LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Looking forward to WGH transformation

Editor, Having begun my career in 1971 has afforded me decades of opportunity to experience healthcare’s medical evolution as well as its cultural devolution. Most of us are familiar with numerous positive medical advances. Many current administrative practices, however, threaten to negatively affect the health, safety and overall well-being of healthcare consumers and employees alike.

September 8, 2015 5:39 pm

Editor,

Having begun my career in 1971 has afforded me decades of opportunity to experience healthcare’s medical evolution as well as its cultural devolution. Most of us are familiar with numerous positive medical advances. Many current administrative practices, however, threaten to negatively affect the health, safety and overall well-being of healthcare consumers and employees alike.

Recent public discussions of Whidbey General Hospital’s leadership, transparency and culture reveal a significant need to replace healthcare’s “abnormally normal” complacency with responsibility and accountability to its employees and the community.

With these concerns in mind, it has been my honor to serve as an advisor for the American Nurses Association (ANA) Professional Issues Panel. The ANA is the authoritative nursing organization that represents and delineates the core values that guide a professional’s conscience and practice. I am proud to announce the ANA’s Incivility, Bullying and Workplace Violence (WPV) Position Statement is now available for public viewing at http://nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/Position-Statements/Practice/Position-Statement-on-Incivility-Bullying-and-Workplace-Violence.pdf

The ANA has declared 2015 as “The Year of Ethics.” This statement reminds us that all levels of registered nurses are expected to model behaviors described in the ANA’s professional standards and position statements as well as each state’s Nurse Practice Act. The WPV position statement defines varying degrees of repeated negative behavior, ranging from rudeness to intimidation, bullying, and outright verbal and/or physical threats and assaults. In addition to addressing all aspects of the mental, emotional, and verbal/physical abuse of staff (and its effect on patient care), it also includes substantial emphasis on leadership’s obligation to ensure a culture of civility and safety for all.

I encourage everyone to read the ANA’s WPV position statement since it can be applied to all non-healthcare work environments as well, and offers relevant insight specific to an administration’s social responsibility to their community.

In line with the ANA’s WPV statement, it appears that recent administrative changes demonstrate that CEO Geri Forbes is creating a culture of civility and safety for Whidbey General Hospital employees, patients and our community as a whole.

Understanding that change is a process, not an event, I look forward to WGH’s transformation.

PATRICIA NATHAN-ULLOA, R.N.

Coupeville