One of the two 2020 Erin’s Campaign for Kids Nursing Awards in the category of Pediatric Nurse was awarded to Cheryle Aizley, BSN, MSN-PNP, a Pediatric Specialist for Center for Professional Development, Innovation, and Research at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
In 2017, Aizley became involved with the Code Smart Pediatric Initiative, the hospital’s sepsis code for pediatrics. “I designed an algorithm with another member of the nursing team and collaborated with the pharmacy, pediatric physicians, and quality department to design a process and workflow,” she said of the process. “The next step was education. Initial introduction was done via eLearning and then we moved to Pediatric Code Smart drills, which were attended by PICU and pediatric staff nurses, attending pediatric physicians, pediatric residents, nursing assistants, and pharmacy.”
Aizley is proud of the work her team has done. “It has led to a very organized approach to activating the sepsis team. Everyone springs into action when a potential sepsis case is identified. The huddle occurs and then the alert goes out. Everyone has their role. Securing IV access. Placing orders. Administering fluid boluses. Drawing cultures and other labs. Making antibiotics that are unit dosed. Administering antibiotics. Supporting the child and family. Documenting. Reassessing. Reassessing. Reassessing again.”
Her goal for the future includes continuing this work for new and existing staff, as well as sharing the work and accomplishments through her system and beyond.
In response to her award, Aizley said, “Thank you so very much. I am humbled to win this award and could not have done it without my interdisciplinary team in my hospital and my healthcare system. The staff nurses, physicians, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, the EMR team, and quality and standards department all contributed to the success of our Pediatric Code Smart (Sepsis) program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. It is my hope that our program educates the clinical staff to quickly recognize potential sepsis, call the team together to assess the patient and then quickly and accurately implement the diagnostics and treatment required. This goes along with the other aim that we have at the Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center to prevent healthcare acquired conditions such as Catheter Associated Blood Stream Infections and Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections which often are associated with sepsis. I will brainstorm with my team about how best to utilize the grant. I envision using it to enhance the simulation which we have been using for our Code Smart drills with all pediatric clinical staff.”
