Newsworthy

Dear Community Partners,

Happy Halloween!

Here are today’s updates:

• “To Your Health” on WIBW-TV Tonight – New Simulation Center
• Halloween Happening Today on Peds Unit
• Scavenger Hunt Helps New Nurses With Learning
• Congratulations to DAISY Award Winner Ivan Lopez-Hernandez
• It’s Time to “Fall Back”
• Boys & Girls Club Health Fair Saturday

“To Your Health” on WIBW-TV Tonight – New Simulation Center

The new Simulation Center at Stormont Vail Health’s Topeka hospital will be the star of the show on tonight’s WIBW-TV “To Your Health” segment. The Simulation Center is a wonderful educational area where team members and others can expand their skills and knowledge to ensure high-quality, safe care for patients.

The WIBW segment airs at 10 p.m. on WIBW-TV, Channel 13. The segment typically repeats at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Fridays on 13 News This Morning and is posted on wibw.com.

You can see the new cutting-edge facility yourself during a grand opening from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, Pozez Education Center at the Topeka hospital. The 4,100-square-foot simulation center gives Stormont Vail team members the best chances to train, work, and grow. It includes:

• Four patient room replicas
• One full immersion room equipped to provide real-world learning experiences
• Healthcare educators and simulation experts with experience in over a dozen medical fields
• Two new state-of-the-art simulation manikins (SusieS2000) and (HalS5301) joining our collection of high-fidelity manikins.

Thank you to the Stormont Vail Foundation, generous donors, and other funding sources for making the Simulation Center a reality.

Halloween Happening Today on Peds Unit

“Reverse trick-or-treating” will be occurring today on our Topeka hospital pediatric unit. Team members will be passing out candy and toys to the patients outside of their rooms. This is a fun tradition that brings some smiles to our young patients and team for the Halloween holiday.

Scavenger Hunt Helps New Nurses With Learning

Staying engaged during a lecture on Quality, Safety, and Infection Control can be overwhelming for educators and learners. To help our Nurse Residency Program participants get the most out of their education, program managers Allison Reid (Quality Improvement Manager) and Leslie Cox (Infection Prevention Manager) arranged a scavenger hunt for the new nurses. In this activity, the nurses had to use their problem-solving skills and work together to complete tasks such as:

• Naming all six chains of infection
• Taking a photo of a performance report
• Identifying a rule that helps stop infections from spreading
• Getting the signature of the Infection and Prevention Control Manager

The first-place team received a prize, but everyone gained valuable knowledge and skills. Thanks to Allison and Leslie for organizing such a creative and interactive activity. Congratulations to the winning team: Destiny Thummel, Jackie Robles, Casey Barker, Karina Chavez-Jiminez, and Joe Hernandez.

Congratulations to DAISY Award Winner Ivan Lopez-Hernandez

The DAISY Award celebrates and recognizes nurses who go the extra mile as a way to thank them for the care and compassion they provide to patients. As a pediatric nurse with experience in other areas, such as adult and cardiac care, Ivan Lopez-Hernandez’s background allows him to expertly provide appropriate care based on patients’ ages, needs, and stages of development. Of course, caring for such a wide variety of patients can be challenging, but for Ivan, it’s part of the work he loves. For this reason, we celebrate Ivan for his DAISY Award!

“We could tell he truly cared about our child and wanted him to get better,” the parent of one of his patients wrote in one nomination. “The allowed snacks, games, and sincere ‘Can I get you anything?’ helped our three-day stay feel closer to home.” Take a moment to learn more about Ivan’s well-deserved nomination.

It’s Time to “Fall Back”

Daylight saving time will end for the year at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, when we “fall back” and gain an extra hour of sleep. It will begin again Sunday, March 9, 2025.

Boys & Girls Club Health Fair Saturday

Boys & Girls Club of Topeka will sponsor a Family Health and Safety Fair from 9 a.m. to Noon Saturday, Nov. 2 at Adams Club, 550 S.E. 27^th. Attendees will learn about wellness and safety essentials as well as other activities. Among the sponsors are the Baker School of Nursing and Stormont Vail Health.

We together,
Dr. Kenagy