Tips on how to help yourself, and our hardworking nurses Guest Post by Deborah O’Leary As the health care reform debate ebbs and flows, and then ebbs some more, you may not be thinking very much about the nursing shortage, and how it could possibly affect you. In fact, in the current economic climate, when unemployment seems high and many hospitals seem to actually to be cutting back, you may not have realized that there…
Read More...Transparency is Critical for Safe Quality Patient Care
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston is determined to eliminate preventable harm to patients by increasing transparency. Documented on the BIDMC’s website, a list of hospital wide measures including infections, hand hygiene and nursing care are highlighted. Keeping track of central line infections, hand hygiene, pressure ulcers and falls, Levy is determined to eliminate preventable harm to patients. Aggressive goals have been set…
Read More...Health Care Reform and You – J.James Rohack, MD, AMA President – Live on Health in 30
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA [Please stay tuned for more info. This special show with J. James Rohack, MD will not air live on October 29th, however it will be rescheduled in the near future. Thank you.] Join me and for the first time my very special guest co-host, Kevin Soden, MD on Thursday, October 29, 2009 for a fascinating discussion with our medical expert, J.James Rohack, MD, President of the American Medical Association. …
Read More...Medical Errors: Nurse’s Tips Can Help Prevent Medical Errors
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA This post isn’t being written to frighten you or to cause you to mistrust hospitals. It’s to make you aware that medical errors do occur, but there are steps that you can take to help prevent medical errors from happening. First, some vital information According to a recent investigation by the Hearst Corporation, a staggering 200,000 Americans will die each year from preventable medical errors and hospital infections. This…
Read More...How to Avoid Chaos in the Hospital and Get the Care You Need
A Registered Nurse’s Tips to Stay Safe in a Hospital By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA A hospital can be extremely frightening and overwhelming. Hospitals generally are loud, cold, and sterile mazes of chaos. Unfortunately medical errors happen and it’s estimated that nearly 100,000 people die of medical errors each year. According to the CDC, “In American hospitals alone, healthcare-associated infections account for an estimated 1.7 million infections and 99,000 associated deaths each year.” As…
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