



LAKE REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Database Manager

  • Mar 2005 - Aug 2007

  Initiated use of the NCDR® - a comprehensive, outcomes-based quality improvement program to identify and close gaps in quality of care; reduce wasteful and inefficient care variations; and implement effective, continuous quality improvement processes * Employed the ACC-CathKIT®, an interactive, web resource that compiles key information and tools to enhance Cardiac Catheterization Lab care quality, improve systems / processes, and patient outcomes

• Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory RN

  • Sep 2001 - Mar 2005

  Participated in cardiac catheterization using state-of-the-art equipment to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease in alignment with national standards * Provided cardiologist procedural support, and administered patient medication * Monitored, recorded and reported all case information on computer systems * Partnered in supply chain / inventory management and coding / billing operationsMajor Achievements: -Originated and led Catheterization Lab quality improvement programs, and advocated similar programs across the entire organization-Dramatically improved "Door to Balloon" reperfusion times for acute MI patients as PI team leader -Enhanced system cross-functionality as Project Manager for the selection, installation, implementation and training of the WITT Hemodynamic System to integrate Catheterization Lab documentation and physician order entry (POE) into electronic records-Earned and maintained highest ranking (Level 4) on the Nursing Clinical Ladder-Augmented enterprise-wide process improvement by participating in Shared Governance via selection to the Nursing Practice Council and Admit-Intake quality improvement committee Show less



OKLAHOMA CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY ASSOCIATES, INC

• RN Clinical Associate

  • Aug 1986 - Jul 2001

  Accomplished daily rounds for Cardiovascular and Thoracic surgery patients of Dr. J.M. Hartsuck and Dr. W.D. Hawley in 5 hospitals • Directed clinical management of patients and families throughout the entire care continuum • Educated patients / families, provided inpatient care and follow-up case management • Led patient utilization review, discharge planning, and managed office and telephone visits Major Achievements: • Collaborated with Dr. Hartsuck and Dr. Hawley to develop positive patient, family and clinician relationships in providing outstanding care to patients • Attained excellent clinician status and acquired invaluable experience with many different hospitals, clinicians, policies and procedures, as well as different phases in the care continuum Show less