The program was funded by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). Not only did these nurses learn a numerous of leadership and innovative techniques, but the hospitals also are expected to save almost $4.5 million yearly through their nurses new practices. The mantra of the leadership program, officially called the AACN Clinical Scene Investigator Academy, is to empower bedside nurses as leaders as well as overall improvers of patient care. It is also the only leadership program where the hospital receives the proper scholarly programming as well as numerous grant funds for the implementation of the program.

The AACN noticed several different successes highlighted by the nurses who experienced the 16-month class. Some of them include a decrease in catheter urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, tracheostomy tubes needed and average length of stay in the ICU, to name a few.

”[The academy] provides frontline nurses with the knowledge and tools for improving the quality and cost of care,” said Diana Mason, the president of the American Academy of Nursing, said in a statement. “It teaches nurses how to make the business case for specific approaches to improving patients’ experiences with care, improving clinical outcomes and reducing costs.”

Chief nursing officers in hospitals around the country are already noticing several aspects to the program and are intrigued by the benefits and costs of it. Thomas Smith, the CNO at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., has seen the impact of nurses who have completed the program. “The nurse-led initiatives developed by AACN CSI Academy participants are an outstanding example of how we can advance our work and practice environments to support improvements in patient care,” Smith said in a statement.

The New York team is the sixth contingent to participate in the program, as hospitals from Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas have all sent nurses to this month program. Hospitals around the Seattle area are also involved. A total of 200 nurses and 49 hospitals are participating.
AACN is also providing an online database with practices, innovations, references and other resources, allowing the spread of various techniques in order to spur innovative care in hospitals. With the spread of online resources, as well as the appraisal for the program by several officials, the AACN expects that the CSI Academy will become the primary resource for proper techniques to be utilized by nurses around the country, and internationally. AACN has invested more than $1 million in the project.

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Jordan Lerner, regional director of sales and engineering for Schneider Electric, explained that several changes, such as lighting retrofits, occupancy sensors that control when lights are on, and automation systems that optimize power use, all serve the dual purpose of expending less energy and extending the life of equipment the hospital depends on. Lerner compared automatically turning equipment off when not in use to having fewer years on a car’s odometer; the product will simply last longer if it isn’t running when no one is using it. He added that the automation system would not only regulate electrical use to match the facility’s daily and weekly schedules, but would also make seasonal adjustments throughout the year to adjust for the effects of the outdoor environment on the controlled climate inside the building.

Lerner said one of the more unique features was an ultraviolet light system that eliminates many possible biological contaminants that the ventilation system might pull in from the outside air. He explained this was a feature rarely seen outside of the medical world.

Lerner commented that his company went into each project with the most open-minded approach possible. He said Schneider often used products and services that his company used in the past and trusted, but was willing to try something new depending on the client’s needs and wishes. He said the staff at the memorial hospital brought an equal degree of open-mindedness, which benefited the project greatly. Lerner explained the hospital staff wanted to go for efficiency upgrades with the fastest return on cost-savings possible, but signed up for a long-term approach when they learned how much more cash would be preserved with that approach. He felt that many hospitals focused less on green features than other industries because they often faced financial decisions between structural upgrades and medical equipment, but this facility seemed to buck that trend and embraced the long-term view on cost savings.

Lerner felt that one of the least recognized functions of a retrofit company like his was to serve as a mediator between various interests at a hospital, bridging the gap between the boardroom and the boiler room. He said this part of the operation went particularly smoothly in this case, as all sides seemed interested in working together to find the best solution.

Jim Poffinbarger, director of the hospital’s environmental services department, said the feeling was mutual. “Based on our time working together, we feel that Schneider Electric is best equipped to assist us in reducing our energy use and creating a more sustainable hospital that better serves our patients and staff while demonstrating our commitment to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.”

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