April Fairey, Nurse Consultant for the Baptist Health Care Leadership Group, brings 18 years of clinical and leadership experience in healthcare to the group with 14 of those years served at Baptist Health Care.  April began her career at Baptist Health Care in 1995 as a staff nurse in the Ambulatory Surgical department. The following year April experienced the culture change with a focus on branding the organization as “The Best Hospital in America”.  The organization realized a shift from very poor patient satisfaction results to those consistently in the 99th percentile as measured by Press Ganey in 1998. April was promoted to Clinical Manager of Surgicare in 2001 and then to Director of Surgical Services in 2007.  Under her leadership, Baptist Hospital Surgical Services experienced significant improvements in quality and efficiency and also gained an outstanding reputation in the community.  April has been recognized for excellence in people development as well as being identified as a role model for the leadership core competency of communication.

 

In 2002, based on consistent Press Ganey Ambulatory Satisfaction scores in the 99th percentile, April was named Nurse Manager of the Year for Baptist Hospital. Under April’s leadership, Surgicare was awarded the Press Ganey Summit Award “Top Performer in Satisfaction” for Ambulatory Patient Satisfaction in 2008.  She was the first ambulatory leader in the organization to receive this designation.  April has completed a certificate of mastery in Surgical Services Management and also maintains her certification for operating room nursing.  April graduated with a Master of Science in Nursing from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama with a 4.0 GPA and was then inducted into the National Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau.

 

April represented Surgical Services for Baptist Health Care during the process for the Malcolm Baldrige Award application and preparedness and then assisted the organization with meeting the Baldrige criteria. In 2003, Baptist Health Care was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

 

Representing the pillars of Baptist Health Care, April has realized success in each pillar.  Under the People Pillar, April has maintained RN turnover rate well under budget as well as maintaining 95% RN retention rate in her areas.  She consistently meets her goals for the Bright Idea program to include percent of employees submitting Bright Ideas in her division.  In regards to Employee Morale, April maintains 77% of employees with positive morale when the healthcare industry is 40-60%.  Under the Service Pillar, April has consistently maintained Patient Satisfaction in the 95th-99th percentile.  She also maintains efficiency for her customers by consistently remaining below the national average on turnover times in the operating room.  The Quality Pillar covers the SCIP core measures and April was able to improve the core measure related to antibiotic administration within one hour of incision from 79% to 94%.  This directly coincides with pay for performance while realizing optimal outcomes for the surgical population.  April has a keen focus on the Financial Pillar with an implemented $675,000 cost savings for Baptist Health Care while maintaining a balance between physician preference and patient quality outcomes.  Rounding out with the Growth Pillar, April deployed the first surgical robot program in Pensacola, Florida.  The program was the first in the nation to deploy three service lines within the first year of implementation and realized a volume of 350 cases in the first 19 months of the program.  April also consulted with the surgeons in the Open Heart Program to help Baptist Hospital become the first hospital in Pensacola to offer minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

 

April has a passion for people development and a strong desire to make a positive impact on healthcare organizations across the country.  As a seasoned clinician, she has a strong commitment and dedication to impacting patient outcomes in a positive manner through staff and team development, patient and physician satisfaction as well as positive employee morale.

 

 

 

Email: AprilF@bhclg.com