March is National Nutrition Month! 🍓 This month, we focus on the importance of making informed food choices and developing healthy eating habits. Whether it's eating more fruits and vegetables, staying hydrated, or supporting local food production, every small change can make a big difference. Thank you to all of our incredible dietitians and nutrition services professionals at Intermountain Health for their hard work and dedication! #NationalNutritionMonth #HealthyEating
As a model healthcare system, we recognize our caregivers are positioned in the industry to know where improvements can be made, how to innovate care delivery, and how we achieve our mission of helping people live the healthiest lives possible. As part of our Strategy Office at Intermountain Health, the Caregiver Invention Lab is the entrepreneurial partner for caregivers to submit their invention ideas. The primary objective of the Caregiver Invention Lab is to create an environment where caregivers feel supported in their desire to innovate, and to provide the structure for those innovations to be used. For example, before joining Intermountain, Bo Nemelka, strategic planning partner, had an idea to help children connect more with the physical world, especially children with physical, mental, and behavioral needs like his son, who has autism. But in order for his idea to reach its full potential, he knew he would need a credible partner. Learn more about how the Caregiver Invention Lab is supporting Bo and helping him follow his dreams.
📣 Calling all new graduate RNs and current nursing students! 📣 It's not too late to join us for our upcoming RN New Grad Virtual Open House! Come connect with our team and learn more about our Utah and Idaho hospitals, our nurse residency program, and more! Participants will be able to ask questions and connect with our nurse executive, nurse residency, and talent acquisition teams during this live event. We also encourage you to submit your questions prior via our RSVP form. 📅 Date: Wednesday, March 27th, 2024 ⏰ Time: 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. MT 💻 Location: Virtual via Microsoft Teams - a link to join will be shared with you after you RSVP Visit https://forms.office.com/r/HUSksqZWrU to RSVP for this virtual event today - we hope to see you there!
Walking just four hours in someone else’s shoes is making a big difference. St. Mary’s Regional Hospital in Grand Junction, CO hosted a Poverty Immersion Experience in conjunction with United Way of Mesa County and the City of Grand Junction's Housing Department in November. In one afternoon, St. Mary’s leaders, family medicine residents, faculty, and clinic staff experienced a month’s worth of challenges that come with living in poverty. Participants went away with perspective, empathy, and clearer understanding of the roadblocks those living in poverty must overcome to get a step ahead. “Regardless of where we have come from in our lives, most — if not all — physicians are far removed from living a life where you’re one bad day away from a serious financial problem leading to joblessness or houselessness,” said Sabrina Mitchell, DO, program director of Family Medicine Residency and program participant. “Even if you’re passionate about providing great care to underserved communities, you can become less aware of what some of our families and patients go through on a monthly basis.”
We are committed to supporting, developing, and investing in our caregivers and helping to develop leaders. Part of this is done through leadership classes. Recently, eight leaders in our Peaks Region completed Leading Through Others (LTO). The program helps administrative and medical leaders in a director level or equivalent role prepare to take their leadership to the next level. LTO enhances leadership and operational skills and prepares participants for advanced leadership opportunities. The six-month program includes a rigorous curriculum, leadership assessments, peer-to-peer coaching, networking opportunities, an application-based project, and sessions led by Enterprise Leadership Team members and subject matter experts from across the organization. Here are a few experiences from Intermountain leaders who recently completed the program. ⬇️
Certified Nurses Day, celebrated annually on March 19th, honors nurses who earn the highest credentials in their specialty. Not only do patients and their families benefit from receiving the care given by a certified nurse, but research shows that care provided by certified nurses is associated with lower complication rates, including patient falls and healthcare-associated infections. In addition, studies have shown that patient satisfaction scores increase as the number of certified nurses increases. We are truly better together, and today, we honor our certified nurses for their professionalism and dedication!
In a groundbreaking moment, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) declares Intermountain Health as the world's First Quadruple Stage 7 Healthcare Organization! This validation represents the results of a continuous journey of innovation leading with data, digital, and technology. Congratulations to our Digital Technology Services team for delivering excellence each and every day in access, affordability, outcomes, and experience!
Happy National Patient Safety Awareness Week!
In a unique collaboration with local veterinarians, specialized animal hospitals, and public safety agencies, Intermountain Life Flight, one of the nation’s premier medical transport programs, is launching a specialized operational K9 transport service. 🚁 This new service will provide transport for operational K9's needing emergent medical care or who are injured in the line of duty in Utah. “Operational K9’s are essential to our public service community,” said Tammy Bleak, director of clinical operations for Intermountain Life Flight. “These animals are involved in EMS, search and rescue, law enforcement, fire rescue, FEMA, narcotics detection, and TSA. Training for one of these K9’s can range from $40,000 to $70,000 and take four to five years to train. When one of these operational K9’s is injured, it is a potential loss to the community and that agency. Until now, there has been no formal process to help these animals when they need medical care.” The Intermountain Life Flight Operations K9 Transport Program is the first air medical program of its kind in Utah – and only the third air medical program in the nation that is designated to care for and transport public agency service animals for medical care.
When Steve, a technician in Environmental Services, started his position at Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, he couldn’t believe every employee at Intermountain Health was called a caregiver — even those who may never interact with patients directly and don’t have medical training. “While I was doing my hands-on training and got to see the rooms and the patients staying in them, something clicked,” said Steve. “I wasn't just a housekeeper; I was a caregiver. Unlike my previous job at a hotel, my hard work could make a difference in someone's life. It could mean the difference between a patient getting well faster or acquiring a hospital-associated infection.” As a discharger, Steve’s primary role is to make sure a room is sanitary and ready for a new patient. He typically goes into a room that is no longer occupied and disinfects it from top to bottom. Caregivers like Steve, who work in care sites across Intermountain, are an important part of providing clinical excellence for all patients and caregivers. "We have tools and techniques to make the rooms safe for patients,” said Steve. “We also make the rooms safe for nurses and caregivers who will interact directly with the patients.” While EVS caregivers don’t interact with patients directly, Steve recognizes the importance of his role. Working alongside his Intermountain colleagues, he helps people get better faster and live the healthiest lives possible.
