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By Tracey Graham

The expenditure of healthcare construction dollars is expected to be over $100 billion in fiscal year 2015. As such, hospitals are seeking reliable, proficient ways to spend their money. One way to do it is through the first-hand, readily available insights of nursing staff.

As a Nurse Practitioner now working with a design firm, I can come to the table with extensive and eclectic insight and experience in hospital operations and clinical practice. Nurses like me serve as true advocates for the patient and their families, while understanding the needs and expectations of the hospital staff and administrative constraints for ROI. My goal with my clients is to bring their mission, vision, and end-user experience to the forefront to help navigate operations, improve the design process, and translate the needs and wants from staff to designers to hospital executives.  

By involving nurses in the pre-design process, I have seen great success and savings in expending capital since their input directly informs proactive vs reactive preparation and planning for future business process and space. Adding this early step allows the design team to explore data and ideas and map present, future, and innovate approaches prior to being transformed into drawings or plans. It gives all an opportunity to study business trends, benchmarks, accreditation, service lines and evidenced-based practice requirements. This information is then used to align a hospital’s vision with its strategic plan.

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A Large Compliance and Reporting Task Ahead for Employers 

The EEOC announced on Friday, January 29, 2016, its intention to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a major revision to the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) which will require that all employers with more than 100 employees submit compensation data to the EEOC beginning in 2017. The new EEO-1 form will take the place of the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) pending “Equal Pay Report” regulations, which would have affected only federal contractors and subcontractors.

By Marsha Knapik, Director
Brian Keller, Senior IT Applications Developer
Corazon, Inc.

Not so long ago, scribbled nurse’s notes and physician orders, along with paper medication requisitions and numerous other handwritten documents dominated the healthcare system.  The gradual move to electronic clinical documentation as an initial step, and now (at advanced organizations) a completely electronic health record, has gained rapid momentum in recent years.  In fact, such a movement can now be considered the only way to encourage complete and fully-integrated medical records… a desirable goal for hospital administrators, clinicians, physicians, and perhaps even patients who know the benefits that optimized technology in the healthcare setting can bring. 

While rapid advances in technology make it possible to ensure documentation is provided electronically, this technology, if used correctly, can also identify gaps or deficiencies in care, serve as a means to guide best practices, and provide a platform for efficient and effective data collection and reporting.  Corazon believes that using IT to its fullest potential is a worthwhile effort that can bring both short- and long-term value to a hospital – clinically, operationally, and financially.

For example, Corazon’s CEREBROS® software provides a documentation template for the required neurological assessments and specific evaluations for a known/suspected stroke patient. This template system ensures that the patient receives all components of the appropriate evaluation; if data to that end is not provided within a specific timeframe, a prompt appears to notify the clinician that an important component of care was missed.  Just consider the possibilities if numerous care paths were motivated and tracked and by standardized “steps” – the right patient receives the right care at the right time…EVERY TIME. [Read more…]

By Nick Jacobs

Last weekend a friend of mine showed me a paper that had been written by a brilliant, young physician.  In the paper she explained that, in her research, she had discovered that a fundamental piece of knowledge regarding the manner in which physicians in her specialty are expected to practice was seriously flawed.  She went on to prove that the science based on these two incredibly small original studies was also significantly outdated by new technologies.  In fact, it was clear that the knowledge garnered in the last decade alone through the use of new techniques and scientific advancements has proven this lack of accuracy in an unquestionable manner. 

Here’s the worst part of this story; this flawed information has been printed in every textbook pertaining to this topic since about 1970, and change is slow.  Furthermore, every student of this specialty is expected to practice incorrectly in order to comply with the standards of their profession.

Okay, you say, what’s the big deal?  Well, the big deal is that the alternative practices that these flaws have resulted in suggest that the physicians prescribe certain types of drugs that, long term, may even be related to specific types of cancers in both men and women.  In other words, these mistakes which apply mostly to teenagers, could eventually lead to their premature death.  So, later in life when you say, “Why me?” there may indeed be an answer. 

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How to train your staff to be your first line of defense against the threat of pests 

By Hope Bowman

Pests in the healthcare environment can do more than harm your reputation; pests can actually pose health threats to your staff and patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rodents such as rats and mice are known to spread more than 35 diseases worldwide, including Salmonella, Hantavirus and even E. coli. Cockroaches can carry an average of 33 different bacteria that can lead to life-threatening diseases and cause allergic reactions or trigger asthma symptoms. To combat pest threats in your facility, you not only need to implement an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, but get your entire staff on board with your IPM program.

Staff participation is the key to any successful IPM program as they are your first line of defense against pest activity in your facility. But in order to be successful on the front lines, they need support in the form of education and communication. Educate your staff about the type of pests to be on the lookout for, the threats they pose, how to prevent them and the places where they can be found, and be sure to keep an open line of communication with them about your pest management program and any pest issues that arise. 

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By Djamel Bayliche

Today’s healthcare environment is no doubt a changing landscape – with new regulations, alternative reimbursement models, and innovations in clinical care.  This continuous transformation of our healthcare system places increasing responsibility in the hands of patients and their loved ones, who are realizing that, now more than ever, they have choices about the care they receive.   This shift has encouraged providers to understand the importance of ensuring that patient and family needs are not only met, but exceeded.  A new reality is emerging: patient experience is a defining characteristic of true quality care.

Fortunately, tremendous opportunities exist for providers seeking to create a competitive advantage in their market or industry niche through excellent patient experience. When focusing on patient experience as a competitive advantage, consider the following Corazon TIPS that will help ensure success in this important effort:

Cover the Basics.  Patients tend to judge their experience based on how they are treated as unique individuals and the empathy shown by everyone encountered. Very few patient consumers understand the complex treatments and technologies involved in care delivery, or the high level of clinical skills required, or even the multi-faceted behind-the-scenes operations of a hospital.  But everyone understands and recognizes the basics of being cared for – a clean room, kind staff, clear communications, etc.   Published satisfaction scores across the country reveal that nearly 30% of patients would not recommend a hospital or care provider to their family, friends, or neighbors purely based on their experience.  From purely a patient perspective, excellent clinical intervention can easily be trumped by an overall poor patient experience based on a lack of comfort.

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Jeff Kammerdeiner

Fiscal pressures — from penalties for preventable hospital readmissions to economic motivations like economies of scale — have CFOs at hospitals looking for every possible means of containing expenses, with medical staffing being chief among them. “Facilities are consolidating and integrating and finding ways to take cost out of the systems,” says Patrick Thompson, executive vice president of administration and CIO of home healthcare provider Amedisys in Baton Rouge, La. (Full Article Here.)

Jeff Kammerdeiner, President of Exertus Medical Staffing sees the same but says that medical staffing business tends to be cyclical.  “Every 3 months or so, companies go on a hiring spree so they don’t need staffing agencies.  But then, eventually, need staffing agencies again.  So medical staffing companies, like Exertus, help to try and level out the cyclical nature of the business.”

The article by Mr. Rossheim goes on to discuss the direct high costs that are sometimes associated with contracted medical staffing contracts.  On the other hand, Mr. Kammerdeiner points out the uncalculated costs that most administrators do not factor when determining whether or not to utilize a medical staffing company.
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