What makes our hospitals different: the nursing role in a specialty hospital

MedCath, Inc. is the largest provider of cardiovascular services in the United States; therefore, tremendous opportunities present themselves to us in regard to improving and redesigning care for this patient population. With that in mind, we actively address the nursing model of care specifically for a specialty hospital. This article illustrates why we believe our nursing delivery model is different and better than traditional health care models in the country. We believe that our approach to patient-focused care offers the resources and tools that nurses require to adequately care for the complex patients that present to our hospitals. A key part of our strategy is the commitment we have to education, training, adequate staffing ratios, safety, and collaborative care processes. We consider our model to be dynamic in nature, and we rely on the input from nurses, physicians, and other caregivers to continuously improve our model of care. Data and analysis are provided daily through our balanced scorecard initiatives and from our clinical metrics, clinical best practice teams, and throughput efforts. We seek to be a learning organization and recognize that knowledge is enhanced by the collective ideas and actions of our key stakeholders, which include the nursing staff.