With healthcare costs continuing to rise, hospitals, payers, and patients are looking for different venues for care and ways to cut costs while maintaining quality and safety. As more surgical procedures are safely performed in outpatient settings, more ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are being built or restructured. Partnerships between hospitals…

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Takeaways • Supporting nurse leaders is just as important as supporting staff to achieve optimal patient care and a financially healthy organization. • Organizations can support nurse leaders in many ways, including providing recognition, ancillary support, creative schedule options, and professional development opportunities. • Novice managers need structured programs to…

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Takeaways • This buddy program works for all levels of an organization and for anyone who is starting to do something new in a leadership role. • New leaders often feel like they are being “thrown into the deep end,” and having buddies can help them feel safe. • The…

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A quick internet search on the importance and impact of survey data in healthcare generates a plethora of results. Making the query more specific—the importance and impact of survey data in surgical services, and the wealth of information is much the same. The results are mostly about surveys conducted on…

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May was a month of renewal and fresh beginnings that was also dedicated to Mental Health Awareness. This past month provided a timely reminder to first assess our own well-being as leaders so often focused on the contributions and performance of others. Last month was also an opportunity to pulse…

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There is an abundance of wellness programs in American workplaces. In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 46% of 2,843 employer worksites offered some type of wellness program or health promotion. Hospitals are high users: 83% of the hospital respondents said they provided a workplace wellness…

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The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has revised the ANSI/AAMI PB70 Liquid barrier performance and classification of protective apparel and drapes intended for use in healthcare facilities. This revised standard provides healthcare professionals with a better understanding of the barrier protection properties of available protective apparel. The…

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Infection preventionists (IPs) play a vital role in healthcare, especially in the sterile processing department (SPD), where preventing infection and cross-contamination is paramount. As infection prevention advocates, SPD personnel are responsible for ensuring that surgical instruments and other medical devices are properly sterilized and free of harmful microorganisms before use.…

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