Gifts at work: Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE)

NICHE designation
A newly established elder care fund will optimize the nurse practice environment and address the unique needs of hospitalized older adults. In 2022, the focus was on training staff to increase the number of specially trained geriatric resource nurses (GRN) and geriatric patient care technicians (GPCA).

The training provided by NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders) aims to improve outcomes for older adults. Through this effort, Paoli Hospital accesses tools to achieve—and sustain—better care and outcomes for older adults. Patient resources are also provided and can be found here.

As part of this effort, the hospital has established a NICHE leadership to:

  • Implement quality improvement projects aimed at improving medication education on common side effects aligned with the HCAHPS measures
  • Establish quality improvement goals focusing on improving mobility, reducing functional decline, and reducing skilled nursing facility admissions
  • Develop a plan to extend GRN education to a new group of staff nurses and develop the GRN role to include responsibility for quality improvement activities

Want to learn more about organ and whole-body donation?

Organ donor
With over 100,000 people in the United States waiting for life-saving organ transplants, please consider registering to be an organ, tissue and eye donor today. If you want to donate your organs for transplant, you must register as an organ donor first. For some, this is done through driver's license registration. Indication on your driver's license and to your family members (ideally through an advance care plan) will ensure that any viable organs are given to living patients who need them upon your death.

Registering as a whole-body donor is a separate process. It can be done through organizations such a Science Care or Humanity Gifts Registry, or sometimes directly with the departments of anatomy for medical institutions in your area. Through whole-body registration, you'll be able to indicate that you're also an organ donor and therefore your organs will be used for transplants before being assessed for whole-body donation.

Outstanding employee award winners announced!

We are pleased to announce that Samantha Beck and Tyrone Burnett received the Outstanding Employee Award which is funded by the R.C. Fried Family Fund at the Paoli Hospital Foundation.

Outstanding employee award winners
Pictured on left:Sam Beck, Bernadette Weis and Dr. Robert Fried;
Pictured on right: Tyrone Burnett and Dr. Robert Fried

Emergency department staff nurse Samantha Beck was nominated for her leadership in organizing the recently emergency department food drive that collected 1,917 pounds of food in December. Sam is a highly skilled RN and frequently receives 5-star care awards from patients. Sam also serves as co-chair of the unit council and recently volunteered to help on-board new staff.

Lead diet clerk Tyrone Burnett was recognized for his leadership, dependability, and consistently going above and beyond to support his co-workers and patients. Tyrone has decades of experience in food service. He maintains high performance standard and has a natural ability to raise the bar for the entire team. Tyrone is someone everyone feels comfortable coming to for advice or help.

Join the Paoli Hospital Auxiliary's showcase of homes

Hershey's Mill sign
On May 11th, the Paoli Hospital Auxiliary will be hosting tours of six beautifully renovated and decorated homes in Hershey's Mill. Lunch will be available at Hershey's Mill Golf Club, along with a vendor boutique and a chance to win unique raffle prizes! For tickets, (check or cash) contact Ferdie Lamb at 610.350.8774 or [email protected]. Proceeds benefit the Paoli Hospital emergency department expansion.