Many of us can barely keep track of our everyday essentials, like car keys and cell phones, when everything is going well. So imagine what it’s like to keep a grip on your belongings when you’re being treated for an injury or illness in the hospital, where you may be feeling overwhelmed and disoriented.
Ashlee Aikens, Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s risk management coordinator, wears many hats to keep patients, team members and organization assets safe. One of these is a detective cap. She investigates every report filed for a piece of missing property at the hospital, collaborating with nurse management and the public safety department. The energy she brings to all parts of her job has drawn the respect and admiration of colleagues who note she’s always focused on finding the best solution to every situation.
A healthy life starts with an annual checkup.
In a big place like New Hanover Regional Medical Center, it’s not uncommon for items to be lost or forgotten when patients and their families are focused on healing, Aikens said. Cell phones slip into bed linens. Baseball caps get left behind in patient rooms. And sometimes there are lost personal items that are harder to replace. Misplaced dentures are common in hospitals, where patients set them on food trays and forget to retrieve them.
“We have things such as dentures, hearing aids or prescription eyeglasses. These are things that can impact an individual’s quality of life,” Aikens said. “You lose your teeth, you're unable to eat.”
In one situation, Aikens said, a nurse manager found a watch inside a denture cup. But no one had reported a watch missing. Aikens contacted the patient who had last occupied the room and came to learn that the watch did indeed belong to him – and it had sentimental value. Because the patient lived in another town and wasn’t planning a return trip to Wilmington, Aikens shipped it back to him.
“He was so happy that it was recovered,” Aikens said. “It was a Father's Day present and he thought he'd never be reunited with it. … He was so excited.”
In another scenario that Aikens investigated, the public safety department recovered a lost backpack that held a student’s laptop – an item that was essential for her academic progress.
When reuniting lost items with their owners, Aikens said the monetary value isn’t really what’s important. Possessions that have high emotional value, like a book or journal, can aid patients in recovery, she said. In other words, little things can be really big things.
What is risk management?
A risk management team works together to protect a company’s assets. At Novant Health, this encompasses its physical assets, including its clinics and hospitals, as well as intangible assets, like its culture and values.
Foremost is protecting Novant Health’s greatest asset: its people, including physicians, team members and patients. The risk management team identifies, analyzes, evaluates and manages risk of injury to team members, visitors and patients, and promotes quality patient care.
Casidy Sanders, risk management manager at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, strongly believes in the importance of creating and improving an ongoing culture of safety for Novant Health’s patients. “We should always be asking, ‘How can we be better?’” Sanders said.
A history of serving others
Aikens brings a career history of serving others to her current role. She is a North Carolina state bar certified paralegal and spent eight years working for the state Department of Social Services supporting attorneys in abuse and neglect cases.
In a job where no two days are the same, Aikens pays keen attention to what her fellow team members are working on. One question that she is never afraid to ask: “How can I provide support?”
When Aikens first came across the job listing for New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s risk management coordinator in 2021, she wasn’t entirely sure what the title meant. But she was intrigued.
She knew it would be a stretch. And because it was a new position, Aikens couldn’t learn just by following in someone else’s footsteps. But as she read through the ideal candidate’s abilities and strengths, she thought to herself: “That’s me!”
Now it’s this same “I can do that” attitude that she brings to work every day. Never one to say, “that’s not my job,” Aikens uses the word “opportunity” a lot in conversation, always embracing the chance to learn a new skill or seek out a solution.
“There’s so many facets to what we do, it’s very intriguing,” Aikens said. “I’m still learning something different every day.”
Casidy Sanders, risk management manager at New Hanover Regional Medical Center and one of the individuals who interviewed Aikens for the job, said that she knew from the first moment that Aikens’ willingness to learn would make her a great fit for the job. She was also impressed by Aikens’ bravery and openness to starting over in a new role, transitioning from her career as a paralegal. In their past year and a half of working together, Sanders said she has come to respect and appreciate the many skills that Aikens brings.
“She's so resourceful,” Sanders said. “She’s always looking for context, asking questions, and trying to figure out how to move forward. She doesn't believe in like saying things like, ‘That's just the way it is.’ No, she is a go-getter. She says, ‘Let's figure this out. There's got to be a way.’ She’s always very willing, available and flexible to jump in.”
Aikens said that she’s grateful for the opportunity to be part of a collaborative team that helps Novant Health serve its community.
“This is growth,” she said. “I'm learning to appreciate the value I bring to a team more now than what I do as an individual. This is not just about me as a person.”
