Unit-based teams (UBTs) are groups of frontline workers – “the people who know best what their unit needs,” says Yaakov Reif, a trauma RN and one of our current advisors – who identify and work to address specific problems affecting patients or employees.
26 UBTs are currently active across Jackson, each of them working with co-leads from management and from the union. They are focused on areas including workplace safety, affordability, and responsiveness. Improving responsiveness is a “win, win, win” for patients, employees, and Jackson, says Ralph Conception, RN, another performance improvement advisor. The higher the hospital scores on responsiveness in post-discharge patient surveys, the more Medicare reimbursement Jackson is eligible for – and the better for the quality of patient care and the employees delivering that care.
“We are giving nurses and hospital workers the autonomy to make their workflow better and make their voices heard,” says Ralph. “We’re teaching them the tools needed to make change for our patients and themselves.”