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"A baby might be in the NICU from four weeks to
four to six months," Stuckly said. "They're
usually scared and afraid to make a bond, thinking 'What
if something happens?' "
Stuckly said her application of Touchpoints tools made
an immediate difference for some of these parents. Stuckly
showed parents how their underdeveloped premature babies
still respond to parents' voices. She advised them to
look for visual clues, like the ones she picked up from
her experiences with her own baby born earlier this
year.
"I've noticed my baby likes it better to be bathed
in the evening, so I'll tell them to look for specific
behaviors [like that]," Stuckly said. "But
we let [the parents] guide themselves."
Parental empowerment is the most important lesson most
nurses feel they learn from Touchpoints training. Michelle
Lansford, RN, a neonatal nurse educator at Cook Children's
in Fort Worth, noticed the dramatic improvement in parents
of sick children maintaining critical follow-up visits
through Touchpoints education.
"Many times, our children are going to have a
lifelong battle with health issues," Lansford said.
"So if we can build a good relationship with the
family as their real first step into the health care
realm, maybe they'll be more trusting and be able to
build relationships along the way, instead of avoiding
it and having that 'doctor fear' and that 'nurse fear.'
"
The improvement of parental involvement in child care
was evidenced in a study in Napa County. Kristie Brandt,
ND, MSN, CNM, chief of public health for the Napa County
Health and Human Services, said patients with Touchpoints-trained
providers have one-fourth more well-child visits and
follow-ups, while emergency room and sick-child visits
to health care facilities were drastically cut in half.
"That was phenomenal," Brandt said.
Smith said Harris Methodist will conduct surveys to
contrast pre- and post-training attitudes of participating
nurses, and introduce Touchpoints-related questions
and comments to employee evaluation forms. Ultimately,
the hospital would like to incorporate Touchpoints checklists
into daily reports filled out by nurses, Smith said.
For Los, the Napa PHN, she didn't need the results
of a study to see what Touchpoints does for her revolving
caseload of 50 clients-a majority of whom have a distrust
of social service agents such as Los. Instead of anger
and apathy, many of the troubled parents opened up to
her through the Touchpoints discussions. They kept appointments,
followed through with meetings and promises, and in
some cases sought her out for questions and advice about
their children, Los said.
The 16-year-old girl in the teen home, who, at one
point, had no inkling of her motherly instinct, became
one of Los' most successful cases. She kept her regular
visits with Los throughout the following year, and even
returned to finish school to fight for a better future
for herself and her baby.
"It was powerful," Los said. "By building
[their] trust with you and building a relationship,
you can all work together."
Contact Glen Fest at glenf@nurseweek.com
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