Expertise and Strengths

• Subject matter expert in safe patient mobilization program criteria and development.
• Identifies, analyzes, designs, executes, and measures safe patient mobilization programs to determine the effectiveness of the program(s).  Develops strategies to address assessed program gaps.
• Ability to create Epic reports to assist the hospital team with employee/patient safety initiatives.
• Designs, prepares, and presents training curriculum for supervisors and employees in safe patient mobilization linking employee safety with patient safety initiatives.
• Proven abilities to develop policy/procedures, standard work, job aids, to address patient and employee safety initiatives related to patient mobilization and other identified areas of need.
• Performs risk management/safety program duties to include developing loss control strategies to lower employee injury frequency and cost.
• Received training on LEAN program initiatives.  Has participated as a Kaizen team member in employee/patient safety initiatives for the reduction of injuries to employees and patients.

Accomplishments

• Collaborated with nursing leadership to develop a system-wide safe patient mobilization program that includes policy, mobility communication tools, New Employee Orientation template, and a rounding observation tool to assess front-line nursing safe patient mobilization practices.
• Team member of I-MOVE-IT (Improving Mobility Outcomes Valuing Engagement of the Interdisciplinary Team) a physician/nursing DYAD focused on early mobilization of patients to reduce patient falls and length of stay as well as improve discharge disposition to home instead of rehab/nursing facility. Created additional Epic lag reports to assist the team in tracking LOS and discharge disposition as well as reports to track appropriate rehab referrals for patients most likely to benefit from physical therapy, e.g. previously independent with mobility.
• Developed a focused rounding tool in the Epic electronic health record that highlights patient mobility levels and charted safe patient mobilization equipment use.  The report is used to proactively identify patients at risk of pressure injury and/or falls and ensure appropriate interventions are taken to keep patients and staff members safe from injury.
• Poster co-presenter at National Safe Patient Mobilization conference in March 2020 regarding the development of a proactive Epic rounding report for the prevention of pressure injury, falls, and employee injury(s).

• Participated as a member of the team that developed the Sutter Health system-wide patient mobility assessment tool.
• Created an assessment tool based on criteria in CalOSHA safe patient mobilization law and employee/patient safety initiatives to evaluate and identify gaps in safe patient mobilization programs in each of the Sutter Health hospitals.
• Past co-chair – Patient And Staff Safety (PASS) team – a system-wide group of Clinical Educators, Rehab Services, Safety Program Managers, nursing, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and other ad hoc team members focused on developing strategies to reduce patient falls, employee safe patient mobilization injuries and patient pressure injuries.  

Memberships/Certifications

• Association of Safe Patient Handling Professionals
• Certified Safe Patient Handling Associate
• Certified in Mental Health First Aid

Education

• University California Davis Extension - Human Resources, Disability Management and Workers’ Compensation
• Sacramento City College/American River College  – Sociology, Business Law
• Sutter PM Project Management courses
• Ergonomics Professional Residency Program

Leadership

• Member - Universal SPHM Coalition Implementation and Evaluation Group – a national group of safe patient mobilization leaders working to develop standard safe patient handling and mobilization program templates.
• Past Member – Sutter Health Safe Patient Mobilization Pressure Ulcer Prevention Task Force – (transitioned to Patient And Staff Safety (PASS) team) a system-wide group of wound care RNs, rehab services, safety program managers, and others that meet to develop system strategies for pressure ulcer and employee injury prevention.
• Member – system team working on Epic electronic medical record upgrade to include standard patient mobility language and mobility assessment algorithm.
• Member of two system-wide lead Six Sigma safe patient mobilization projects earning a Yellow Belt in Six Sigma.
• Served as Task Force member on Patient Safety & Patient Falls Task Forces at Sutter Tracy, Sutter Auburn Faith, and Modesto Memorial Medical Center.