When our corporate partner Wawanesa Insurance asked us how they could show their gratitude for our health care heroes through a gift to Poudre Valley Hospital, Chief Nursing Officer Julie Nunley shared some ideas that would directly help the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU), medical-surgical unit (MSU) and operating room (OR) nurses.
“The top request, when I polled our nurses, was comfortable workstation chairs,” Nunley said. “ICU nurses use the chairs to sit outside the patient’s room window so they can visualize the patient continually while they are charting or are not in the room caring for the patient. OR nurses use the chairs to rest between cases, and OR schedulers use them as they are coordinating OR cases.”
“The new chairs are wonderful,” nurse manager Lydia Baldwin said. “They are a good height for visibility into the patient rooms, and they are comfortable. Previous chairs did not move up and down well to adjust height and were hard plastic, not as comfortable.”
Nunley added, “We are so grateful for this gift that has brightened up our nurses’ day as they care for our patients.”
Wawanesa also funded the purchase of a bladder scanner for use on the hospital’s MSU and ICU. Having a dedicated scanner for these units helps nurses’ efficiency, as these areas previously shared a bladder scanner with other hospital units.
Nunley said, “This equipment helps nurses evaluate for urine retention in the bladder—an important factor in identifying and reducing urinary tract infections in hospitalized patients.”
Support from community businesses like Wawanesa is mutually inspirational and gratifying: Our health care professionals feel valued, and donors feel empowered to be part of making our region the best place to live, work and thrive.
An ICU nurse sits in one of the new chairs at a workstation outside a patient room.
An ICU nurse sits in one of the new chairs at a workstation outside a patient room.