The MultiCare Allenmore Hospital intensive care unit (ICU) team, which supports a six-bed unit, excelled in 2025. They completed a 10-month up-skilling initiative that strengthened clinical skills, teamwork and patient outcomes.
The team spent months deepening their understanding of hemodynamics (how blood flows through the body), working alongside experienced ICU preceptors in high-acuity units and reflecting on lessons learned after each shift. This work improved their ability to recognize early changes in a patient’s condition, respond sooner when patients decline, support safe and early mobility, and communicate more effectively with providers and other care teams.
By spring, the team began tracking progress using the ICU liberation pathway’s A-F bundle, a set of evidence-based practices designed to reduce sedation, prevent complications and encourage mobility. The team also tracked length of stay and patient flow through the unit.
Looking back on 2025, the results show meaningful improvement across several key areas:
- Maintained a Johns Hopkins mobility score, averaging 88 percent since May
- Achieved 90 percent compliance for ventilator-associated pneumonia bundle awakening trials
- Reduced average length of stay to 2.52 days
- Reached 89 percent compliance with pain assessment and reassessment, the highest among MultiCare ICUs
- Managed a nearly 9 percent increase in patient admissions, 91 percent of which were ICU level of care
- Increased revenue by more than $654,000 compared to 2024
- Responded to more than 190 rapid response and code events across the hospital
- Supported more than 150 patient upgrades when patient conditions exceeded the capacity of other units
The ICU achieved these gains while maintaining strong patient experience scores. The team’s commitment to learning, collaboration and adaptability made 2025 a year of meaningful progress for both patients and care teams.
Improving post-surgery handovers
The MultiCare Allenmore Hospital 2E Unit Based Shared Leadership Council (USLC) identified a need for a safer and more consistent handoff process between the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) and inpatient units. Handoff practices varied from shift to shift, sometimes leading to gaps in information and delays in care.
To address this, the team set out to create a standardized report sheet designed to strengthen communication, support licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and improve the overall transition experience for both patients and staff.
Through focused discussions with bedside nurses, charge nurses and leaders, the team identified the most essential information surgical patients need during handoff. Early versions of the report sheet were piloted on the unit, with real time feedback used to simplify language, reduce duplication and ensure the tool fit naturally into daily workflows. After several rounds of refinement, the team developed a concise, easy to use report sheet that supports clarity and efficiency.
One of the most meaningful outcomes was the increased confidence and empowerment of LPNs, who can now receive reports directly from PACU staff using a consistent framework. This change strengthened teamwork and improved continuity of care across units.
Since adopting the standardized report sheet, communication between PACU and inpatient teams has become more reliable, patient safety risks have decreased, and nurses report smoother, less stressful transitions. This project highlights the value of shared leadership and frontline collaboration in improving the patient experience at Allenmore.
Provided by: The frontline nurses at MultiCare Allenmore Hospital