When Mia Holland, CTRS, was nominated to be a champion for the iCARE: Clean And Restful Environment effort, she made it her own.

Holland, a recreation therapist and iCARE champion for UF Health Shands Hospital Psychiatry Unit 52, wanted to do something extra to help boost participation within her unit. “I created my own acronym for iCARE to emphasize that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that the environment is clean, calm and restful,” Holland said.

 Here are Holland’s tips for a successful iCARE team:

 I — Eyes are everywhere. Everyone observes and identifies the challenges of the unit.

 C — Communication is the key. Patients have the opportunity to voice concerns in,the biweekly rounding sessions and in our community morning meetings.

 A — Action plans are developed. Progress, goals and accomplishments are acknowledged in biweekly rounding sessions and follow-up reports.

 R — Review the action plans and follow up with responsible team members by phone and email.

 E — Empower your team. TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More. Everyone is an intricate part of the team and everyone is important to ensure success of iCARE.

iCARE champions and adopters were recently invited to an appreciation breakfast to celebrate their accomplishments during the first six months of the iCARE campaign. They serve as ambassadors among peers by promoting a sense of ownership, accountability and a constant display of expected behaviors to help ensure iCARE’s success.

At the breakfast, attendees shared personal perspectives on how the campaign is going in their respective areas, effective best practices, success stories and ideas for how we can further improve cleanliness and quietness for our patients, visitors and colleagues.

Holland said, “I hope the takeaway advice is to be persistent, to maintain open lines of communication, to persevere and to follow up with your iCARE team between rounding sessions.”

 Irene Alexaitis, D.N.P., R.N., NEA-BC, UF Health Shands chief nursing officer and chair of the iCARE committee, gave kudos to champions and adopters for all of their hard work and highlighted the important work they’re doing.

“Our iCARE teams continue to work hard to ensure that all patients experience a clean and restful environment,” Alexaitis said. “The iCARE champion’s breakfast was an excellent opportunity for hospital staff, leaders and physicians to come together to celebrate and share accomplishments.”

 Explore the recently launched iCARE Bridge site.Visit Bridge.UFHealth.org/icare for resource