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The Adam Williams initiative: collaborating with community resources to improve care for traumatic brain injury
Mary Kay Bader1, Sonja E Stutzman2, Sylvain Palmer2
1Mary Kay Bader is a neuroscience/critical care clinical nurse specialist in the surgical trauma neurologic intensive care unit at Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo, California.Sonja E. Stutzman is a clinical research coordinator at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.Sylvain Palmer is a staff neurosurgeon at Mission Hospital and Orange County Neurosurgical Associates, Laguna Hills, California.Chiedozie I. Nwagwu is a staff neurosurgeon at Mission Hospital and a neurosurgeon and neurointerventional radiologist at Orange County Neurosurgical Associates.Gary Goodman is medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Children's at Mission Hospital.Margie Whittaker is nurse manager of the surgical trauma neurologic intensive care unit at Mission Hospital.DaiWai M. Olson is an associate professor of neurology and neurotherapeutics at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. marykay.bader@stjoe.org.
Background:
The Brain Trauma Foundation has developed treatment guidelines for the care of patients with acute traumatic brain injury. However, a method to provide broad acceptance and application of these guidelines has not been published.
Objective:
To describe methods for the development, funding, and continued educational efforts of the Adam Williams Initiative; the experiences from the first 10 years may serve as a template for hospitals and nurses that seek to engage in long-term quality improvement collaborations with foundations and/or industry.
Methods:
In 2004, the nonprofit Adam Williams Initiative was established with the goal of providing education and resources that would encourage hospitals across the United States to incorporate the Brain Trauma Foundation's guidelines into practice.
Results:
Between 2004 and 2014, 37 hospitals have been funded by the Adam Williams Initiative and have had staff members participate in an immersion experience at Mission Hospital (Mission Viejo, California) during which team members received both didactic and hands-on education in the care of traumatic brain injury.
Conclusions:
Carefully cultivated relationships and relentless teamwork have contributed to successful implementation of the Brain Trauma Foundation's guidelines in US hospitals.
