Datascope - AACN Excellence in Collaboration Nurse to Family
Neuro Surgical Intensive Care Unit
Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC

The pride in achieving patient satisfaction is evidenced by the wall of fame as you enter the unit. Pictures of past and present employees, patient letters and commendations line the walls. As the first and only Magnet-designated hospital in the District of Columbia, staff performance and expectation is high. Service excellence and the commitment to caring are fundamental principles the staff embrace each and every day. The staff of the NSICU provides supportive and therapeutic care to every patient each day. The integral framework of the unit is centered on treating the patient and family as one. To achieve this goal the team has developed the following strategies:

• Frequent rounding of the patients on the unit at least twice daily by both management and the unit charge nurse
• Individual family meetings with both the NSICU intensivist and the attending neurosurgeon
• Encouraging participation by families in the weekly family support group facilitated by both the unit social worker and neuroscience educator
• Weekly interdisciplinary rounds to comprehensively discuss the plan of care for the patient. The team includes unit managers, staff nurses, social work, case management, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pastoral care, patient advocacy and dietary
• Discharge get-well cards are sent by the unit secretary to each patient upon departure
• The unit managers call discharged patients to follow up on any questions or concerns the patient or family may have
• A memory box, given to families of deceased patients, is used to send home the belongings in a patient's room
• The staff participates annually, along with survivor patients, in the local brain walk in Washington, DC