Nurses practicing inpatient-nursing care at St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital, a division of St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, (SJWH) are focused on high quality patient outcomes for a variety of adult patients. The inpatient units include a 29-bed Telemetry Unit; a 36-bed medical, surgical, pediatric unit, a 36-bed medical oncology, geriatric unit, a 20-bed acute rehabilitation unit, and a 16-bed critical care unit. The nurses from the inpatient areas participate in a shared governance model via unit councils and a Nurse Practice Council. The councils develop evidence based nursing policies and implement the Model of Care. In addition, the councils focus on performance improvement ranging from patient safety initiatives to patient satisfaction initiatives.

 
As part of the larger St. Joseph’s Healthcare System, nursing at SJWH is undergoing a transition from a stand-alone community hospital to a progressive medical center environment. This is an exciting time to be a nurse at St. Joseph’s with the implementation of the Watson Caring Theory, Partners in Practice and Relationship Based Care, as well as the integration into the larger comprehensive healthcare system. Together the two hospital campuses are learning from each other and better serving our community.

 

Patient Safety is a key component to the Nursing Care. The hospital has an active Rapid Response Team, fall prevention team, medication management team, and anticoagulation safety team. Furthermore, the nursing department has taken the lead in Emergency Preparedness planning and education for the system. We pride ourselves in the reduction in pressure ulcers and restraint usage.