CMH hosts skills fair

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Clarendon Health System is wrapping up today the last part of a three day employee competency fair held annually and designed to ensure all its employees are hitting high marks across the board. Clinical staffers might go several months without having to deal with a patient going into cardiac arrest, for instance, so it's important for them to go through mock drills that test each facet of the process, said Sherry Stewart, RN and director of education for the hospital. "We also choose what the staff wants to see," she said, "and it's also based on needs assessment. It's very hands-on." Meeting standardized benchmarks -- especially in high risk, problem-prone areas -- is the goal of the fair, she said. There's also been representatives from companies that sell devices and equipment to the hospital to teach employees new and improved techniques. One area all clinical staffers will go through is stericycle, as there's new technology and a new process to dispose of pharmaceuticals. And all employees must go through customer service; a proctor issues a graded report card that goes into each employee's file, she said, noting that Medicare reimbursement is tied to customer feedback surveys. "We make sure our staff treats people with value and make sure we're engaged with people," she said. "And we make sure we're using our best skills. We want to make everything safer." As per recent Ebola concerns, Chief Nursing Officer Kim Jolly, RN and CRN, hosted a demonstration showing proper techniques for donning a protective Tyvek suit, along with help from Brooke Knotts, RN, and Data Coordinator Danielle Welch. The entire process is slow but intentionally so, Jolly explained to a semi-circle of employees, explaining the Tyvek suits have always been available. "We want everybody to have the opportunity to put on the suit," she said. "It's a little daunting the first time," but gets easier with practice. "You'll feel better now that you've seen it."