Bringing improved nursing care to the VA's sickest patients

Throughout his 17-year nursing career, Chris Redwood has cared for numerous patients who have significantly affected his professional and personal life.

But no one has made an impact on his career as much as his son, a recent graduate from West Point. Wanting to help ensure that those in the military like his son will always have access to the best health care possible when they need it, Redwood took a leadership position in intensive care unit (ICU) at the Washington D.C. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

In this capacity, Redwood manages a staff of 60 people who treat the hospital's sickest patients.

"I took this job so I could start leading. There's a huge difference between being a manager and a leader," Redwood said. "I wanted a job that would allow me to have a meaningful impact at the leadership level on both the military and health care industry."

Since his arrival at the VA hospital in 2008, Redwood has been instrumental in leading an analysis of the resources as well as determining how his staff can help best improve the quality and level of care.

Ramona Griffin, director of specialty care at the hospital, said Redwood has identified highly-qualified professionals to add to his team. She said he has carefully selected staff who match the goals and ideals that he is establishing for the very busy intensive care unit and who will continue to enhance patient care.

Redwood also has implemented a shared governance model that enables his staff to have a voice in determining nursing practice, standards and quality of care, thus increasing autonomy and shared decision-making.

"The staff is very positive about being able to identify issues and workable solutions with the confidence that their decisions will be appreciated," Griffin said.

Redwood's interest in caring for others was influenced at an early age by his mother who assisted mentally-challenged children and the elderly. However, it wasn't until Redwood worked on a project as a business major at Howard University in 1992 that he considered a nursing career.

"I did a health care study and had to plot the job opportunities that were available now and in the next 15 years, and I started to slowly realize that nursing was going to boom," Redwood said. "So I gathered up three of my buddies who were guys and convinced them to switch to nursing majors. That's how I stumbled into nursing."

Redwood spent the first part of his career working at D.C. General Hospital in medical surgery and then as a traveling intensive care nurse enabling him to gain broad experience in different hospital settings.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Redwood went to work in the intensive care unit at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He saw the Navy as a perfect fit for his "organized" personality and "black and white" view of life.

Within a year of joining the staff, the hospital received an influx of causalities from Iraq, which profoundly impacted Redwood.

"I have worked in trauma ICUs, but the patients that came from Iraq were just on a different level ¿ 24, 26 year old 'kids' who might have a girlfriend, wife, young child at home, and they now had shrapnel wounds on top of a brain injury," Redwood said.

"It took nursing to a whole new level, because I was not only treating physical wounds but also the families' emotional wounds," he said. "I started to become a bit more compassionate and not focused on the ABCs, of getting the job done."

Redwood says that this experience honed his skills and put him on the map as "a health care provider, husband and father."

This article was jointly prepared by the Partnership for Public Service, a group seeking to enhance the performance of the federal government, and washingtonpost.com. Visit www.ourpublicservice.org for more about the organization's work to recognize the men and women who serve our nation.