ONS Connect - April 2008 - (Page 9)

Kathi Gehrke, MS, RN, OCN®, says that her institution offers several progams that take stress out of work and life. Concierge Services SwedishAmerican Health System in Rockford, IL, offers a number of services to its employees to make life easier, but according to ONS member Kathi Gehrke, MS, RN, OCN®, nurse manager of inpatient medical oncology, the concierge service is the “best thing ever!” This free service, available to all SwedishAmerican employees, offers assistance to do many of “the things you’d have to take time off from work to do, or spend your day off getting done,” such as running errands, taking your car in for service, or waiting at home for a repairperson to arrive. The bonded and insured concierge professionals can shop for hard-to-find items, assist with travel planning, or handle dry cleaning. “It is a huge benefit to be able to come to work and concentrate—and not have to think constantly of all of those things you still have to get done at home. If it saves even a few precious hours at night, that’s time you can spend with your family instead of running around.” Gehrke has been with SwedishAmerican for nearly four years and notes that her colleagues are generally very tenured. “Some have been here longer than I’ve been a nurse, and they are the best, clinically competent RNs there are—they’re fantastic at what they do,” she says. She describes her institution as “very progressive and always concerned for the employees. They seem to really listen to the responses in the employee surveys and act on them.” One example was when staff working holidays expressed concern that the cafeteria fare often seemed unappetizing compared to the meals they were missing at home. The hospital responded by implementing a revamped, festive meal on each APRIL 2008 ONS CONNECT 9

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ONS Connect - April 2008

ONS Connect - April 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Work-Life Balance A Year in the Life—Month Four Web Connect Capitol Connection Notice Nursing Now Enhance Your Professionalism in Your Daily Practice Help Patients Integrate Yoga Into Cancer Care Caregiver Care Epigenetics Offers New Options for Cancer Diagnosis Working for You Calendar of Events Staying on Top

ONS Connect - April 2008

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