Mending the fabric of America's healthcare system with quality, safety, and the nursing process
Falls occur commonly in skilled nursing facilities, or nursing homes, as well as in the community. A global report from the World Health Organization on falls indicated: “The frequency of falls increases with age and frailty level. Older people who are living in nursing homes fall more often than those who are living in the community. Approximately 30-50% of people living in long term care […]
I am writing based on my experiences as a registered nurse surveyor. In this role, the registered nurse is tasked with visiting Skilled Nursing Facilities to review facility practice to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations and laws. Inherently, our work processes are confrontational. And unfortunately surveyors have realized increased confrontation during COVID-19. Whether it is because emotion and burnout are high, or because […]
Welcome to the intra-COVID-19 world. Here, we are creating new questions and definitions, as well as new approaches to the clinical practice of medicine. This is a confusing period for licensed clinicians and providers in the healthcare industry, and is especially confusing (sometimes maddening) to lay Americans. Not all American consumers can effectively navigate common marketplaces to avoid unsafe personal safety products (PSPs) promoted as […]
“Never be afraid of open windows … .” ~ Florence Nightingale, 1860. This timeless adage came back to relevance during a phone call last week. When asked by a director of nursing at a nursing home in LA County whether his staff may open windows to give isolated residents fresh air, I froze. I told myself, “This is exactly what Florence Nightingale preached.” However, I […]
I have a friend. Let’s call her Jill. Jill is a middle-aged woman who leads a healthy and active lifestyle, and has since childhood. Last Spring/Summer, Jill began experiencing stressors in her personal and family life. Over a six-month period of time, these stressors started to manifest physically, as evidenced by significant weight loss and cardiovascular symptoms. Upon seeking medical attention, Jill encountered a multitude […]
During Prohibition, “Bathtub Gin” (a spirit made at home by amateurs) caused documented instances of sickness and death among American citizens. As cannabis legalization rolls-out across America, cannabis vaping concentrates manufactured for and sold on the black market exhibit a similar public health risk. Over the past year, users of cannabis vaping products following national news and public health concerns may have lost their spark […]
On 11/12/19, at 1:00 p.m. EST, the American Nurses Association (ANA) hosted a webinar (Title, Managing legal issues in nursing leadership) describing the intersection of day-to-day nursing leadership and the law. The offering was educational and free (as part of ANA membership). Nurse managers and risk managers were its intended audience. During the webinar, the Presenter (Edie Brous, Esq., PC) provided a global survey of […]
I had an experience the other day that made me re-think the importance of customer service as it relates to volunteer programs at healthcare organizations. The fact of the matter is this: many volunteer programs don’t teach the skills necessary to allow volunteers to competently interact with the customer at the point-of-service. Healthcare likely presents one of the most common human-to-human interactions in the daily […]
In his recent New Yorker article, Atul Gawande talks about the time it takes for innovations to spread. From the title of the article, one can easily deduct the gist without reading it: the spread of innovations takes longer than it probably should, with this temporal gap directly affecting the health, safety and general well-being of those without access to the innovation. Innovation isn’t new to […]
The changes taking shape in rural parts of our country are causing access issues for rural consumers. Not surprisingly, money is at the root of the problem. General practice physicians in rural areas just aren’t able to maintain the financially viable private practices they once were. Decreasing reimbursement rates are frustrating the private practice business model. Federal reimbursement rates, most notably, have been decreasing over […]