Category: Healthcare

COVID-19: Infection Prevention & Control Efforts Start at the Top

Posted on by James Shannon

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 […]

Freshening the Air with COVID-19

Posted on by James Shannon

“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 […]

Staff Decorum, Dignity and Respect

Posted on by James Shannon

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 […]

Care Planning to Minimize Cannabis Risks

Posted on by James Shannon

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 […]

The Dyad of Nursing and Law

Posted on by James Shannon

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 […]

Extinction of the Rural Practitioner

Posted on by James Shannon

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 […]

Our Aging Population, as A Trend in Healthcare

Posted on by James Shannon

The US population is aging. Markets in the health care industry are changing as a result. People are getting older at a faster rate than children are being born. In fact, the present US birthrate is at its lowest level since 1920! According to the graph above, over the next forty years, the ratio of 0-17 year-olds and 18-64 year-olds in our population will be […]

Pointing Fingers is Costing U.S.

Posted on by James Shannon

We’ve all heard it by now. We know that health care costs are increasing. We know that things will soon be “unsustainable” if our present health care practices continue. Interestingly, despite all the stimuli we receive through the mainstream media, it doesn’t appear that the US people care as much as they should. People haven’t done enough to appreciate the cost issue. Aside from the […]