Winners named in safety holiday decorating contest
The holiday decorating contest focused on the STAR safety tool, often called the “head before hands” technique that is the most effective way to avoid slips and lapses.
USA Health hospitals and clinics competed in a holiday decorating contest using elves, Santa Claus, the Grinch, a Nativity scene and other themes to illustrate the STAR safety technique.
Team members in High-Risk OB at Children’s & Women’s Hospital created a fictional storyline around a pregnant woman with preeclampsia whom they named Sheila. The display, which won first place at the hospital, showed a Nativity scene depicting the new mom with an IV, a monitor, a call light and nonskid socks, a baby with a crib card, and onlookers in gloves and masks wearing employee badges.
“A lot of our focus has been around preventing maternal falls,” explained Sarah Givens, R.N., nurse manager. “In the story, Sheila ended up in the special care unit on IV magnesium, which put her at risk for falls.”
Marcella Winzer, RNC-OB, unit supervisor, said the entry was a team effort. “We worked with the nursing staff to create the story. The nursing assistants, Giovanna (Villasmil) and Darlene (Henderson), came in to really bring it home.”
The contest began Dec. 12, with the winners announced the week of Dec. 19.
First-place winners were awarded a meal of choice delivered to their departments. Second-place winners received USA Health T-shirts.
STAR refers to the “head before hands” technique that is the most effective way to avoid slips and lapses. STAR is an acronym for these steps:
- Stop: Pause for one second to focus your attention on the task at hand.
- Think: Consider the action you’re about to take.
- Act: Concentrate and carry out the task.
- Review: Check to make sure that the task was done right and that you got the right result.
The full list of winners includes:
Children’s & Women’s Hospital
- First place: High-Risk OB
- Second place: Women’s Complex Care Unit
University Hospital
- First place: Freestanding Emergency Department
- Second place: Cath lab
USA Health Physicians Group / clinics
- HCA: Pediatric Associates
- HCM: Surgical Oncology/Plastics
See photos of the winning entries on Flickr.
