Connect

The Schwartz Rounds® program, founded by The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare, is held at hundreds of healthcare organizations around the world. The one-hour, interprofessional, panel-based discussion — known at UVA Health as Schwartz Center Rounds — allows for team members to reflect and share, often emotionally, how they’re affected by their work.

A session is held every quarter — usually at Pinn Hall Conference Center Auditorium and sponsored by Wisdom and Wellbeing Program, Compassionate Care Initiative, and Faculty and Employee Assistance Program (FEAP) and supported by Chaplaincy Services and Quality and Performance Improvement. For this session, Medical Center Management Group (MCMG) allocated time during what would've been its monthly meeting and partnered with the Schwartz Center Rounds team to recognize the heroic efforts of UVA Health team members during a fire at the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) on April 27.

Schwartz Center Rounds was first brought to UVA Health in 2011 by the faculty of the UVA Center for Appreciative Practice; UVA School of Nursing Clinical Professor with a joint appointment in UVA School of Medicine Julie Haizlip, MD, MAPP, FNAP; Peggy Plews-Ogan, MD; Caroline McDaniel, RN; and Natalie May, PhD. The sessions foster and support collaboration — and empathy and compassion for self and others. Panelists address pertinent issues which could include, but are not limited to: patient care, uncertainty, the effects of COVID-19 on healthcare providers, unexpected loss, violence, and more.

'This Is Not a Drill'

The June 2024 session created a safe environment and allowed those involved to discuss the fire — and the aftermath. Notably, because of the amazing collaboration of multidisciplinary teams, all six patients who were in immediate jeopardy in the rear of the MICU, separated by fire doors from the front of the MICU, were moved out in six minutes. The unit, including five of those six rooms, returned to normal workflow within only three days; the sixth room reopened soon after. No sprinklers were needed — saving even more damage — and more importantly, care was not delayed to the community thanks to these almost two dozen UVA Health entities:

3 West, 5 North, Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), Clinical Engineering, Command Center, Emergency Management, Environmental Services (EVS), Facilities Management, FEAP, Health Information Technology (HIT), Infection Prevention and Control, Medical Emergency Team (MET), Medicine Residents, MICU team and leadership, Nutrition Services, Nerancy Neuro Intensive Care Unit (NNICU), Respiratory Therapy, Supply Chain, Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU), Telemedicine, Thoracic Cardiovascular Post-Operative Intensive Care Unit (TCVPO-ICU), Therapy Services, and University Medical Center leadership.

Lifesaving Heroes

Dr. Haizlip and FEAP's Anna DeLong, LCSW, CEAP, NPT-C, facilitate and moderate Schwartz Center Rounds.

“They were all heroes and saved lives that day,” declared Dr. Haizlip.

"We witnessed, in a very inspiring and uplifting way, what is most amazing about the human spirit born from a challenge," observed DeLong. She added that decades of research demonstrates that healthcare providers who work in a system supporting the delivery of compassionate care report increased engagement, higher retention, greater productivity, more effective teamwork, and greater job satisfaction. And patients who report receiving compassionate care demonstrate faster wound healing, shorter hospital stays, greater sense of trust in healthcare providers — and reduced reports of pain, anxiety, and blood pressure.

Chief Nursing Officer Kathy Baker, PhD, RN, NE-BC, delivered the welcome, lauding the “resilience and dedication of so many UVA Health team members involved that day." She explained that this session would “highlight the efforts of some of those who went above and beyond.”

Work as One UVA Health Team

Associate Chief Nursing Officer Veronica Brill, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, praising all actions that day as “remarkable,” introduced the panelists:

• MICU Inpatient Charge Nurses Josh Forsyth, BSN — one of the first on the scene — commended team members’ “strength of the human spirit” and the “incredible collaboration among units,” while Megan Mundy, BSN, RN, CCRN, touted the “Where do you need me?” culture she said the MICU already had and proved crucial when the fire broke out.

• Julie Comer, S RRT-ACCS, Respiratory Therapist, declared, “The teamwork was incredible but not surprising — you don’t think about it, you just do it!”

• Derek Wilson, PE, CHFM, LEED AP, Director, Facilities Management, represented the maintenance team members involved. “Everyone ran toward the problem, not away from it,” he recalled. “Anyone who may have expected total chaos was completely wrong — it was calm, collected. And that’s contagious. We were clicking on all cylinders!”

• Mohammed Al Srya of EVS described the unit as being full of smoke and dust with “no time to think.” His team members cleaned each room four to five times for eight hours with no break. “We were on a mission,” he remembered. “There were scary and challenging moments but we didn’t think about ourselves. We had separate tasks but the same goal.”

• Taison Bell, MD, MBA, (pictured on right) was scheduled as a panelist but could not attend because he was in the MICU — once again, taking care of patients. Of the fire and aftermath, he later told Connect, “We often go into healthcare with the primary motivation to help others in need, so it was only natural for us to put the safety of our patients ahead of our own during the fire. Yet, I was impressed that it was the reflex of everyone to go toward the danger to save patients. I’m so proud to be part of this team.”

'Unwavering Dedication'

“This is the part where we all come together as a community,” said Dr. Haizlip, and invited comments and questions from the audience, many showing solidarity with the panelists by displaying signs emblazoned with “MICU” in hearts.

“I couldn’t be more proud of all they accomplished,” said MICU Nurse Manager Kris Blackstone, MSN, MHA, RN, CCRN. “Responding to a fire is not our typical clinical emergency in the MICU. But the team jumped into action without hesitation and ultimately saved the lives of patients, visitors, and team members. The fire certainly tested us, but brought out the best in each member of our team and many others across UVA Health.”

“We’re all very proud to work at UVA Health,” reacted Bush Bell, MBA, Administrator, Hospitality and Support Services.

“We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your heroic efforts and unwavering dedication during the fire in our MICU on April 27, 2024. Your actions, alongside those of our multidisciplinary teams, ensured the safety of our patients and colleagues, and we are immensely proud and thankful for your bravery and teamwork,” hailed Baker, University Medical Center CEO Wendy Horton, MBA, PharmD, FACHE, Chief Medical Officer Reid Adams, MD, FACS, and Chief Operating Officer Min Lee, MBA, MHA.

They added that this session is “an opportunity for us to reflect together, share experiences, and begin the healing process.”

'Exceptional Efforts'

At a reception following this Schwartz Center Rounds — UVA Health leadership presented to all of the teams who collaborated, a handmade “Thank You. You’re a lifesaver!” award and a letter from the City of Charlottesville Fire Department Battalion Chief “C” Shift Chad Bingler.

He expressed his gratitude for UVA Health team members’ “exceptional efforts” that day.

“Your quick actions to safely remove critically ill and injured patients while limiting fire spread are commendable,” he wrote.

“I want to thank you and congratulate you for your outstanding work. Your team’s quick actions truly made a difference in potential outcomes during the incident.”

The next UVA Health Schwartz Center Rounds is planned for fall 2024. If you have a case to feature, please submit details.