Grand River Hospital (GRH) is celebrating nursing week from May 9 to 13 and is recognizing our wonderful nursing staff that provide exceptional care to our community.
GRH presents six awards during nursing week to those staff who go above and beyond their responsibilities as a nurse to ensure our patients are well taken care of. Carol Kuntz, registered nurse, was nominated (and won!) the GRH nursing week “Staff Nurse of the Year” award.
Here is what Carol’s nominator had to say about her:
How does Carol demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively with other members of the health care team in the delivery of patient care?
Carol demonstrates collaborative work with her team daily. She leads daily rounds and consistently ensures that all team members have a voice in the care planning and problem solving for our patients. She facilitates daily communication amongst all disciplines to meet individual patient needs.
How is Carol a role model of exemplary nursing practice?
Carol recently had a case of a peritoneal (kidney) dialysis patient that required rehab care. The rehab unit had not cared for a patient with these needs for nearly two years, so Carol ensured that all nurses had completed an internal refresher course on peritoneal care. She also arranged to have all the proper supplies delivered to the unit and ensured that staff were prepared and ready to care for this patient.
How does Carol promote patient and staff safety?
Carol has a safety focus daily in her own work as well as that of the team. She reviews all incident reports on the unit and brings awareness to the rest of her team about potential safety issues.
As a result of her ongoing activities to engage with staff in following up on reports, overall reporting of incidents has increased as staff feel safe to bring issues forward and know that action will be taken.
How is Carol a role model for acknowledging and respecting the diversity of patients, families and members of our health care team?
Carol had a situation where a patient was admitted to the unit with significant dementia. The family was concerned about how well the patient would do without their presence and requested that they stay overnight, which is typically not allowed. Carol worked with both the family and health care team members to understand each of their concerns. She was able to facilitate a plan that did not disrupt other patients on the unit and allowed the family to stay with the patient. After one night the staff were grateful to have had the help as they could now see that their patient would not have coped well without family close by. Carol continued to provide support to the family and staff throughout the patient’s stay. The family was extremely grateful for the positive experience that they received from the staff.
How does Carol advance her own professional development?
Carol is committed to maintaining her own professional education. She has completed and maintained her standing as a certified rehab nurse through the College of Nurses of Ontario. She has also completed a comprehensive stroke education program and is actively involved in attending conferences in rehab, geriatric and stroke.
From Carol Kuntz:
What does nursing mean to you?
Nursing is having the knowledge and training to care for my patients in a compassionate and respectful manner.
Jane Huiskamp: compassionate, skilled care in a busy med-surg department
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Frank Austin and Larry Guzik: stroke survivors and volunteers