Local nurses making a difference

Sep. 24—CHI St. Luke's Huntsville Emergency Department is a what staff calls a long hallway as an outreach of the St. Luke's Health — The Woodlands Hospital. The satellite location began as a partnership with a PhysiciansER and Baylor St. Luke. But after a month, the Emergency Department was under the full direction of St. Luke.

The nursing staff at the Huntsville Emergency Department were recently awarded for their top patient experience scores. Their Press Ganey patient rating for 2022 was in the 90th percentile, scoring 91% better across the nation.

Kimberly Smesny, clinical manager for St. Luke's Huntsville, beamed as she talked about the staff in her building. Smesny has been with the hospital for four years.

"I am super proud of their work, perseverance and continued community involvement out there," Smesny said. "They rank top 10 in the division for Patient experience and are a community favorite."

The award recognizes the staff there for their elite care and continued resilience during COVID and the aftermath.

Lisa Williams, Director of Patient Care Services, said the former car dealership location is beautiful and suits their needs. The facility is truly an extension of the Woodland's hospital.

"When a patient is admitted, they are transported to the Woodland location, but there are patients ask to be transported to Huntsville Memorial Hospital," Williams said.

"We feel like celebrities in the community especially when we participate in the Huntsville Lions Club Christmas Parade, or have a booth at the Fair on the Square. We are members of the Huntsville Walker County Chamber," Smesny said.

When the Huntsville location began seeing patients, they would see between 20-30 a day and now see 60 a day. Comparatively, the Woodlands sees 80 to 100 patients a day in their emergency department.

"I think people use us and keep coming back because there is no wait time. You come in, you check in with staff at the front desk, and things start moving," Smesny said. "The community staff live in this community. They understand the needs and demographics of the area."

"As a nurse, we treat you and never see you again in most cases," said Williams. "It is heartwarming when patients come back or say thank you."

"We don't work for the thank you. We work for the patient. The nurses work like a family and treat patients like family," Smesny said.

Lisa pointed out that while the department does work with Sam Houston State University Nursing Program with interns, the staff on payroll all have multiple years of experience in emergency nursing.

"While we have all the licensing, and we go through training here. Nurses here need at least two years of nursing in an emergency room to work here," Williams said. Smesny said the nurses in Huntsville have experience in big ER, free standing ERs, and a flight nurse. She added that having a great relationship with local law enforcement, Walker County EMS and other medical resources to assist when really critical patients show up.

"If we need to put you on a helicopter, we have the experience to do it and many of the local first responders will help out," Williams said.

Smensy, who doesn't live in Huntsville, says she can't speak highly enough about this community. During COVID, Williams added, local residents brought food and supplies when nurses couldn't leave the location. "Cookies and food go a long way with nurses," Williams said. "We also only use board certified Emergency Physicians.".

During Harvey, Williams said that Huntsville Memorial Hospital and St. Luke worked together to provide the needs of the patient and the partnership

"Our patient satisfaction scores are high, but what we truly believe is that if you have the quality of care and you provide safe care, your patient satisfaction is going to follow," Williams said. Dr. Santos Ortiz said the skilled nursing staff helps him get the patients in and out and are the eyes and ears of the department.

"They have saved us so many times. I am grateful," Dr. Ortiz said.

Pharmacist Valerie Bayang said working at the Huntsville has been fantastic.

"The nursing staffs attention to detail is amazing," Bayang said. "If I am oncall and can't be onsite, they have all the information I need."

Registered Nurse Bridgette Sherman is an agency nurse that says her coworkers are extended family because of the teamwork that is involved. ER Tech/Paramedic/Flight Nurse Megan Morris said the Huntsville location has been her home.

"I enjoy the people of Huntsville. I appreciate kindness. It is a personal experience because our patients aren't just a number," Morris said.

And getting any of these nurses to talk about themselves is hard because they are so humble.

"Team nursing here is very different from other facilities," Morris added.

RN Nicole Watkins said her coworkers are a family and she is often the facility mother, cooking for everyone three times a week during 12 hour shifts. There were also two ER technicians that spoke highly of the teamwork.

"The environment here is outstanding. The staff is willing to teach me and as a former Marine, that resonated with me," said Matt McCants, who grew up in Conroe and is weighing his options for college between SHSU and Lonestar. "I looked up to my older sister who is a nurse and decided when transitioning out of the military to pursue a nursing career."

Contact Brenda Poe at editor@itemonline.com