Tzu Chi Hualien Hospital Nursing staffs interact with attendees on the stage and share their success in providing hospice care to over 9000 patients.

Written by: Ding Se Qin
Translated by: Yuaner Wu

“Why are you training me home care while my family member is still in the hospital?” “Training patient and family prior to discharge is one of the mindful nursing cares in the Tzu Chi Hospital” stated Nursing Director, Dr. Shu Juan Zhang. This is truly a close-to-heart caring model. Because, the purposes of medical treatments are to pace up recovery, provide guidance for home care, decrease readmissions and improve quality of life at home.

Tzu Chi Hualien Hospital nurse team hosted a panel discussion on Sep 14 afternoon. The title was “Nursing care without boundary”. In 2009, the Nursing Department at Tzu Chi Hualien Hospital began to consolidate resources from six Tzu Chi hospitals in Taiwan. To materialize Master Cheng Yen’s ideology of “stopping illness to prevent poverty”, nursing care was focused on caring whole-person, whole-phase, whole family, whole-team, and whole-community. Nursing care was extended from hospital to community, then long-term home care. Nursing without boundary is a resultant of the development.

From meeting patient’s needs to glorify nursing achievements.

In 2016, Tzu Chi Nursing Department began to promote “Lean nursing management”.
It includes: simplify administrative processes, improve efficiency, decrease medical wastes, beautify environment, visualization of management, reorganization, consolidate technologies, and strengthen cooperation between hospital and University.

To promote patient-centered nursing care, the Nursing Department introduces “human-shape diagram” during case presentation in the grand round. It is a new invention using basic human shape to tell patient’s story in the hospital. Nurses use it to discuss nursing care, reflect nurse-patient relationship, understand patient’s needs and provide education on patient-centered nursing care.

If you want to have more training, the school is right next to you. The closeness provides a wonderful opportunity for continuous educations. This is why our nursing staffs have a very high on-job training rate. Promotion goes along with seniority. The uniqueness of our departmental culture has made many talented nurses successful.

Master has always taught us to comfort patients with love. The best use of a nurse’s hands is to relief patient’s pain.

The meaning of HAND Touch includes Heal me, Accompany me, Nurture me, and Do for me. Touch is very important for preventing bedsores and providing wound cares.

A Malaysian attendee asked a question about providing consultation 24 hour a day. The answer was to rely on teamwork. Patient and care providers can contact home care Nurse Specialist by phone, Line, Facebook and Skype. Once connected, there is not limitation to transmit love and follow up patient in the community. Sun never set in TIMA world.

Tzu Chi Hualien Hospital Vice Nursing Director Lu, Ji-Yan and Wound Care Nurse Specialist Shu, Mei-Yu has commented that the purpose for nursing research is to meet patient’s needs and the purpose for new invention and improvement is to relief sufferings.

Another famous program in Tzu Chi Hualien Hospital is the Heart Lotus Unit, a hospice unit. Nurses provide hospice care from hospital bed to patient’s home. They provide nursing care to whole-person, physically and spiritually.

Tzu Chi Hualien Hospital Nurse Director Zhang, Shu-Juan shared a Thank You letter from a daughter of hospice care patient. Sixteen years ago, the girl was only eleven years old when her mother was a patient in the unit. Looking back, she wants to thank the home-like feeling that allowed her mother to die in peace and helped her family to get through the most difficult time.

By 2016, Tzu Chi Hualien Hospital palliative care team has cared for over nine thousand patients. The common goal of hospice care team are helping patient to say good-bye, feel appreciative and die in peace.

A Malaysia TIMA attendee asked: “ How can you provide consultation 24 hours a day?”