Forum For Shared Governance Accredits CHI Health St. Elizabeth
The internationally recognized Forum for Shared Governance announced it has awarded shared governance accreditation to CHI Health St. Elizabeth in Lincoln, Nebraska. Shared governance is an innovative management model that ensures that nurses are the ones making clinical decisions at the bedside, while allowing them to influence the resources that support those decisions.
Patients often assume nu
rses are empowered to make decisions in their best interest. However, sometimes nurses’ decisions are superseded by managers, administrators, and others far from the point of care who don’t have the expertise or information to coordinate patients’ total care. Shared governance ensures that the status quo is bedside nurses empowered as patient advocates.“Through rigorous survey of all nursing staff, managers, and administrators, CHI Health St. Elizabeth has demonstrated its nurses call the shots for their patients,” said Dr. Robert Hess, PhD, RN, FAAN, CEO and Founder, Forum for Shared Governance. “Shared governance has been associated with better professional, organizational, and patient outcomes, according to research studies. If patients get sick, they should make sure the ambulance takes them to a hospital accredited in shared governance.”
Only CHI Health St. Elizabeth and other accredited healthcare organizations are allowed to display an accreditation logo on their websites.
According to Hess, because shared governance as a work environment carries marketing appeal to nurses, many hospitals claim to have it when they don’t.
“Some hospitals put a structure in place in name only,” Hess said. “By using extensive survey methodology, the Forum for Shared Governance has been able to determine whether a hospital has real shared governance. CHI Health St. Elizabeth is one of those rare institutions.”
Hess said more hospitals are expected to be accredited in the next year.
CHI Health St. Elizabeth is incredibly proud of its nursing teams, who made this accreditation possible.
“Nurses are at the very forefront of patient care and are oftentimes the very best advocates,” said Jenny Stachura, Vice President of Patient Care Services at CHI Health St. Elizabeth. “We are honored to receive this accreditation from the Forum for Shared Governance. It further reinforces the model of care our nurses follow each day, which gives them a voice and also helps to support a team based approach with providers and other specialists involved in a patient’s care plan.