18 Jul 2016 Conway Regional’s nurses among state’s Top 40

Brooke Keith of Clinton, RN, a charge nurse in the Emergency Department, and Alicia Taylor of Conway, RN, Director of Nursing for HomeCare, have been recognized among the Top 40 Under 40 nurses in the state by the Arkansas Action Coalition.

In addition to age, the Coalition chooses nurses based on criteria that include leadership, service and contributions to the profession.

Alicia Taylor has helped lead the Conway Regional HomeCare department to being ranked among the HomeCare Elite’s Top 500 the past four consecutive years. Out of approximately 9,500 agencies throughout the country, the Top 500 are recognized for performance excellence in quality, finance and patient satisfaction.

“Alicia is very proud of the honor and has worked very hard to ensure our staff continues professional practice standards that promote patient outcomes while maintaining a sound bottom line,” said Ruth Ann Fisher, director of Conway Regional HomeCare.

Taylor is active in promoting home health to the community including volunteering at health fairs and at nursing events. “She loves to tell people about home health nursing and its unique role,” said Fisher. “She is the mentor for our new employees. Her desire is that each nurse knows that she is always ready and willing to help them with whatever they encounter.”

Taylor also develops and presents monthly in-services that are based on best practice principles and shares individualized performance score cards with quality metrics, productivity and attendance with each nurse on a quarterly basis. “This gives the nurses feedback on their performance and allows opportunities for Alicia to coach and support them in providing a higher level of care,” added Fisher.

Brooke Keith is a pool RN in the Emergency Department and a relief house supervisor for the medical center. She is also the AR SAVES stroke education and outreach coordinator at Ozark Health Medical Center in Clinton.

“Brooke is one of the strongest clinical nurses in our Emergency Department,” said Meg Prince, nurse manager for the Emergency Department. “She has served as a weekend option charge nurse for Conway Regional for the past 10 years. She has also been integral in providing NIH training, AR SAVES support to both Conway and Clinton staff, and providing AR SAVES outreach education to schools, facilities and public arenas.”

AR SAVES stands for Stroke Assistance through Virtual Emergency Support and is statewide stroke response and education network that uses telemedicine to save lives at 48 sites throughout Arkansas, including Conway Regional Medical Center and Ozark Health Medical Center in Clinton.

Keith was awarded the 2014 AR SAVES Nurse Facilitator of the Year. In her AR SAVES/educator position at Ozark Health, she coordinates the AR SAVES training, assists with all mock practices on NIH exams for potential stroke patients, and coordinates education facility-wide there. Keith also developed a MASH education program for high school students in Clinton.

She is also working toward a master of nursing education degree at UCA.

The Arkansas Action Coalition represents state health care providers, consumer advocates and policymakers, and was formed to promote recommendations made in an Institute on Medicine report on the future of nursing.