Alyssa Gaynor, Annel Lueth, Alexa Maakestad

"Safety and Excellence frame our work. Teamwork and Compassion place people at the center of all that we do."

At Arkansas Children's Hospital, the safety of the children was always our top priority. The value of safety promotes a compassionate and vigilant quality of care for the patient and everyone involved. The value of safety in a healthcare system can be a matter of life and death

Patients are seeking a safe space to heal and become healthier, therefore, it was essential to provide them, their families, and ourselves a safe, comfortable, error-less environment for all to thrive. During patient contact, we were sure to follow HIPAA regulations to maintain the safety of the children by avoiding their pictures being taken and sharing private patient information. A healthcare team has the responsibilities to prevent the spread of disease or infection, ensure open communication between patients, their families, and other members of the healthcare team. Throughout this trip, we were our own healthcare team, that collaborated with Arkansas Children's Hospital's team to share these same goals.

During our Dance Marathon party, we had to ensure the safety of the kids by supervising their work with scissors and other craft materials, making sure their guardians' whereabouts were known, and maintaining a comfortable and safe space for each patient. We used social cues to understand the comfort of the children and the boundaries parents may have had for them. While doing beautification projects, we used safe and reliable methods of watering plants, pulling weeds, or picking up trash. When pulling dead leaves and plants in the atrium, it was mandatory to wear shoe coverings to be sure to avoid debris from contaminating the air. This was to ensure the Arkansas Children's campus was free of toxic contamination and maintained a clean facility.

Another factor of safety is to properly and effectively utilize technology and equipment. On the hospital's helipad, we were cautious to not enter the cockpit or get to close to the edge of the building. We were able to learn impressive facts about the hospital's network of advanced air technology and that they are able to provide to communities hundreds of miles away. While working in the gift shop and bagging gummy bears, everything from the scissors used to cut the bag open were sanitized to assure the cleanliness of the products being sold to patients and their families.

During our cultural immersion activities, we continually carried the value of safety. At Pinnacle Mountain, we stuck together and hiked the safest route, taking breaks when any team member needed it. Because of these precautions, we were all able to hike to the top without injury. Whilst driving, the passenger seat was also the co-captain role and made sure the driver knew of directions and kept the driver company. This allowed us to arrive at destinations safely.

It was clear from our time in Arkansas the ACH prides themselves in being a safe environment from their staff, equipment, environment, and even volunteers.

Before our classes began, we hosted a mini craft party in the lobby of Stead Family Children's Hospital. We worked with the Child Life Speciailists to help bring patients down with their parents or siblings to make crafts and spend time outside of their hospital rooms. We broke into small groups and each had our own crafts to help kiddos make and used tips from CLS to create a warm and welcoming space!

In our classes leading up to spring break, we spent time discussing values and issues that would be an impact on the trip. We worked in small groups to talk about main issues concerning healthcare disparities and to look at the roots of the problems and the effects that they have. We also discussed Asset Based Community Development and how different types of capitol help shed light on the strengths of each community, and ethical standards revolving service trips so we could take appropriate perspectives.

During our trip to Arkansas it was important to our mission that we all work together to ensure everyone we encountered had a positive experience. This involved working together within our group, as well as us working with the staff of Arkansas Children's Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, and with Canvas Community Church.

At the Arkansas Children's Hospital, we collaborated with the Volunteer Coordinators to coordinate a craft and dance party for patients and siblings to attend while waiting for an appointment. We worked within our team to delegate tasks of setting up crafts, clean up, and to ensure each child had friends to make crafts with. We also worked with the landscaping crews to help with different beautification projects, such as cleaning up litter around campus and cleaning up debris in plant beds.

At Ronald McDonald House we worked as a team to move surplus items into storage spaces that made them most accessible. We also spent time outside pulling weeds and promoting the "blooming season" that occurs around this time in Arkansas. Although these tasks didn't seem as important compared to others, we were reminded that we helped complete tasks that will allow the staff to focus on the more important things that need to be completed and directly impact those in need.

At Canvas Community Church, we were forced to step out of our comfort zones and spend time with a different population than most of us were used to. It took teamwork to encourage others to move out of those comfort zones and build off of each other when chatting with different members of the homeless community. Some members also worked with a group of teenagers from a local church and help serve the meal to everyone who came. This required teamwork so it could move as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Teamwork is an important value to have as it promotes unity, offers different perspectives, promotes efficiency, and provides learning opportunities. When teamwork is implemented as a strong core value of a hospital, it shows that everyone there is working to the same goal of providing the best care and experience for everyone that walks into the door.

Compassion is important in any setting, especially a hospital one. Compassion includes having sympathy for a patient and treating them with the utmost respect during their most difficult days. Compassion includes acts of kindness that range from a simple smile in the hallway to making a child laugh while they are receiving treatment. Compassion is at the heart of each hospital's values.

While we were serving with Arkansas Children's Hospital, it was very apparent that each hospital employee cared deeply about their job and the patients they were providing care to. Each profession offers a unique take on the patient care experience at ACH. During our volunteer experiences, we had the privilege of working with the ACH volunteer services department, nursing staff, landscaping crews, and the Ronal McDonald House staff. Each profession works together to provide the best care to their patients. This coordination includes the organized work to reach common goals. Staff members attend meetings and are in constant contact with each other so that every aspect of the hospital is taken care of and given the attention that it deserves.

Through our service, we were able to provide arts and crafts to the children and families waiting for their appointments at ACH. We were able to witness the incredible communication first hand between the Volunteer Services and Clinical departments to put on our hospital party. The clinic staff were more than happy to accommodate our group of new volunteers. They were excited to see what we had to offer to their patients. Communication opens many doorways and provides opportunities for improvement in all aspects of the hospital. When communication is a top priority, the patient experience is improved.

Cooperation is important in any work environment. The staff at ACH were always working together to create a compassionate environment for their patients and families. A healthy work environment creates a happy work environment. Even during our short time at the hospital, it was easy to see the cooperation between the different departments. Each staff member shared the common goal of providing the most excellent care that they were able to. Cooperation includes compromising and making sacrifices to better the group as a whole. The staff at Arkansas Children's Hospital has no issue with accommodating other departments to better the hospital and their patients.

Collaboration is a crucial value to create a welcoming and inclusive environment. Collaboration often goes hand-in-hand with communication and cooperation as departments and people work together to create the best patient care experience. This experience stems from a collaboration of talented primary care providers, clerical staff, nurses, volunteers and many others. All of these people care deeply about patients and their families and work hard to help them the best that they can. When the collaboration is successful, as in Arkansas Children's Hospital, patients are able to be the primary focus.

From the volunteer at the door to the CEO of the hospital, it was clear that compassion is a top value at Arkansas Children's Hospital.

Every institution's goal is excellence. It is important to be the best that you can be. This applies to the hospital setting in an even greater way. Each value: safety, teamwork, and compassion all flow into this one.

Safety is a value that propels the excellence of Arkansas Children's Hospital and the work they pride themselves in. From creating an error-free environment to extensively training staff, there are a multitude of factors that play into the safe surroundings we experienced in the hospital setting.

Compassion contributes to the excellence value in many ways. Coordination, communication, cooperation, and collaboration all play an integral part in creating the best patient care experience and hospital environment possible. Acts of kindness travel through the hospital quickly and spread joy among the most distressed individuals. Sympathy and generosity create a welcoming environment for each patient and family. When the staff and volunteers of different departments communicate and collaborate to create programs and entertainment for patients, children are not as afraid and families are able to relax for a short amount of time. An excellent environment stems from passionate and compassionate individuals working hard for patients and families, as in Arkansas Children's Hospital.

Teamwork allows an institution to achieve excellence because one is only as strong as its' weakest link. It is vital to work as a team to help support and reach the high standards to provide the highest level of care to everyone who walks through the door of the hospital. This also creates a productive work space so everyone can work together to achieve the same goals.

As a Hawkeye Service Team, we are able to appreciate and utilize this same set of values in the work that we do. Serving with Little Rock, Arkansas community and the Arkansas Children's Hospital was an absolute privilege. Learning about their values has allowed us apply them to our own work and understand the importance of safety, team work, compassion, and excellence.