Skagit Valley Hospital Endoscopy, Mount Vernon, Wash.

When the endoscopy team of Skagit Valley Hospital had the opportunity to move from an area in the emergency room to a one-room procedure area, to a spacious two-room procedure area, they responded with a rejuvenated spirit. Charge nurse Deb Richards says the new 5-bed prep/recovery area and manometry suite gave staff members the space to see more patients than ever expected.

"By tripling our location area, we increased our procedure volumes by 56 percent in 2002 and performed almost 5,900 procedures," she says. "My staff has felt the growth and responded by continuing to provide excellent care to our patients and our physicians. Each nurse works hard to make our patients' stay as pleasant as possible."

Richards says the eight-member team has more than 180 years of combined nursing experience, gathered from OR, ER and CCU backgrounds. She says the staff has a low turnover rate, which she thinks may have something to do with their creative methods of keeping their workplace fun.

"Birthdays are celebrated, as well as all of the holidays," she says. "Colorful decorations adorn the department and we make it a friendly, welcoming place. For Halloween this year, we transformed our unit into the Land of Oz, complete with our very own Wizard of Oz characters and yellow brick road. Each staff member came in character and entertained our patients."

She says their sense of humor and dedication to the team approach defines the Skagit Valley Hospital endoscopy department as All Stars.

"Often at the close of the day, we roundtable to share our successes and improve the patient flow," she says. "We take a moment to celebrate each other. Our two technicians keep the rooms going and our scopes in excellent shape. They are also very helpful as a second pair of hands in the rooms. The key feature is the high level of teamwork that is shared by all. Also, we believe that laughter is the best medicine."

Richards also credits the team's great relationship with physicians as an important factor of their success.

"The staff readily anticipates the physician's needs, making the procedures as efficient as possible," she says. "The majority of our turn-around times are less than 30 minutes. Our physicians' high level of technical skills aid in that process."

Congratulations Skagit Valley Hospital Endoscopy!

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