HildebrandHealthcare.com BLOG

My Nurse’s Cap – Reminiscing in honor of Nurse’s Day

I don’t like to call myself an “old nurse” – I prefer the term “seasoned nurse”.  I’m that generation of hospital diploma nurses who remember glass thermometers, metal bedpans, mopping our own ward floors, and most of all: the starched white nurse’s cap. 

I know there are generations of nurses out there who celebrated the demise of the cap with a giddy visit to their local watering hole for what we used to call “fluid and electrolyte rounds”, – I sheepishly admit to being one of those “modern” nurses who thought rumpled scrubs were more professional than a perfectly pressed white uniform, white hose and crepe soled shoes.  But I’ve changed my mind about that – I miss the dignity of the uniform, I miss the professionalism of the service, and….I miss the hat….yes, it got in the way of IV tubing, I took an inordinate amount of time to wash, iron, starch and pin in my hair in just the proper way.  BUT, there’s something lacking in healthcare now – how do I know just who is a RN without having to stare fixedly at their chest for their nametag?  I admit, there are solid arguments against the cap – our male colleagues in the nursing profession have the strongest argument, infection control issues are rampant, and the symbolism just doesn’t impact Generation X, Y and beyond.

But I miss that darn thing….

Take a look at this retrospective slideshow featured on Medscape Special Report and try to find YOUR cap (mine is slide 7…not my school, but, man, that sure looks like the cap I wore)

www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/nurse-caps?src=ptalk

Memorial Day

In anticipation of the upcoming holiday, I wanted to share something from a recent email:

“Thanksgiving is a day when we pause to give thanks for what we have…Memorial Day is a day when we pause to give thanks to the people who fought for what we have….

New Online Database for Health Games

 Health Games Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF’s) Pioneer Portfolio, recently unveiled a searchable database tracking more than 1,200 resources related to digital health games – digital games and game technologies intended to improve health. This online tool for the first time enables researchers, game developers, health professionals, educators, funding agencies and policy makers to access in one place a wide-ranging compilation of health games, research findings, publications, organizations and events in this growing field.

 To access this online tool, go to www.healthgamesresearch.org.  For more details, view the news release titled “New Database Provides Online Access to Research and Resources in the Health Games Field” at www.rwjf.org/newsroom/.

Culturally Linguistic Health Care

The Joint Commission recently revised its mission and vision statements.  The revisions re-emphasize the equitable treatment of patients, with a focus on improving language access.  They are working with The Commonwealth Fund on an 18 month project to draw attention to cultural competence.

For specifics, see their website at www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/HLC

Some of the changes include changes to the HAP manuals with greater requirements on a healthcare provider, and TJC’s implementation of those changes is a requirement of receiving the grant monies from The Commonwealth Fund

What makes this revision so interesting is that it shifts the Joint Commission’s role from a (voluntary) accrediting  body to that of a driver of healthcare quality – basically moving from auditor to leader….This comes shortly after the approval of a new competitor for their services (DNV) in a cash strapped field. 

Is this a pro-active position for healthcare quality from an organization with bench strength and deep field experience? or is it the first steps toward moving to overwhelming requirements of a healthcare provider?

Thoughts, anyone?

Veteran’s Day

My sincerest thanks to all who have given their time in service to this country, and to those who have served by waiting at home for their loved ones….

National Healthcare Quality Week

To all my colleagues in the Healthcare world:

I’d like to recognize all my colleagues in the Quality world during National Healthcare Quality Week.    ( As I get closer and closer to that age when I’ll be accessing healthcare more frequently, I’ve become more and more proud of the work that we do! )

 Healthcare Quality Week (HQW) features the work of healthcare quality professionals and highlights their influence on improved patient care outcomes and healthcare delivery systems. National Association of Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) members are encouraged to alert administrators, allied health professionals, and the public about the impact of healthcare quality through special events during the week of October 18–24, 2009

If you need easy access to some tools to help you publicize this week in your facility, scroll down for  NAHQ’s poster, press release template and logo that they provide for free download.  

2009 poster for National Healthcare Quality Week

Healthcare Quality Week Press Release template

  You can always go to Healthcare Quality Week on their website as well:

 http://www.nahq.org/hqw/index.html

Thank you for all you do!

OIG outlines 2010 initiatives and priorities

The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) on Oct. 1 posted its 2010 Work Plan. The plan sets forth initiatives and priorities for the 2010 federal fiscal year, which the OIG will pursue through audits, investigations, inspections, advisory opinions and enforcement actions (civil monetary penalties, assessments and exclusions). Among key 2010 OIG audits and inspections scheduled to begin in 2010 are: Hospital payments for nonphysician outpatient services under the IPPS, inpatient rehabilitation facility submission of patient assessment instruments, reliability of hospital-reported quality measure data, hospital admissions with conditions coded present-on-admission, hospital readmissions and oversight of compliance with EMTALA.

For more information, go to:

http://oig.hhs.gov/08/Work_Plan_FY_2010.pdf

Welcome to our blog-world

We’re trying something new here.  There is so much information that comes out everyday, and no one has time to dig for all of it.  So….we’re going to use this blog to post tidbits and teasers of the latest information in our fields, and we’ll include links or directions on where to go for more information.  Not all of it will be critical, earth-shattering news, but it WILL be helpful information that you need.  I, in particular, welcome your professional comments and lively discussion.  If you’d rather reply privately, you are welcome to respond to pati.hildebrand@hildebrandhealthcare.com