ICU Strong - November Winners

We are about halfway through the ICU Strong Campaign, and there is now participation from most - if not all - of the CRMH ICUs!   The momentum is building, and we love to see it!  November's winners are below:

Overall ICU Strong Trophy/Banner Winner - 9 MTN ICU
Overall ICU Strong 2nd Place - 10 MTN ICU
Overall ICU Strong 3rd Place - PICU
Most ICU Strong Story Submissions - 9 MTN ICU
Most Great Catch/Near Miss Report Submissions, 1st Place - 9 MTN ICU
Most Great Catch/Near Miss Report Submissions, 2nd Place - NICU  
Top Quality Points Earned - 9 CST ICU
Increased ICU Strong Story Submissions, October into November - 9 MTN ICU, 4 CST ICU, 9 CST ICU, and 7 S ICU
 

We have also highlighted a random ICU Strong Story of the Month from each ICU unit - please read and enjoy the camaraderie!  Clearly, every single person makes a difference!  Keep up the amazing work, everyone! 

10 MTN ICU - Shout out to the SCC team. Specifically, Dr. Boateng, Dr. Cragun, Dr. Koepsell, and Dr. Den Besten for doing a great job on the trach & peg in 1079 and including our nursing student and letting her help with the procedure.

4 CST ICU - We have had super high acuity on 4CST ICU, and everyone has been pulling together as a team. With 3 ECMOs running, staffing has been a challenge, but coworkers have been picking up extra shifts, covering/switching charge duties, staying late, and helping in any way they can. Staff have been planning ahead, making sure coverage is available, being flexible with assignments, and still providing the best care. It’s been amazing to see everyone collaborate to cover the unit needs! 

7 S ICU - Kayla advocated to get the foley removed on a patient when it no longer met criteria. She worked to with the team to wean sedation and get the patient extubated early in the shift. Also, she got the patient's port de-accessed as they no longer needed that with working PIVs!

8 CST ICU - Thanks Jessica Davis for bringing to our attention the need to revise the Lumbar Drain policy to reflect changes from the recent EVD policy changes! Always great to have our eyes and ears on the units!

8 MTN ICU - 8MICU has experienced several C. diff cases in 2025. The staff is totally committed to changing this and has made a diligent effort to reduce this number with an overall goal of 0 C. diff cases for the rest of 2025. Potential C. diff patients are being discussed in huddle and providers overseeing these patients are being included in the conversation. The unit is also involved in a project where additional cleaning of high touch surfaces and equipment is occurring twice a day. They have also engaged EVS, and a terminal cleaning of all patient rooms has been performed. EVS has also committed to performing cleaning of unit rooms for both day and evening shifts.  Great documentation of patient stool, teamwork and collaborative efforts with physicians, IPs, and EVS is proving to be quite successful. These efforts assure that appropriate testing (if indicated) is ordered within the first 3 days of admission, indicating a community-acquired infection and not a hospital-acquired infection.  In November there were two patients with potential C. diff admitted to the unit. Nursing staff worked with providers to assure testing was ordered. Both patients were positive for C. diff, but because the nurses were attentive to the fact that they were symptomatic upon admission, the infections were deemed community-acquired and not hospital-acquired.  I would like to commend the efforts and teamwork of all of the staff of 8MICU for this significant improvement. They truly are ICU Strong!!!

9 CST ICU - Melissa Huffman, unit secretary, has done an exceptional job navigating and communicating with over 30 family members that arrived to visit a patient. Her patience and compassion always shine through. Thank you, Melissa!

9 MTN ICU - A Big thanks to the entire 9MTN ICU crew for assisting with multiple codes on the same patient.  Includes Dr. Scarbro, Jallow, Kwok, Lollar.  RNs Carolyn, Amber, Claire and various clinical admin team members.  RT Sabrina.  We were able to coordinate excellent care to include obtaining emergency access points for med and fluid administration.  There were excellent compressions and there was an excellent of emergent meds from pharmacy.  

9 S ICU - Shoutout to the team for noticing a urine culture ordered on a patient with a foley and confirming it was necessary before sending the specimen. Turns out the provider only needed a UA, so we were able to avoid a potential CAUTI.

NICU - Today, 11/5, there was a call out for the RTs in NICU w heavy workloads, and only two staff therapists on the floor. They worked hard together to take care of every patient with the upmost care and also utilized their resources within the neo peds transport team and another RT who was precepting on the unit. We love our RTs!!!

PICU - During a very emotionally fragile time for a violent 1:1 suicide patient, Jamie Crenshaw demonstrated remarkable patience, empathy, and calmness. She consistently created a safe, grounding environment, helping the patient remain calm throughout her shift. What truly stood out was her ability to engage in tough but meaningful real-world conversations—meeting the patient exactly where she was emotionally, validating her feelings, and helping her feel seen and supported.  Her actions went far beyond simply “watching” a patient. She provided dignity, compassion, and therapeutic support at a time when the patient needed it most.