CSI Summary
Available only to registered AACN.org users.
Project Topic:
Decreasing call light times
Hospital, City and State:
Los Angeles General Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
Unit:
6B Medical-Surgical
CSI Participants:
- Roxana Gomez, ADN, RN
- Maricela Ortiz, BSN, RN
- Maria Cristales, ADN, RN
- Yazmin Arestegui, BSN, RN
Project Goals/Objectives:
- Decrease call light times to two minutes
- Increase collaboration between staff
- Initiate meaningful recognition
- Decrease falls and falls with injuries
- Increase patient satisfaction
Project Outcomes:
- Call light times were decreased from 3.18 minutes to <2 minutes
- Falls decreased 34%
- Healthy work environment assessment tool (HWEAT) aggregate score improved from 3.40 to 3.49
- HWEAT True Collaboration score increased from 3.04 to 3.05 post project
- These outcomes resulted in a positive estimated annual fiscal impact of $53,552
Project Overview:
The CSI team initiated the Strike the Light project because our unit, 6B Medical-Surgical, had the highest call light times among all the medical-surgical units, second only to the psychiatric ward. After reviewing carefully and analyzing the situation the CSI team identified that the problem was due to staff not feeling recognized, feeling burned out and having no motivation. The CSI team also noticed that our high call times were contributing to falls.
The team began by kicking off the project with a “Nacho Average Staff Meeting” where we provided nachos, hot dogs and other snacks, and offered an opportunity to voice our own ideas for the project. After the kickoff, the CSI team noted that unit call light times were decreasing. Our staff showed interest in our project and began nominating each other for our nurse of the month awards. As a result of our project call light response times are less than two minutes, fall incidence decreased and staff continue to recognize each other for their contributions.
Permission to Reuse Materials
The materials associated with this AACN Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) Academy project are the property of the participating hospital noted above, not AACN. Requests to use content contained in the CSI team’s summary, presentation or toolkit should be directed to the hospital. We suggest reaching out to the hospital’s Communications, Marketing or Nursing Education department for assistance.
Disclaimer
The AACN CSI Academy program supports change projects based on quality improvement methods. Although CSI teams seek to ensure linkage between their project and clinical/fiscal outcomes, data cannot be solely attributed to the project and are estimations of impact.