North Fulton Regional Hospital – Roswell, GA (February 16, 2009) – It’s 5 ‘o clock in the morning…chances are you are sleeping in your bed; or maybe your alarm is sounding, signaling the start of a new day. For nurses and other professionals in North Fulton Regional Hospital’s Emergency Department, 5 a.m. is just another hour of the work day, just another hour to save a life.
“Our Emergency Department is very fortunate to have a great team of nurses,” North Fulton Regional Hospital Emergency Department Director Joan Birzes said. “Our nurses regularly stand out in their clinical skills, proactive needs assessments, and actions to make the ED a better place for both patients to receive care and nurses to work.” A group of these nurses—Diane Lamp, Lynn Kryszon, Sally Whitelock, Emily Hall, and Temptie Knapp—recently took steps to ensure that patient care in the department not only meets expectations of those in the community but exceeds them.
Explains Birzes: “This group formed a committee to review operational needs in the ED. They have had many accomplishments to include revamping drug manuals, updating pediatric supply par levels and reviewing the sizes of equipment to make sure we have everything we need.” The team also planned, organized and carried out an informative program for staff, focusing on reviewing technical skills and equipment to provide for exceptional quality care in the Emergency Department. “They committed to coming in at 5 a.m. to help with night shift staff and on a Saturday to help with weekend staff. With the exception of those on vacation or leave, every staff member came.”
This group of nurse leaders is representative of the entire Emergency Department. Consistently scoring high for patient satisfaction, North Fulton Regional Hospital’s ED prides itself on its speedy turn around time and its extensive physician coverage.
“We strive to get patients in and out,” Birzes said. “In an emergency, the last thing you want to do is wait around forever. Our physicians and nurses definitely understand that.”
North Fulton Regional Hospital (NFRH), part of Tenet Georgia, is a 202-bed, acute-care hospital located on Highway 9, Alpharetta Highway, in Roswell. Opened in 1983, NFRH serves North Fulton and surrounding counties through its team of over 1000 employees, 400 staff physicians and 200 volunteers. NFRH is a state-designated Level II trauma center and provides a continuum of services through its centers and programs, including neurosciences, orthopedics, rehabilitation, surgical services, bariatric surgical weight loss, gastroenterology and oncology. The hospital is fully accredited and also is certified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.
North Fulton Regional Hospital is proud to be a provider of high quality medical services. For more information about North Fulton Regional Hospital, please visit www.northfultonregional.com, or call 770-751-2600 for a free and confidential physician referral.
# # #