CMS to increase pay to hospitals for care of COVID-19 patients
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on August 17 updated its patient payment guidance to increase hospital reimbursement for care of COVID-19 patients by 20%. The payment increase will take effect September 1. Among requirements for hospitals to receive the Medicare payment increase: Patients must have…
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center chosen to test Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
Editor's Note The University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH) announced August 24 that it will participate as a study site for the Phase 2/3 global trial of the Pfizer/BioNTech investigational COVID-19 vaccine. UH is one of approximately 120 clinical investigational sites around the world that will collectively enroll up to…
Humble giants of leadership
This series, written by OR Managerโs clinical editor, Judy Mathias, MA, RN, presents the management approaches of top leaders from around the country and describes the qualities that make them exemplary leaders. These articles are intended to inspire nurse leaders to achieve the highest levels of success in their careers…
Pandemic raises OR nurse recruitment, management challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on OR managersโ lives, according to the 2020 annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Many new developments related to the pandemic have occurred and continue to evolve since the spring and early summer, when the survey was deployed. However, the concerns stated by many…
Editorial
Surges in COVID-19 cases across the US have kept communities in a perpetual first wave for much of 2020. While the virus continues unabated and researchers focus on vaccine development, the timing and impact of the second wave are unknown. Amid so much uncertainty, one thing is clear: The virus…
OR Manager of the Year paves the way for future nurse leaders
Receiving the OR Manager of the Year award is considered a high honor, and this yearโs winner says it is even more meaningful because of the global pandemic. โIโm extremely humbled to receive this award this year,โ Stephanie Davis, MSHA, RN, CNOR, CSSM, told OR Manager. โNurses are working so…
Hats off to Jane Kuhn, OR Manager's nurse educator
For the first time in more than 30 years, the annual OR Manager Conference is hosting a virtual conference instead of a live event. Although we will miss seeing everyone in person, weโre providing the same high-quality education our nurse leaders have come to expectโthanks largely to the efforts of…
What does it take to become an ERAS hospital?
Leaders at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System in Richmond started the journey to become an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) hospital in 2016 with the following problem statement: Across surgical specialties, and regardless of superior surgical technique, perioperative care, and anesthesia care, patients can experience extended length of hospital…
ASC staffing and surgical volume drop in response to pandemic
Nearly a third (30%) of ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders have experienced layoffs of direct care staff during the past year, according to the 2020 annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey, up from a mere 4% in 2019. COVID-19 is the likely culprit: Most of the comments received in response to…
Overcoming failure as a leader
Conscientious leaders strive for excellence and have high expectations of everyone around them. If you are like me, you may have been told at times to lower your expectations. But I believe if you raise the bar, people worth retaining will meet the bar if they have the support to…