Support the heart of our health system
Every day, UHealth nurses extend their impact far beyond the bedside, leading in research, education, and clinical excellence to advance our mission. Their work transforms the patient experience, improves outcomes, and defines the future of nursing.
Donate TodayAt UHealth, nurses extend their impact beyond direct patient care through advocacy, inquiry, and innovation. Guided by curiosity and a commitment to improving care delivery, nurses ask critical questions, generate new knowledge, and lead initiatives that results in meaningful, measurable change.
This culture of continuous improvement shapes our care delivery, driving better health outcomes through evidence-based practice. From reducing infection rates to enhancing holistic, patient-centered care, these efforts are transforming the patient experience and advancing the future of clinical practice.
UHealth nurses are empowered to speak up and are supported by robust structures, advanced technology, and streamlined processes that translate ideas into action. This commitment is reflected in strong quality and safety metrics, high nursing retention, and positive patient experience metrics.
As an academic health system, a growing number of our nurses disseminate their work through national conferences and peer-reviewed publications, extending the impact of their innovations and contributing to the advancement of nursing science.
The collective impact of this work is demonstrated through nursing-led research, quality improvement initiatives, and scholarly dissemination throughout the year.
Standardizing Mental Health Screenings in Post-Surgical Oncology Care
In 2025, a team of nurses launched an initiative to standardize mental health screenings for post-surgical head and neck cancer (HNC) patients by integrating a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) into nursing practice. This nurse-driven approach aimed to strengthen psychological referrals and provide earlier intervention for patients at risk of depression.
HNC encompasses cancers of the ear, nose, throat, face, and scalp, often resulting in visible changes to a patient’s appearance and profound impacts on speech, swallowing, and daily function. These challenges place patients at significantly higher risk for depression, anxiety, and suicide compared with other cancer populations. Recognizing this vulnerability, the team incorporated the PHQ-9 into the nursing charting workflow and educated nurses on the role of mental health screening as a vital component of holistic patient care.
Within the first six months, nurses secured 42 psycho-oncology consults, an increase from 36 in the preceding six months. Overall, the proportion of head and neck cancer patients among inpatient psycho-oncology consultations increased from 10.6% in the prior year to 15.2% in the pilot year. This rise reflects both the growing demand for mental health support and the positive impact of standardized screening on care access and early identification.
To help spread these practices across the wider nursing community, the team presented their findings at the 49th Annual Congress and Nursing Symposium of the Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head-Neck Nurses in Indianapolis.
The initiative will extend to all inpatient units in early 2026, expanding standardized mental health screening at UHealth Tower.
Eliminating Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries (HAPIs) through Nurse-Built System
Over the past few years, the inpatient wound care team led a hospital-wide effort to eliminate hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) across every inpatient unit at UHealth Tower. In 2024, the team introduced thermographic imaging technology, achieving a 90% reduction in HAPI rates by the end of the year. While early physiologic detection of pressure-related skin changes significantly reduced patient harm, the team recognized the need for a consistent, system-level approach to early bedside intervention.
Building on this foundation, the team designed and implemented a multimodal, systemwide pressure injury detection and prevention model that embedded medical imaging into daily inpatient practice. This work required a redesign of care delivery and the establishment of standardized workflows across all hospital units. Each unit was provided with support by a dedicated Wound, Ostomy and Continence (WOC) nurse, a Wound Treatment Associate-trained nurse, and a unit-based Skin Champion, shifting prevention from situational evaluations to continuous, unit-owned accountability.
This transformative model ensured that every patient, regardless of unit, acuity, or length of stay, received the same proactive, evidence-based approach to early detection and prevention. As a result, HAPI rates declined from 5.6 in 2022 to zero in 2025, demonstrating the extraordinary impact of standardized practice, frontline ownership, and innovation in reducing preventable patient harm.
This spirit of new knowledge and innovation does not stop at the bedside. Nurses from various disciplines across the health system have shaped nursing practice and extended their influence on the broader nursing community.