The National Patient Safety Foundation and the Diseases Attacking the Immune System Foundation named the individual and group winners of the 2017 NPSF DAISY Awards for Extraordinary Nurses.
Peggy Kattenberg, BSN, RN, of Penrose–St. Francis Health Services in Colorado Springs, Colo., received the individual award.
"Peggy designed a study in which she discovered the astounding number of phone calls nurses receive during specific times when medications are administered on the floor. Her goal was to find a way to decrease the amount of distractions nurses incur during medication administration," said Cynthia Latney, MSN, BSN, Penrose–St. Francis CNO. "The study ultimately led to practices that now prohibit nurses from being interrupted when they are in the medication room."
The medical intensive care unit at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles won the group award. The nursing team at Ronald Reagan was selected for its efforts to optimize care quality and safety for a female patient who spent nearly a year in the MICU awaiting a lung transplant.
"This effort assured both safe handoffs at shift changes and continuity of care, which resulted in the patient's comfort and kept her safe from complications," said Karen A. Grimley, PhD, RN, chief nurse executive at UCLA Health. "Although Kalynn sadly did not survive her disease, she lives on in the changes that the staff has made in care planning and the provision of that care."
The awards are slated to be bestowed during the 19th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress, which takes place May 17-19, in Orlando, Fla.
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