From: Ornelas, David

Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 9:03 AM

To: Newsome, Franklin
Subject: Employee of the Month

Ladies and Gentlemen,

After receiving the results from the EES it has been identified from our feedback that we would like
improved employee recognition. The leadership team and management want to make this happen. One
way we are looking at accomplishing this is implementing an Employee of the Month. I am looking for
feedback and volunteers to help this idea evolve. We would like to gather as much information and
formulate a plan to present at the staff meetings on Sept 12 & 15, with a tentative roll out in October.
Please reply with any and all suggestions and if you would like to participate directly with the plan. As
part of the team we will be formulating a nomination form with the characteristics of an employee that
model our Standards of Excellence and ways to recognize this employee. Some current suggestions are
getting a plaque similar to the CCRN for the employees name to be displayed. Also, we can look at
certain incentives for the employee including no float or cancels for the month of recognition.
I look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions.

David Ornelas RN, BSN

Charge Nurse Neuro-Surgical ICU

From: Ornelas, David

Sent: Monday, September 22, 2014 10:24 PM
To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All
Cc: Newsome, Franklin; Holden, Mary
Subject: Employee Recognition

Good Evening All!

Everyone has done a great job recognizing each other for the fantastic job we do everyday! As
part of keeping up with this recognition, all Kudos, CelebrateU's, and any emails sent will be
entered into a drawing for a chance to win a prize. I will be making two lists, one for the
nominators and one for the nominees. Of these names, I will pick 2 people from each category
at the next staff meetings. If there is a month that we do not have a staff meeting, I will draw
said names during the huddle around the same time as the staff meeting.
As we did not have a staff meeting in Sept, I drew the names last week. They are as follows:
Nominator: Caitlin Ahern, David Ricke
Nominee: Bridgette Tabora, Lindsey Walker
Again, everyone has done fantastic recognizing each other! Please keep it up. Also, please
attempt to use the CelebrateU feature on the hub as much as possible as these go directly to

management along with recipient. This gives leadership the opportunity to include their
recognition as well.
Have a great week and keep up the TEAMWORK!
David Ornelas RN, BSN
Charge Nurse Neuro-Surgical ICU
From: Ornelas, David
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2014 7:03 PM
To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All
Subject: FW: Adding CelebrateU to favorites tab

Hey all,
I have attached a screenshot guide to adding the CelebrateU website to your Favorites tab when you
open a new window. Hopefully once this is done, we can easily access the CelebrateU and give thanks
and kudos to our deserving colleagues. We have had many great ones highlighting outstanding
performance. Keep it up!
If you have any trouble or questions, let me know.
Thanks,
David Ornelas RN, BSN
Charge Nurse Neuro-Surgical ICU
From: Claus, Teresa
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2014 8:00 AM
To: Ornelas, David
Subject: RE: CelebrateU on the HUB

Celebrating U is on HRs SharePoint site so you will need to talk to whoever handles their site and I dont
know who that is, sorry. I will add it to the Hubs search feature and occasionally add the bug to the
front page of the Hub, we cant keep it up there indefinitely due to so many requests for bugs to be
added to the front page.
Teresa Claus
Marketing, Communications & Public Relations
12401 E. 17th Ave., Mail Stop F412
Aurora, CO 80045
720.848.7810 Fax: 720.848.5543
UCH Toll 191-87810

From: Ornelas, David

Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 10:14 PM

To: Claus, Teresa

Subject: CelebrateU on the HUB

Teresa,
My name is David Ornelas and I am a Charge Nurse in the Neuro ICU. I am not sure if you are the correct
person for me to contact so I apologize ahead of time if not, but I am trying to make the CelebrateU
feature more easily accessible from the HUB homepage if at all possible. I am credentialing this year
and am using staff satisfaction and employee recognition as part of my project. Feedback from staff
indicates that navigating the CelebrateU site is not the most user friendly and on top of that it is not the
easiest to find in the first place. I am hoping that making it more readily available would help to
eliminate a part of this issue. Again, I am sorry is you are not the correct contact and I would greatly
appreciate is you are able to point me in the right direction.
Thank you for your time,
David Ornelas RN, BSN
Charge Nurse Neuro-Surgical ICU
From: Ornelas, David
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 12:39 AM
To: Holden, Mary; Newsome, Franklin; Heissel, Jaclyn J; Chamberlain, Krystal R
Cc: Wolff, Jennifer
Subject: Employee of the Month

Hey guys,
I am hoping to role this out Dec 1. If it looks ok from everyones standpoint I will mention it at the staff
meeting briefly for ppl to look for it at the start of the month.
Mary, how does this look? Is the plaque feasible? Along with the free float pass, I would like to add a
personal touch to the winner. I would like to base it off the recognition sheets everyone filled out
several months ago. Would this be feasible? Something like a tub of hummus for Chris Smith, or ice
cream for Hazel. (just as examples)
Krystal, if I get time tonight, Jaclyn and I will sit down to see what requirements are needed for
credentialing. I was thinking of doing a pre/post survey and getting the questions to Jen. Do I need pre
post data again on top of override stuff? Is there anything we are missing before roll out? (with regards
to leveling)
David Ornelas RN, BSN
Charge Nurse, Neuro-Surgical ICU
University of Colorado Hospital
From: Ornelas, David
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2014 8:18 AM
To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All
Cc: Chamberlain, Krystal R
Subject: Employee of the Month

Hey guys,
The Neuro-ICU will be implementing an Employee of the Month beginning December 1st. The
nomination forms will be kept in the huddle room (and also attached here) and include instructions in
regards to nomination process, requirements, and incentives. In conjunction with the
kudos/CelebrateUs, it gives us another avenue to recognize our awesome staff for going above and
beyond our hospitals Standards of Excellence.
The nomination process is simple. For the first 2 weeks of every month the nomination forms will be
available in the huddle room. In an effort to keep privacy, upon completion of form please give to Mary
or Frank. If neither is here please slide them under their door. After those two weeks, the Leadership
team will review nominations and choose an Employee of the month. The idea is to have the choosing
transfer to the Unit Based Council once it is up and running. The employee that is chosen will be
recognized as the employee of the month for the following month. (Decembers nominations will be
chosen for Januarys EOM) Also, the employee will be announced at the staff meeting.
If you have any questions please let me know.
Thanks,
David Ornelas RN, BSN
Charge Nurse, Neuro-Surgical ICU
University of Colorado Hospital
From: Ornelas, David
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2015 4:49 AM
To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All
Subject: Staff Recognition Survey Monkey

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Below you will find a super easy 2 question survey regarding the recognition you receive for the
great work you do everyday! By completing this very short survey you will help me and the
leadership team gauge how well we are doing in recognizing your efforts.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9BTNNFW
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to help!
David Ornelas RN, BSN
Charge Nurse, Neuro-Surgical ICU
University of Colorado Hospital
From: Ornelas, David
Sent: Friday, December 26, 2014 8:23 PM

To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All; Wolff, Jennifer; Chamberlain, Krystal R

Subject: Congratulations Marzena!!
Neuro Team,
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Please help me to congratulate Marzena Kowena on being January's Employee of the Month!
Those that work with Marzena know how passionate she is about her patient care and also her
dedication to the team. She "consistently makes rounds to see if anyone needs help on the unit." Many
of her co-workers have commented on her quiet tasks that help make the day go smoothly stating, "she
jumps in and helps with patient care without being asked." Marzena consistently excels in her
communication and team standards without regard for recognition or payback.
Thank you Marzena for all you do for the unit! And enjoy your free float pass;)
The Leadership Team
Neuro-Surgical ICU
University of Colorado Hospital
From: Ornelas, David
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 12:49 AM
To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All
Subject: Kudos Korner

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Greetings from the Kudos Korner!!
I am continually impressed with the quality of the recognition this staff receives not only from one
another but other units and families as well. I want to elaborate on a couple particular cases in the unit
lately. We recently had a young man that presented with a large bleed, progressed to brain death, and
became a donor patient. He was a very involved case for everyone and his course of treatment could not
have gone smoother. There were a number of Kudos written from the family.
Mac, Danielle, David H, Haley (primary RNs)- observed an extraordinary level of
compassion, knowledge, and respect during our hardship. The team explained everything in
a manner that was very calming during this difficult time. UCH is #1 in Colorado. This team
and UCH has to be considered the best in the country.
I will try to inform everyone when we find out what he was able to donate.
Also, I am not sure how many of you remember a young lady we cared for for quite some time, Mrs. She
was a very large bleed whom many of us counted out. She was a case that was very frustrating
emotionally as we did not see any progress for a long time. I am unsure of her condition when she left
us but we were all pleasantly surprised when she WALKED into the unit FULLY INTACT! She and her
family only had high praise for the entire staff. It is a good feeling seeing and hearing these success
cases. Neuro can be difficult in a sense that we do not see immediate results and we often do not hear
of our patients outcomes after transfer. Mrs. is a success story due to all of the great care and
teamwork this unit has! Thank you. This is her

In regards to the Kudos/CelebrateU; the names drawn from the nominators/nominees are:
Nominators: Kristy Lenz and Linda Cohea
Nominees: Sarah Hammond and David Harris
I will work with Jen and your schedules to get you your grand prize!
Also, please join me in congratulating a couple staff members on some achievements:
Sarah Lewis passed her SCRN! She is now a double certified RN on the unit. She is a great resource for
us.
Lorrie Kromka now has her Medical Legal Consultant License. She has been working hard towards this
goal and it is great to show the many avenues nursing can take us!!
I am calling on you as staff! If you know of something someone deserves a shout out for (certifications,
getting into school, etc) please reply all and let us know. We are all in this together and want to
congratulate where deserved.
Keep up the great work using the CelebrateU website. If you have not added it to your favorites tab for
ease of use please let me now. Also, the more you use the website, the more you are entered into a
system-wide drawing as well.
David Ornelas RN, BSN
Charge Nurse, Neuro-Surgical ICU
University of Colorado Hospital
From: Ornelas, David
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2015 3:54 AM
To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All
Subject: Kudos Korner

Neuro ICU Team,

Good evening from the Kudos Korner!
At an academic institution as prestigious as ours, it is no surprise that academics play a major role in the
futures of many of our employees. I feel the Neuro ICU represents this to the fullest with 7 of our staff
taking their educations and careers to the next level. Please help me in congratulating
Tyson Lange-CRNA school
Mak Uilenberg-CRNA school
Meg Mahaney-CRNA school
Shoshana Ringel-CRNA school
Mike Burger (traveler)-CRNA school
Chelsea Passey-CRNA school
Kyle Paulsen-Nurse Practitioner
Congratulations you guys!! Im sure I speak for everyone that we will miss you on the unit. But who
knows, maybe youll bring us a patient, whos a total mess of course, out of OR someday

Also this past month we had two employees celebrate their 1 year anniversary!! Emily Cook and Laura
Grubbs. Time flies and the team is lucky to have you!
We can also add 2 more names to the number of nurses who are credentialed on our unit. Katie Ballard
and Caitlin Ahern!! Congrats you two.
Now to talk about floating for a minute. If you feel like the Nuero ICU floats a significantly greater
amount than most units on any given day, you would be correct. Leadership has received nothing but
positive feedback from the other units and they are truly grateful we are often able to help fill the gaps.
Thank you for being team players and representing our unit professionally throughout the hospital.
In regards to the Kudos/CelebrateU; the names drawn from the nominators/nominees are as follows:
Nominators: Sarah Hammond and Kyle Paulsen
Nominees: Rachel Brown, Melanie Faherty
I will work with Jen and your schedules to get you your golden tickets!

Another great month team. Keep up the great work!

David Ornelas RN, BSN
Charge Nurse, Neuro-Surgical ICU
University of Colorado Hospital
From: Ornelas, David
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 6:49 PM
To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All
Subject: Kudos Korner

Good Evening Team,

Many of our patients are here for quite some time and right by their side are the family members as
well. We are present for every emotion imaginable. We are often blamed for issues out of our control
and the fear experienced by the patients and family is negatively directed towards us. However, the
class and compassion I see every day from the team is few and far between. This is also evident in the
numerous Kudos written to staff from these particular families
Thank you Chris S for taking care of Dierk. It was nice knowing he was in good hands over
night when we couldnt be there. Thanks!
As soon as Linda came on shift Larry felt much better. She continued to be attentive and
showed a genuine concern for his comfort.
Danielle has explained things so thoroughly. Whenever she does something she tells us
what she is doing and why. Anonymous
Haley was very sensitive to the patients needs. She was a great introduction to the ICU.
The neuro ICU. You are a great staff! Your caring and support is so appreciated. You did a
great job of always telling Sue what you were going to do and always apologized afterward if
it wasnt a nice thing (i.e. a pinch, etc.)
There are many more examples illustrating the dedication you have for the patients even when praise is
the last thing coming from their mouths. Awesome job!!

For those of you who do not know, when a patient is actually discharged from the neuro icu they are
automatically sent a survey and the results of this survey, simply put, can have an impact on our
bonuses.
As noted by Frank in the staff meeting, our Avatar numbers for this quarter have jumped significantly.
This is in regards to our HCAPS scores including Cauti, Clabsi, pain management, etc. Great Job. I will be
working with Frank to help us continue to keep these numbers high. I am going to work with Frank to
get the questions these patients get on the survey in order for us to use the same lingo with our patients
while they are here to hopefully help them answer the survey questions more true to form.
Help me congratulate all those newly credentialed and our newly dual credentialed staff!!
Jaclyn SCRN (dual credential)
Lorrie SCRN (dual credential)
Melanie CCRN
Paul CCRN
Bridgette Hecht CCRN
Man we have some wicked smat coworkers!
Lastly, I just heard that we had a patient visit today, walking under his own power after being admitted
for acute paralysis. Here is the email from Sarah White, Director of Clinical Operations at UCH
You may remember last year we had a patient transferred to UCHA from Memorial. The patient was a
cadet in the Air Force, had gone out for a five mile run, then dinner with friends and by the time dinner
was over he was paralyzed. He was a memorial for a few days then transferred to University and spent
around 2 months in our hospital rotating form the ICU to Neuro then Rehab. After he was discharged
from the UCHA he lived with my husband and I for around 6 months while he completed rehab at Craig,
then subsequently moved home to live with his parents. He is visiting this week and was hoping to walk
through some of the departments that gave him such incredible care. Hes extremely grateful for his
time at UCHA and I think you will be amazed at the progress he has made over the last 12 months.
Kindly,
Sarah A. White, MHA
He walked in with the assistance of a cane and minimal right side weakness. He has a physical next week
at the Air Force to hopefully and eventually pick back up where he left off. His story is another example
of the excellent care and attention to detail you provide daily. Its nice to be reminded of why we are
here and the impact we have after the patient transfers out.
Whew, sorry so long winded but you guys are awesome and I havent let you know it in a while.

David Ornelas RN, BSN

Charge Nurse, Neuro-Surgical ICU
University of Colorado Hospital

From: Ornelas, David

Sent: Friday, June 26, 2015 8:45 AM
To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All
Subject: Kudos Korner

Happy June!
First I want to let everyone know of a special invitation from Erin Pillette, and access center RN who
used to work in the ED, to participate in Auroras 12 Mile Healing Celebration. She has spent a lot of
time setting up this run/walk in remembrance of the Aurora theater shooting victims. There is a flyer in
the breakroom and if you can make it that would be awesome. Thank you to all those who were here
that night for all the hard work that went into caring for those patients and families.
Last month we had a patient come back to visit and the response from the staff in all units and
departments was awesome and can the thanks can be seen in an email sent on his behalf
Wow! Thank you for giving your staff and physicians a heads up that would be coming through the
Rehab, ICU and Neuro units today. It was absolutely wonderful for to see the care teams who provided
such exceptional care to him last year. He was smiling ear to ear as nurses, OT, PT, physicians and other
members of the care team recognized him and asked how he was doing. The PT (I dont recall her name)
and OT (Jenny, I believe now supervisor) staff went out of their way to make feel special, cared for,
remembered and recognized. Dr. Neumann and a physician from the Rehab unit (didnt catch his name)
were generous in their time and completely impressed me with their outreach to today. Every care team
member at the Neuro ICU nurse station also spent time asking how he was and took time out of their
incredibly busy schedules to care! It was very moving. I just wanted to share what you already know
your staff and physicians change and improve lives every day.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Again, awesome job not only providing direct care to this gentleman but welcoming him
back and encouraging him as he continues on his journey to healing!!
I will get the updates and name drawings on a more consistent basis in July, however, our lucky ducks
this month are:
*Nominated staff: Kathi Waite and Lindsey Close
*Staff nominating: Shelby Hanson and Sarah Hammond
Shout out to Danielle Revfem for being nominated for the U Make a Difference and being selected to
take part in the awards breakfast for this quarter. Way to represent the Neuro ICU!!
*Everyone has the opportunity to be selected for certain prizes (coffee cards, gift certificates,
etc.) when they use the CelebrateU website to acknowledge staff. Thanks for utilizing this and taking
the time to celebrate your comrades.
Great work you guys! Get ready to strut your stuff for the upcoming evals ;)

David Ornelas RN, BSN, CCRN

Charge Nurse, Neuro-Surgical ICU
University of Colorado Hospital

From: Ornelas, David

Sent: Sunday, July 19, 2015 6:29 AM
To: UCH-Neuro ICU Staff All
Subject: Kudos Korner

Good Morning Team!!

I would like to start this Kudos Korner with an awesome email sent to us by a former pt:
"To the nursing staff of Neuro ICU,
My name is Dr. I was in the neuro ICU for 8 days from June 24-July 2 with a ruptured
aneurysm and a subarachnoid hemorrhage. I am a veterinarian and go by the name of
"Mike."
I am pleased to say that every nurse and CNA with whom I interacted was attentive,
pleasant and sensitive to my comfort and healing. Your professionalism was apparent
from the beginning as the nurses followed protocols and charted every event while
being sensitive to my comfort.
Last names elude me but I specifically want to mention Jenn who worked nights. She is
Taiwanese/American and was reassuring, calm, and interactive in my early days. She
set the standard for the other nurses for me. I would also like to mention Nakoia, my
day nurse, who was very confident and related well to my anxiety. She was sensitive to
letting me rest. Paul was a night nurse and very informative and gave me research
material on SA hemorrhage. David was a day nurse and very supportive
and escorted me from angiogram.
There were several CNA's but a standout was A.J. who always had a smile, definitely
was thinking ahead and encouraged me to walk and self-improve.
I was impressed that most of the nurses and several of the CNA's were still going to
school to further their skills. Your environment for encouraging further education and
evidence based protocols were a significant advantage that makes University of
Colorado Hospital a premiere center.
I know that some names of nurses who cared for me are lost in my memory but I highly
recommend your neuro ICU unit as one of the best in the United States. You can be
proud of your standards for patient care and expertise.
Sincerely,
Dr.
...I believe this speaks to the exceptional level we excel at every day! Great Job!
Another Kudos from thefamily reads:

"Thank you for your excellent care of my son. Everyone was so great and professional.
Thank you to the secretaries (Hazel and Nancy) at the front desk. They were so kind
and helpful in assisting with my family's needs."

From the Family: " All the staff who cared for my wife, are Heaven sent. God Bless you
all!"
There were many more and will be available on the board in the breakroom and I will be
working with Kathi to get many of them published in the monthly newsletter.
A few of those nominated: Kristy, Kerri J, Keri G, Kathi, Greg, Candace, Sarah L,
Rachel, and many many more.
Another piece of good news I would like to share the pre/post results of the Override
Meds/High Alert Gtt education:
*In October we were 5% compliant with charting override meds appropriately and 7%
compliant with properly documenting high alert drips
*Audits from Jan-Mar we were 54% compliant with charting override meds and 65%
compliant with properly documenting high alert drips!!!!
This is HUUUUUGE! Spot checks since then have shown these numbers to continually
improve. Please keep up the good work. I attached a sheet with the complete data
regarding this. Thanks for kicking bootay!
I hope everyone is having a great summer!
David Ornelas RN, BSN, CCRN