April 07, 2023
For a select group of TriHealth nurses, caring for patients includes keeping the number of needle sticks to a minimum.
Vascular Access RNs are nurses with years of experience in starting and maintaining IVs. Their job is to ensure TriHealth patients have the proper lines to correspond with the treatment they need without having to endure multiple needle sticks.
TriHealth currently has 12 VARNs, having two at Good Samaritan Hospital and two at Bethesda North Hospital each day, and every month the team places nearly 1,000 IV access lines. Along with caring for patients, TriHealth’s VARN also educate new nurses and team members to ensure patients’ IV lines are as painless as possible.
“We want to put the appropriate line in from the beginning, so patients are not being stuck numerous times for their hospital visit,” said Vascular Access Team Member Lori Palomino.
VARNs typically begin their careers by gaining bedside experience before supplementing their knowledge with hours of training that includes learning vascular education as well as practice with needles and IV lines in artificial arms. In total, TriHealth’s VARN team has more than 300 years of RN services as well as roughly 110 years of vascular access service, Palomino said.
Along with continuing their training, the VARN team is committed to passing on what they’ve learned. The team regularly works with new nurses and team members on the best way to start and maintain IVs. These skills aren’t always imparted in nursing school, and the VARN team wants to ensure all TriHealth medical team members have mastered starting as well as troubleshooting IV lines, keeping lines functioning and maintaining proper dressings for patients.
Many of the patients the VARN team sees are in and out of the hospital, and ensuring their vascular health is a vital part of their continued treatment, as well as getting healthcare right, Palomino said.
Palomino has been a TriHealth team member for more than 40 years. While she has worked briefly at other healthcare systems, none have generated the sense of comradery she has experienced as a TriHealth nurse.
“I like the hospital organization and the staff that I work with,” she said. “It’s just a very rewarding job to do.”
TriHealth is blessed to have this excellent team of expert nurses as a resource. The team should be expanded to be able to offer their services at other TriHealth locations such as Bethesda Butler and McCullough Hyde hospitals as well.
Posted by: Aminda Seymour on July 24, 2023
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Thanks for giving recognition to our unsung heroes! Nice job Lori and team!
Posted by: Joyce Battoclette on July 24, 2023
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Very well said! Thank you for highlighting our team!
Posted by: Kendra Dooley on July 24, 2023
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Thanks so very much for sharing with the TriHealth family some of the ways the vascular access team at both BNH & GSH "SERVE" our TriHealth patients & staff. It would be great if we could serve other TriHealth's facilities as well as provide 24/7 coverage at our main locations for better patient outcomes & increased patient satisfaction.
Posted by: Yvonne Miller on July 24, 2023
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