The nurse liaison in perioperative services: a family-centered approach

Surgery is a stressful time for patients, their family members, and their significant others. A perioperative nurse liaison can offer support, reinforce preoperative teaching, answer questions, and provide information during the surgical procedure that may help family members manage stress and view the process more positively. To provide the best possible care to patients and their family members, perioperative leaders at the Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital, Lafayette, Colorado, started a nurse liaison program when the facility opened in 2004. Although OR nurses were the first choice for the position, the director of perioperative services soon found that postanesthesia care unit nurses were the best candidates for this role. Positive outcomes of the program have included letters from patients praising the nurse liaison, better informed patients, and less anxious family members. As a result of this program, the facility's patient satisfaction survey scores related to communication had a marked improvement by June 2009.