Carle Health consistently takes steps to improve patient experience. That includes making sure patients get the rest they need even as their healthcare treatment continues.
Carle Health has embarked on an initiative called Rest and Recovery, which formalizes existing efforts to prioritize rest as much as possible during inpatient hospital stays.
“Patients need to be monitored and treated,” Theresa Green, MSN, executive director of Carle Experience, said. “Rest is also essential. At Carle Health, patients can experience treatment and rest.”
Rest and Recovery is a multifaceted initiative to remind patients, visitors and team members about how rest contributes to healing. Carle Health is bundling resources to assist team members in improving patients’ rest at night. Educational resources as well as conversations in team member meetings, chats and huddles bring forward this essential information.
While Carle Health always considered that rest fuels recovery, the Rest and Recovery initiative lets team members, patients and visitors know that reducing noise and non-critical interruptions is a systemwide priority.
Team members in areas such as nursing, lab, food service, facilities, therapy and environmental services will work with their colleagues and collaborate with other departments to reduce patient disruptions overnight. Team members will be working together to:
Carle Health team members are developing implementation plans, tracking their effectiveness and adjusting as needed.
Patients and visitors also play a role. They may notice “Being a Good Neighbor” flyers going up in some patient-facing areas. Patients and visitors in shared rooms can be good neighbors by keeping their voices low, reducing their television volume or using headphones. The hospital will request patients use headphones between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
During sleep, the body works to repair tissue, muscles and cells. Adequate rest reduces inflammation, boosts the immune system, regulates mood and improves cognitive function and emotional stability. Adequate rest can help the body cope with pain and speed recovery.
In addition, adequate rest soon will impact hospital scores.
This year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the Hospital Consumer Assessment of HealthCare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey of discharged patients to include three questions about the Restfulness of the Hospital Environment. Carle Health will be working to make sure both team members and patients understand the value rest has for an improved recovery.
“In the months to come, you’ll hear more about Rest and Recovery,” Green said. “The result will be a more restful environment for the patient.”
Carle Health has embarked on an initiative called Rest and Recovery, which formalizes existing efforts to prioritize rest as much as possible during inpatient hospital stays.
“Patients need to be monitored and treated,” Theresa Green, MSN, executive director of Carle Experience, said. “Rest is also essential. At Carle Health, patients can experience treatment and rest.”
Rest and Recovery is a multifaceted initiative to remind patients, visitors and team members about how rest contributes to healing. Carle Health is bundling resources to assist team members in improving patients’ rest at night. Educational resources as well as conversations in team member meetings, chats and huddles bring forward this essential information.
While Carle Health always considered that rest fuels recovery, the Rest and Recovery initiative lets team members, patients and visitors know that reducing noise and non-critical interruptions is a systemwide priority.
Team members in areas such as nursing, lab, food service, facilities, therapy and environmental services will work with their colleagues and collaborate with other departments to reduce patient disruptions overnight. Team members will be working together to:
- Create a calming room environment by keeping room temperature comfortable, bedding clean, room tidy, lighting dimmed, the door closed and noises outside patient’s room to a minimum.
- Set daily patient rest goals and coordinate with other services to protect patients’ rest time.
- Bundle overnight care (dispensing meds, taking vitals, bathroom breaks, lab draws, therapy) to reduce disturbances.
- Determine tools – such as headphones, earplugs and an eye mask – that may be available to support rest and recovery.
Carle Health team members are developing implementation plans, tracking their effectiveness and adjusting as needed.
Patients and visitors also play a role. They may notice “Being a Good Neighbor” flyers going up in some patient-facing areas. Patients and visitors in shared rooms can be good neighbors by keeping their voices low, reducing their television volume or using headphones. The hospital will request patients use headphones between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
During sleep, the body works to repair tissue, muscles and cells. Adequate rest reduces inflammation, boosts the immune system, regulates mood and improves cognitive function and emotional stability. Adequate rest can help the body cope with pain and speed recovery.
In addition, adequate rest soon will impact hospital scores.
This year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the Hospital Consumer Assessment of HealthCare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey of discharged patients to include three questions about the Restfulness of the Hospital Environment. Carle Health will be working to make sure both team members and patients understand the value rest has for an improved recovery.
“In the months to come, you’ll hear more about Rest and Recovery,” Green said. “The result will be a more restful environment for the patient.”
Categories: Culture of Quality