AHA market scan discusses how nurses drive innovation

Because frontline nurses encounter problems that can be difficult to see from outside daily patient care, hospital leaders are giving nurses opportunities to develop, test and refine their ideas for improving care, states an American Hospital Association market scan. For example, nurses at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Baltimore suggested stationing nurses at libraries, laundromats and schools to increase access to health and social services, decrease spending and enhance individual and community outcomes. Nurses at the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie developed a platform to reduce workplace violence. The platform uses electronic health record data and real-time monitoring to identify patients at risk for behavioral escalation and alerts team members, security staff and behavioral health specialists.