The 6B Intermediate Care Unit experienced a high patient census, a 17.27% turnover rate in 2022, nurse burnout, and low staff morale, marked by poor team engagement, subpar patient outcomes, below-benchmark patient satisfaction (75.7%), and ineffective interprofessional communication. Retaining newly hired nurses was also a crucial concern.
The department’s primary objectives were two-fold. First, to retain 16 recently recruited nurses and second, to improve staff morale, team engagement, communication, and collaboration to boost patient outcomes and create a better healthcare environment.
In response, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital launched the Healthy Workforce Culture Change Certification Program. This year-long commitment to cultural transformation is designed to equip leaders and healthcare teams with evidence-based strategies to cultivate and sustain a professional and respectful work culture.
Enrolled 6B in a year-long, four-phase Healthy Workforce certification program.
Weekly champion-led sessions sparked dialogue and shared accountability.
Embedded ownership and accountability into daily huddles and shift changes.
"Healthy Workforce Wednesdays" — weekly sessions led by HWF employee champions using relevant topics, activities, and videos — sparked open dialogue and shared ideas across the team. Grounded in professional governance principles of accountability, ownership, equity, and partnership, the initiative built collective responsibility for a healthier culture. That culture spread beyond the day shift into shift changes and huddles, driving measurable gains in practice, quality, competence, and knowledge management that benefited both patient care and financial outcomes. Ultimately, the program showed how collaborative governance drives lasting improvements in workplace culture and patient care.
Nurse turnover dropped on 6B
Magnet-Designated Hospital — Intermediate Care Unit (6B)
5 Hope is a bone marrow transplant unit, intensive care, and medical oncology
Increase in RN engagement scores (59 to 69) from September 2022 to March 2024.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
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