FAQ's
After you learn about wounds and the healing process, it becomes fascinating to watch how YOUR care of the patient affects their wound healing. Many wounds are large and overwhelming at first, but we have a great deal of support around at all times to process this. As you see the excellent results of your care, it helps to put wounds in perspective!
35-40% of our patients are under the age of 18, from newborn on up. Children get sicker but heal quicker! They are very rewarding to take care of as you incorporate them into their care plan. We have a specialist with social work that assists you, as a caregiver, and the nurse to deal with procedures, pain, fear, etc. No where else in the hospital will you see so many children and feel the rewards of helping them heal!
We accept patients at any phase they are referred to us. Sometimes they are acutely injured and straight from the helipad and flight team, or non-healing wounds from the outpatient clinic. The unit is capable of accommodating 12 ventilated, monitored ICU patients, but the normal census is about 10 patients, half of them ICU patients. The rest are in different medical surgical phases between graftings/surgeries and rehabilitation.
Patient and nurse satisfaction! Burn care is still evolving, and staff here are always involved in the latest research and developments for more efficient and effective care for there injuries and overall support.
The average length of stay is about 11 days on the unit and can be as long as 3 months, this helps to develop relationships of healing the patient and family members. To help the patient from a critical phase, throughout all of their surgeries, rehabilitation and then become an outpatient is extremely rewarding. There is a close connection with all disciplines in the unit, frequent conferencing and care planning helps to streamline the care and reinforces the teamwork concept of burn care.
We also work closely with the ICU/Trauma cluster of units and share staff with each other in times of need. We have the opportunity to educate and orient this staff to help us in our unit and to broaden and expand our skills in their units on occasion.
Dr. Jeff Saffle is the director of the unit, Dr. Steve Morris is the co-director. They are both general and trauma surgeons and intensive care physicians. They alternate months covering the unit. So at any given time there is one attending physician and a resident or intern and maybe a medical student. This facilitates a very close relationship between physicians and nurses on the unit, constant on site interaction and promotion of mutual respect make for a great working environment and teaching opportunities!
We are very progressive in adapting and adjusting medication to each patients needs. Different combinations are possible for every patient. The challenge is to assess and to the best we can to manage and treat each patient. A great deal of education is also necessary, to help the patients and their families understand the need for the procedures in the healing process. The more they understand, the more success there is. We also use alternative techniques of imagery, hypnosis, music therapy, pet therapy, etc., all aimed at helping the patient to heal.
The team approach, working closely with the doctors and all disciplines and being able to care for the patient from admission through discharge and outpatient lend to nurse satisfaction because of the great success we see with patients.
More than half the nurses and much of the staff have been on the unit greater than 10 years up to 21 years, the rest range from 1-10 years. We have an employee recognition program with a yearly summer party and service awards. The doctors often treat the staff with lunches on their shifts and they provide a formal Christmas party/dinner dance that is a yearly highlight. Thank you notes from peers and a peer review process, self scheduling, and a multitude of opportunities from research projects, community education and assisting with burn camps for children, adolescents and adults all are factors in successful nurse retention.
Staff are encouraged and empowered to promote ideas for improvements in patient care that have led to the set up of many programs.
