NEW iCARE INITIATIVE SET TO LAUNCH THROUGHOUT HOSPITAL UNITS
Shhh ... Silent hospitals help healing for our patients
The iCARE program recently celebrated its first birthday so it seemed like the perfect time to look at the Clean And Restful Environment initiative aimed at improving the overall experience for not only our patients but also our visitors and colleagues.
Kid: Makenzie
Mother: Christine Simmons, B.S.N., R.N., clinical
leader, UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital
Surgical Services
HOW ARE WE DOING?
Patient experience scores for cleanliness and quietness significantly increased within months of the iCARE launch.
Kid: Adan
Grandmother: Michelle Barrett, manager,
UF Health Shands Human Resources
Employee Relations
Kid: Claire
Mother: Amanda Lutz, M.O.T., OTR/L, D.R.S.,
occupational therapist, UF Health Shands Rehab
Center for Kids at Magnolia Parke
It was a step in the right direction and reinforced how important a clean and restful environment is to our patients. Our iCARE champions and adopters identified areas for improvement and came up with creative solutions to improve the overall patient experience. Cleanliness was a major focus during the first year, and now the focus will shift to quietness. Research shows that decreasing noise in patient care areas aids in the healing process and helps facilitate speedier recoveries.
The iCARE team is excited to announce the launch of our newest campaign — “Shhh … Silent Hospitals Help Healing” on patient units.
Kid: Kainon
Mother: Shana Cline, R.N., registered nurse,
UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Cardiac ICU
The campaign serves as a general reminder to be attentive to unnecessary noise levels, and best of all, it features children and grandchildren of our very own faculty and staff.
Kid: Camden
Father: Michael Graziano, supervisor, UF Health
Shands Facilities Maintenance Operations
“We hope that by featuring our very own employees’ children or grandchildren, it will boost morale and encourage our faculty and staff to be more aware of their noise when in patient care areas,” said Irene Alexaitis, D.N.P., R.N., NEA-BC, UF Health Shands chief nursing officer and chair of the iCARE committee.
“Quietness is integral to the healing process and we want to make sure our patients and visitors know that we are doing everything we can to provide the best healing environment possible.”
Kid: Lyla
Grandfather: Keith Swart, medical technologist,
UF Health Shands Hospital Point of Care
Kid: Ramsey
Father: Richard Brinkley, dosimetrist,
UF Health Radiation Oncology
Kid: Javier
Mother: Aiesha Clarke, vendor coordinator,
UF Health Shands Food and Nutrition Services
LOUD FLOORS NO MORE
Kid: Briceston
Mother: Cynthia Orton, office representative,
UF Health Orthopaedics and
Sports Medicine Institute
Kid: Kazarriah
Mother: Felicia Shenbanjo, training associate,
UF Health Shands Admissions
The committee would like to thank everyone who sent in a submission. It was so much fun seeing each of these young, bubbly faces and imagining them as a “Shhh … kid.”
While it was hard narrowing the number down to 10, we hope you enjoy this fun campaign and that it helps improve quietness around our hospitals!
