Unit-Wide Project Reminding Nurses

My goal for decreasing the use of hospital supplies on the labor and delivery floor is to have a unit wide meeting to discuss the misuse of products. “Hospitals need to implement practices to tackle waste in each of these areas. However, removing waste from the system is easier said than done” (Alkire, 2012, p. 108). Reminding nurses and all staff members on the unit to only take what is necessary and to not waste products patients may not even use is essential.

Those who should sponsor this project are those over hospital budgeting, nurse managers, nurses, and any staff member that aids in patient care. Everyone on the labor and delivery unit should be held accountable for avoidable waste. I recommend that a unit wide meeting be held,

so all employees can voice their opinion on ways to decrease waste on the unit. At this time a goal could be set to help regulate the use of hospital supplies on the floor.

The data that would need to be collected is weekly usage of the specific hospital supplies that I discussed and patient census. As discussed before items like pads and mesh panties are very unit and patient specific. Progress could be monitored by the reduction in the unit fees and how often supplies need to be ordered. These results should be reported to accounting and the unit manager at least every two weeks to make sure budgets are being met.