advocate trinity hospital news - General

Considered To Be Lifelong Learners, Nurses Find A Variety Of Educational Opportunities At Their Own Sites

Chicago, IL (March 27, 2009) -

The Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice describe the nurse as a life-long learner who seeks learning opportunities to develop skills and knowledge. Advocate Trinity Hospital's focus on lifelong learning is that "professional education is essential for the development and maintenance of competent and expert nurses." The clinical advancement program, based on Patricia Benner's award winning book, Novice to Expert, requires on-going professional development for the nursing staff.

Based on these teaching philosophies, Advocate Trinity Hospital offers an array of educational opportunities for its healthcare professionals through a variety a certification review courses. These courses are coordinated and presented by expert nurses, including advance practice nurses, from every Advocate site. Internal classes, usually presented twice a year, are offered to all Advocate nurses at no cost. When a nurse passes his or her certification exam, 100 percent of the costs are reimbursed through the Tuition Reimbursement Program.

The Success Through Excellence in Practice (STEPS) program recognizes nurses who participate in direct care and take active effort to learn additional skills and certifications. Career development activities are part of the process to advance expertise and performance. Nurses who advance to a new practice level are recognized with newly certified and graduate nurses at a pinning ceremony. In order to maintain that level, one of the requirements is continuing education above the state requirements.

Certification support includes the accessibility of Advocate certification courses. These include the:

CCRN Certification Preparation Course
Web site link to practice questions for Gerontology certification examination
Neonatal Certification Review Course
Perinatal Certification Review Course
Medical-Surgical Certification Review Course
On-Line review course for Progressive Cardiac Care Certification
Pediatric CPN Review Course
Operating Room Certification Review Course

Smart Moves, a monthly continuing education offering, has varied topics with the most recent in March 2009 focusing on deep vein thrombosis. In the upcoming months, presentations will include: Preventing Wrong Patient and Wrong Site Procedures, Stroke Overview: Stroke Knowledge is Power, Occupational Asthma: A Healthcare Worker's Disease, and Ventilator Associated Pneumonia. Each of these courses offers hours of credit to go on the nurse's transcript.

Advocate Health Care also provides system wide education through its internal website. Advocate Learning Exchange (AleX) offer mandatory and optional courses that are available online for all associates. Mandatory computer based training (CBT) is developed by the specific system wide council responsible for the specialty. For example, the Education Council reviews the Safety Modules on an annual basis after the initial development in 2005. Content experts, identified by the council members, participate in reviewing the CBT modules as well. Nurses also have access to continuing education through Nurses On-Line, an Advocate system website. The site has been in place since 2007. Links to contact hour programs are provided.

Professional development is encouraged in multiple ways at Trinity as well. In addition to certification, a nurse may obtain a degree through on-site cohorts or tuition reimbursement. Goals for formal education are benchmarked against NDNQI data.

Advancing Careers through Education (ACE) provides tuition reimbursement for nursing and allied health degrees. Nursing degrees that are eligible for the ACE program are:

Associate degree (ADN)
Applied Science degree (AAS)
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Master of Science in Nursing

On-site cohort contracts provide discounted tuition rates and waived fees through contract negotiation. The Tuition Reimbursement Program is available for reimbursement for all associates. Advocate Trinity Hospital currently has three RN to BSN completion programs on site. An MSN cohort will begin the fall of 2009.

Taking Healthcare Green

Advocate Trinity Hospital's Green Committee builds a new culture of environmental awareness
Chicago, IL (January 21, 2009) -

As part of Advocate Health Care's initiative to adopt environmentally sustainable practices in order to promote health and healing further, Advocate Trinity Hospital, 2320 E. 93rd Street in Chicago, has formed a Green Committee. Chaired by LaMar Davis, Director of Facilities & Support Services, the committee works with the Advocate Green Council.

The Green Council, which has representatives from all Advocate sites, encourages its hospitals and associates to become more eco-friendly. It seeks to promote a culture in which concern for the environment is integral to Advocate's deliberation, decision making, and action. To achieve these aims, the Green Council will disseminate information about environmental impacts, identify and benchmark "best" Green practices, and promote standardization, measurement, and monitoring by preparing an annual report on Advocate's Environmental Stewardship.

At Trinity, the Green Committee has been very busy over the past year implementing new initiatives. By visiting the City of Chicago Green Building, they were able to gather a wealth of information regarding green and sustainable options for businesses.

Their progress is apparent. In 2008, the hospital recycled 1,243 lbs of electronic equipment, more than 6 tons of paper, and implemented a battery recycling program.

However, in order to achieve many of their goals, the team had to become creative in order to find new ways to save energy. For example, they de-lampered the vending machines throughout the hospital, saving roughly $900 per month in electricity usage, and repaired steam leaks in the tunnel system where a reduction in energy usage has been seen. Based on this success, they are currently planning a steam leak monitoring system. The team also developed a plan to install a recycling compactor for cardboard and paper products in the1st quarter of 2009. In addition, they were able to recommend the installation of motion sensors for various areas to save on electrical cost and urged the use of compact fluorescent bulbs rather than incandescent to save on electrical cost.

There is plenty for the Green Committee to be excited about, but they are most eager to see a green roof installed on top of the Solarium, Trinity's premiere conference room. LaMar Davis says, "We are very excited about doing our part here at Trinity to preserve the environment and look to be leaders in the community on environmental issues."

Is The Economy Making You Fat?

Advocate Trinity Hospital Physician offers easy tips on how to eat healthy in the New Year without breaking the bank
Chicago, IL (January 6, 2009) -

A half-million American jobs disappeared last month, the worst mass layoffs in more than three decades, leaving personal incomes teetering on new lows. Worst of all, inflation is on the rise topping off at a 27-year high! Struggling in a tumultuous economy, the last thing any American wants to think about is their waistline. Besides, how are you supposed to follow a healthy diet, which can be rather costly, when money is already tight? Sometimes the more obvious economical food choices can tighten our waistlines while we tighten our purse strings.

It does seem like your eating habits should be on the backburner right now, right? Wrong! Unhealthy behaviors, like consuming a high fat diet, can easily lead to obesity which, in the end, will cause you a lot more problems than you are dealing with now. So avoid the complications related to being overweight including high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes and depression by following these simple rules. Family practitioner Bhargavi Nettem, M.D., of Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago, recommends following these guidelines. They will help you stay on track without busting your budget!

Avoid Pre-packaged Items: Items that have already been pre-sliced and washed are almost always more expensive than fruits and vegetables that are sold 'au naturel'. Next time you're at the store, buy a good old fashioned head of lettuce instead of the bagged variety. Washing and chopping will only take you a few minutes but save you big bucks in the long run.

Eat Less Meat: You don't have to go vegetarian, but cutting back on meat is a great way to save some cash. Because meat is usually one of the most expensive items on a grocery list, and can easily be supplemented with other forms of protein, it is a great item to cut back on. Since the food pyramid recommends 2-3 servings of protein a day, why not try adding more fish, poultry, beans, or nuts to your diet. Follow rule number one when buying chicken, and purchase the whole bird. By cooking and slicing it yourself, you can have the legs and thighs for dinner, and the sliced breast meat for school lunch sandwiches. You can typically find good deals on fish as well, just look for the daily specials. And as for beans, which are literally dirt cheap, follow rule number three.

Start Utilizing Beans: Beans are a great source of proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamin B, and iron. Beans are also extremely low in fat but unlike other "diet" foods, they really do squash your hunger and leave you feeling full. Best of all, dried beans are one of the most inexpensive items at the store (especially for the amount you get). Try adding more of these budget friendly legumes to your soups, stews, chili's, salads and other recipes.

Substitute Recipe Items: Whenever you are making a meal high in fat, try to substitute some of those high calorie ingredients with healthier ones. For example, when making your favorite recipe for macaroni and cheese, try using non-fat milk, light cheese, and less butter. Supplement other cost-effective items like spinach and tomatoes for the ingredients you skimped on. Who knows, you may just like this version better.

Buy Generic: This is a no-brainer. Generic = Cheaper (and usually tastes the same too).

Drink Tap Water: Buying bottled water is not only expensive, disposable bottles could potentially have negative effects on our environment. Buy yourself a re-usable bottle and always keep it on hand to make sure you are drinking the recommended eight glasses a day. And for those of you who think water is the most boring drink on the planet, try using mixers (which usually come in convenient to-go packets) to snazz it up.

Go Frozen: Buying frozen products is a convenient and cheap way to get your daily servings of fruits and veggies. Since frozen fruits and vegetables are processed within hours of harvesting, they retain most of their nutritional value. In fact, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that frozen items provide the same essential nutrients and health benefits as fresh. They are often less expensive than fresh produce and can be prepared in minutes by popping a bag in the microwave or tossing one in a skillet.

Buy Brown, Not White: When buying bread, rice or any item for that matter, chose one that is made with whole grains over white flour. These items are usually the same price, but whole grain items offer much more nutritional value (white actually offers none) and will probably do a better job of filling you up.

Eat at home: This is simple. Many people are tempted to grab something quick and inexpensive when they are heading to work or on their way home. But if you schedule a little extra time in your routine and make it yourself, chances are, it will automatically be healthier and taste just as good. Bon appetite!!