Five Questions With: Kerin Da Cruz

In June, Kerin Da Cruz was named L+M Healthcare’s vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer. L+M is a member of Yale New Haven Health System, the parent company of Westerly Hospital.

Da Cruz, who has been vice president of operations at Westerly Hospital since 2015, now leads the nursing teams at Westerly and Lawrence + Memorial hospitals.

PBN: How many nurses are you now overseeing between Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and Westerly Hospital?

DA CRUZ: In addition to the 1,700 nurses and patient care services staff at Westerly and L+M, I have responsibility for approximately 200 laboratory services staff, as well our digestive health and behavioral health service lines.

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PBN: Did you enter your new roles with any priorities in mind, particularly at Westerly Hospital?

DA CRUZ: As CNO, I am committed to aligning our nursing team in a way that focuses our attention on improving the care we provide to our patients and families, which brings tremendous value to our organization.

Leading the nursing teams at both Westerly Hospital and Lawrence + Memorial provides an opportunity to standardize our practices and protocols at both hospitals. This is consistent with the ongoing work of the hospital to fully integrate with the Yale New Haven Health System.

As an L+M employee since 2009, I moved to Westerly Hospital in 2015 as the vice president of operations. Our focus at that time was stabilizing the organization financially and bringing much-needed clinical services to the community. Now as the CNO, I can move that mission forward with our teams across the hospital with the goal of delivering exceptional patient care.

PBN: Westerly Hospital was among the facilities I spoke to for a story in May about a sharp decline in emergency room visits. Is the hospital still seeing lighter-than-normal ER traffic, or is it returning to pre-COVID levels?

DA CRUZ: Since June, we have seen our patients return to the ED in ever increasing numbers. Our elective surgeries are also back, and in some cases have exceeded the levels we experienced before the pandemic.

Our success in returning to full operation is reflective of the community confidence in our ability to provide quality care in a safe environment. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank our community for the continued outpouring of support during the pandemic. Their notes, calls, supplies of food and other items really elevated the morale of our teams. Having them return in such large number for their care is really reflective of how connected the hospital is to them and them to us.

PBN: Have you done anything different this year to prepare your nursing teams for the fall and winter as flu season begins and the COVID-19 pandemic continues?

DA CRUZ: Seasonal flu always poses a threat and getting a flu shot is the single most important thing an individual can do to combat it. As we move into the winter season, we are concerned about the possibility of a “twindemic” of flu and COVID that could overwhelm our resources. Therefore, we are ever vigilant in monitoring the effects of both of these viruses on our staff, patients and in the community at large in terms of prevalence.

Our operational planning takes into consideration various scenarios that may impact us and we believe we are well-prepared for what the next few months may bring. We meet several times each week to review our plans locally and with the YNHH team so that we can update those plans accordingly.

As most are aware, we are seeing increasing community spread of COVID and urge everyone to keep doing the things that have proven to be effective: wear your mask, wash your hands and be socially distant, especially when eating.

PBN: I also did a story in May 2019 about what health care leaders were describing as a looming nursing shortage in Rhode Island and the New England region. Is this still a concern?

DA CRUZ: A shortage of nursing is always a concern and the pandemic has exacerbated that for all of our caregivers. We try to stay ahead of the need for clinical staff by hiring nurses to fill critical roles as we collaborate and partner with local colleges, universities and other institutions to help train and cultivate streams of employees.

There is not only a challenge in recruiting staff but retaining top talent, as well. To that end, we work incredibly hard to be the employer of choice for health care staff in our community. We have created several professional-development opportunities for our staff that focus on enhancing their clinical skills, as well as opportunities to develop their leadership skills with the goal of nurturing them in order for them to reach their full potential.

We know that nurses and other clinical team members have many choices as to where they can practice, and our goal is to have them stay in their valued professions and choose us.

Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.