Official Sources: Huntsville Hospital gets low patient safety rating, patients’ lives at risk

Realistically, what does that mean for you, your loved ones or friends if – God forbid – they’re hospitalized at Huntsville Hospital?

It means that when you, your loved ones’ or friends’ are a patient in the hospital, you or they could get an infection, or some other serious bug or problem while being treated for something else entirely different. And by so doing, it could make your stay more unpleasant, and in fact, could increase the risk of complications of your treatment – up to, and including your death – was well as increase the length of your stay, among other factors.

What does that mean for the Hospital?

Because insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid have STOPPED paying for the treatment of preventable problems that are a direct result of hospitalization, it means that Huntsville Hospital will be stuck with the bill (the costs of treating their own mistakes upon you while you’re there)… and will try to pass the cost along to you to recoup the cost of the loss, which is a DIRECT result of their own sloppiness.

Huntsville Hospital has essentially become a monopolistic monstrosity of an enterprise, gobbling up numerous hospitals in the North Alabama region, including BOTH hospitals in Decatur, the only hospital in Athens, the only hospital in Red Bay, Helen Keller Hospital in Tuscumbia area of the Shoals, and the only hospital in Lawrence county.

Meanwhile, Huntsville hospital has fought tooth-and-nail to keep other hospitals OUT of competition in the Huntsville market, and spent untold millions of dollars in a protracted legal battle against Crestwood Hospital – and continues to spend millions to prevent Crestwood Hospital from offering services that would benefit the entire city and county.

Such anti-competitive practice has all been accomplished by and through the state of Alabama‘s Certificate Of Need Board.

The commentary of Mr. Burr Ingram – Huntsville Hospital’s official mouthpiece – which is contained in this article is entirely and wholly unwarranted, and weasel-like.

Not only that, but Huntsville Hospital is NOT a Nursing Magnet Hospital.

There are many things Huntsville Hospital is not.

And sadly, quality is one of them.

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Watchdog Report: Consumer Reports gives both hospitals in Huntsville low safety ratings

Published: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 9:06 AM     Updated: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 9:30 AM

By Challen Stephens, The Huntsville Times

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Consumer Reports magazine ranked the two hospitals in Huntsville as the least safe in Alabama. But the magazine’s list of hospitals is far from complete.

“We were kind of perplexed at some of what it reported,” said Burr Ingram, spokesman at Huntsville Hospital. “When you think about it, it’s fashionable for everyone to rate hospitals. And Consumer Reports is the latest to use public data that is available.

“But at times, it’s difficult to know how these ratings come about.”

Huntsville Hospital, The Huntsville Times

The magazine’s August edition lists scores in four safety categories. Both Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood Medical Center received low marks for poor communication with patients and for high rates of infection. Both received mediocre marks for high rates of re-admission and unnecessary scans.

Yet the report ranked

UK Nurse Punk’d on Royal Family Pregnancy Commits Suicide

While it was meant all in harmless fun, I sincerely doubt that the individual’s response  – to commit suicide – was anything other than an inappropriate response to jesting in good-hearted intent.

It is indeed tragic that the nurse committed suicide.

Perhaps there were other underlying issues, or an inability to cope that predicated her distressing response.

One simply cannot hold others responsible for everything. As tragic as this story is, one must accept responsibility for one’s own actions.

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December 7, 2012

Prank Call Seeking Royal Family Secrets Takes Horrifying Turn

By SARAH LYALL

LONDON — As pranks go, this one appeared outrageous and obnoxious rather than malicious: after convincing a hospital nurse who answered the phone this week that they were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, two Australian radio hosts then tricked another nurse into disclosing medical information about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, who had been admitted with acute morning sickness.

The call was broadcast on Australia radio; then it went out around the world.

But the stunt took a horrific and unexpected turn on Friday, when the nurse who answered the call, 46-year-old Jacintha Saldanha, was found dead, an apparent suicide.

The Metropolitan Police would not release details of the death, except to say that they had received a call reporting that there was an unconscious woman at Weymouth Street, in central London, and two ambulance crews had arrived to find Mrs. Saldanha already dead. A police spokesman said they were not treating the death as suspicious.

It was unclear what exactly had happened since the prank itself to make Mrs. Saldanha, who was reportedly married and had two children, take her life. King Edward VII’s Hospital, where she worked, said it had not disciplined her, but rather had been “supporting her during this difficult time.” Nor, apparently, had the royal family raised a fuss with the hospital, an exclusive private institution that has long been the hospital of choice for Britain’s royals.

“At no point did the palace complain to the hospital about the incident,” a spokesman for St. James’s Palace said. “On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and the hospital staff at all times.”

The turn of events was seen as so shocking that it provoked a response from even the prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, who called it “a terrible tragedy.”

Whatever the immediate impetus for Mrs. Saldanha’s death, the episode was

Reaching the End of Life: What Do We & Loved Ones REALLY Need?

Recollecting, one of my patients was similarly diagnosed, suffering terminal lung cancer of the small cell carcinoma type, and had one lung removed. He had presented to the ED (Emergency Department) with extreme hypoxia (lack of oxygen), to such an extent that his lips had a distinctive blue cast to them. His oxygenation was so exceedingly poor, that he would turn in bed, and his sats (oxygen saturation level) would drop to 70% – neither a good, nor one that would sustain life.

In conversation with him, I asked him what he wanted to have happen to him, how he wanted things to turn out for him. He wasn’t under any misguided notion about his state of well-being or health and wanted to depart the ICU.

He said, “I want to go home to die.”

I responded by saying, “We want you to go home too. Let’s see what we can do to get you back there.” At that point, I began some very simple teaching about his breathing. He was a habitual mouth breather, and he knew it. I’d glance up at him, and his mouth would be gaping open as he watched teevee. Problem was, that every time his mouth opened, his sats dropped, even though he was receiving high flow O2 therapy via specialized nasal cannula.

So I instructed him that by keeping his mouth closed and breathing through his nose, his sats would increase. And barring any other unforeseen circumstance, were his sats to consistently maintain above 90%, that would be the greatest step toward his objective to go home.

At the end of my shift, he was consistently satting 98%.

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Doctors are practicing irrational medicine at the end of life

by Monica Williams-Murphy, MD on September 22nd, 2012, in Physician

I just took care of a precious little lady, Ms. King (not her real name), who reminded me that, too often, we doctors are practicing irrational medicine at the end of life. We are like cows walking mindlessly in the same paths; only because we have always done things the same way, never questioning ourselves. What I mean is that we are often too focused on using our routine pills and procedures used to address abnormal lab values or abnormal organ function, to rightly perceive what might be best for the whole person, or even what may no longer be needed. Our typical practice habits may in fact become inappropriate medical practiceat life’s end.Ms. King was a case in point: She was a 92-year-old nursing homepatient on hospice for metastatic breast cancer. Ms King had been transferred to the ER for a sudden drop in blood sugar, presumably due to her oral diabetes medication. Her appetite had apparently been trailing off, as is common at the end of life, and her medication appeared to have become “too strong.” Her glucose level had been corrected by EMS during her trip from the nursing home to the Hospital, so when I came into see Ms King she was at her ‘baseline.’I opened the door to bed 24 and a grinning little white-haired lady peered at me from over her sheet. “Hi,” she said greeting me first.“Hi, Ms King,” I smiled back at her and picked up her hand.

She reached over with her free hand to pat me on my forearm, “You sure are a cute little doctor,” she said smiling.

I couldn’t hold back a little laughter. “Well, you sure are a cute patient too,” I smiled and winked at her.

She winked back at me.

“Wow, this is the most pleasant 90-year-old I have cared for in a while,” I thought to myself.

As we chatted it became clear to me that she had some mild dementia but had no pain or complaints at the time. She just said, “I think I had a ‘spell’” ( a “Southernism” for some type of unusual and undefined episode of feeling ill or fainting); and “I’m not hungry” when I offered her food.

Leaving her room still smiling after our pleasant exchange, I went back to look at her medical record from the nursing home and two things immediately struck me:

Nursing shortage could be compounded by faculty shortage

One of the inevitable consequences of an aging population is the loss of their significant contribution and influence upon society from myriad perspectives.

To account and plan for such inevitabilities is not simply wise, but rather, it is common sense and a hallmark of effective and competent management.

Having been warned of the potential for crisis, we would be wise to double down on solutions.

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Nursing Schools Brace For Faculty Shortage

by Sandy Hausman, WVTF

Listen to the Story Morning Edition; August 3, 2012; [4 min 16 sec] Download; 04:43 am

There have been lots of goodbye parties this year at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. So far, eleven professors have retired. That’s one-fourth of the faculty, and Dean Dorrie Fontaine is in no mood to celebrate.

Nursing students in a simulation lab at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Photo by: Elizabeth Lee Cantrell/UVA School of Nursing

Over the next few years, the Affordable Care Act will probably boost demand for nurses to take care of the newly-insured, she says, “And I need faculty to teach the practitioners that are going to take care of these uninsured.”

In the last year, more than 76,000 qualified applicants were turned away, in large part because nursing schools didn’t have enough professors. Polly Bednash heads the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. She explains that nurses comprise the oldest workforce in the nation, and many of them kept working during the recession.

“They are going to leave in droves and are already leaving in some places where the economy is getting better,” she says.

Finding professors to

Where the Jobs Are: Is the Nursing Job Market a mixed bag?

Eminent nursing researcher & scholar Dr. Peter Buerhaus, PhD, RN, FAAN has made a career studying Nurses, and suggests that the jobs picture for new nurse grads is good, and that they may be facing one of the best job markets in decades.

A 2009 study he conducted found that, “Registered nurse (RN) employment has increased during the current recession, and we may soon see an end to the decade-long nurse shortage. This would give hospitals welcome relief and an opportunity to strengthen the nurse workforce by addressing issues associated with an increasingly older and foreign-born workforce. The recent increase in employment is also improving projections of the future supply of RNs, yet large shortages are still expected in the next decade. Until nursing education capacity is increased, future imbalances in the nurse labor market will be unavoidable.“

A 2004 study of his said that, “Wage increases, relatively high national unemployment, and widespread private-sector initiatives aimed at increasing the number of people who become nurses has resulted in a second straight year of strong employment growth among registered nurses (RNs). In 2003, older women and, to a lesser extent, foreign-born RNs accounted for a large share of employment growth. We also observe unusually large employment growth from two new demographic groups: younger people, particularly women in their early thirties, and men. Yet, despite the increase in employment of nearly 185,000 hospital RNs since 2001, the evidence suggests that the current nurse shortage has not been eliminated.“

Most recently, research he worked upon which was published in the December 2011 issue of Health Affairs found that “because of this surge in the number of young people entering nursing during the past decade, the nurse workforce is projected to grow faster during the next two decades than previously anticipated.”

In essence, “...the nurse workforce is now expected to grow at roughly the same rate as the population through 2030.”

They also cautioned however, “that the dynamics of the nursing workforce are more complex than sheer numbers.“

Lead researcher and RAND health economist David Auerbach said, “Instead of worrying about a decline, we are now growing the supply of nurses.“

Here’s something very interesting, however.

In that same issue of Health Affairs, a survey conducted by Christine Kovner of New York University examined the low “mobility” of new RNs. The most striking finding was that

UPDATED: Army Nurse Dies in Afghanistan while Off Duty

UPDATE: Monday, 07 May 2012

Army officials have not yet released the 43-year-old Nurse/Soldier’s cause of death, but confirmed Monday that he was not shot.

Spokeswoman Chris Grey said, “Although the investigation into his death is open and ongoing by Special Agents from the US Army Criminal Investigation Command, we can positively say that Captain Clark was not shot. Agents conducting the investigation, found no trauma to the body beyond minor abrasions and a possible broken nose most likely caused from Captain Clark striking his face on his desk when he collapsed. Investigators will continue to probe the death but they do not “suspect foul play.”

Beaumont Army Medical Center Public Affars Officer Clarence Davis said the cause of death has not been determined, and that “The autopsy and investigation will reveal the cause of death.”

According to CPT Clark’s brother Justin Hallenbeck, he even spent time as a volunteer firefighter.

CPT Clark was a part of A Company, Troop Command at Beaumont, and deployed to Afghanistan in March.

He was stationed in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, which was described by Army officials as a town of about 10,000 people.

His awards include the Army Commendation Award, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Medal.

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It’s still a dangerous place in Afghanistan, as this story testifies.

Oh yes… men make great nurses, and in the Armed Services all RNs are officers.

May his family be comforted during their time of grief.

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Army officer dies during Skype chat with wife

May 6, 2012 8:23 PM

US Army CPT Bruce Kevin Clark, RN was thought to have been killed by a bullet in Afghanistan while off-duty during a Skype video conference session with his wife, who is stateside.

(AP) HOUSTON – The wife of an Army officer serving in Afghanistan witnessed her husband’s death as the two video chatted via Skype, his family said Friday.

The circumstances of Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark’s death were not immediately available. The Pentagon said it was under investigation, and his brother-in-law said he didn’t have details.

“We are entrusting the military with investigating and with finding out what happened to Capt. Clark,” Bradley Taber-Thomas told The Associated Press.

Clark, a 43-year-old Army chief nurse, grew up in Michigan and lived previously in Spencerport, N.Y., a suburb of Rochester and his wife’s hometown. He joined the Army in 2006 and was stationed in Hawaii before he was assigned to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso. He deployed to Afghanistan in March.

A statement from the family released by Taber-Thomas said Clark died Monday while

What happens when physician pay is tied to efficiency & quality?

What would it be like if you were paid for your success?

What would it be like if you were rewarded for high efficiency?

Is it possible that successful patient outcomes could be correlated to compensation?

How would one measure non-compliant patients, or those with poor prognoses?

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Medicare moves to tie doctors’ pay to quality and cost of care

By Jordan Rau, jrau@kff.org Published: April 14

CMS plans to base the 2015 bonuses or penalties on what happens to a doctor's patients during 2013.

Twenty-thousand physicians in four Midwest states received a glimpse into their financial future last month. Landing in their e-mail inboxes were links to reports from Medicare showing the amount their patients cost on average as well as the quality of the care they provided. The reports also showed how Medicare spending on each doctor’s patients compared with their peers in Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.

The “resource use” reports, which Medicare plans to eventually provide to doctors nationwide, are one of the most visible phases of the government’s effort to figure out how to enact a complex, delicate and little-noticed provision of the 2010 health-care law: paying more to doctors who provide quality care at lower cost to Medicare, and reducing payments to physicians who run up Medicare’s costs without better results.

Making providers routinely pay attention to cost and quality is widely viewed as crucial if the country is going to rein in its health-care spending, which amounts to more than $2.5 trillion a year. It’s also key to keeping Medicare solvent. Efforts have begun to change the way Medicare pays hospitals, doctors and other providers who agree to work together in new alliances known as “accountable care organizations.” This fall, the federal health program for 47 million seniors and disabled people also is adjusting hospital payments based on quality of care, and it plans to take cost into account as early as next year.

But applying these same precepts to doctors is

Registered Nurse job aboard private Mediterranean Yacht

How would you like to be an Registered Nurse based out of London, work aboard a Private Yacht traveling the Mediterranean earning a tax-free salary, paid housing, health insurance and flight?

If you’re a female – sorry guys – here’s your chance!

Salary, based upon current rate of exchange, is $57, 283/year with a one year contract.

More details and application below…

Rhode Island Nurses May Strike; Short Term Contracts Available

Registered Nurses to provide Patient Care during a possible labor dispute in Rhode Island, which is also a participating state in the Nurse Licensure Compact.

The pay rate for this short term assignment is

New Registered Nurse Grads Face Tough Job Market

For the first time in many years, new Registered Nurse graduates face a contracted job market, and may face tough employment prospects, adding to an already dismal national economic portrait.

Researchers such as Vanderbilt University’s Dr. Peter Buerhaus, PhD, RN, FAAN, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and others have warned about the impending Nursing shortage. However, because of the poor overall economic conditions of the United States, many experienced RNs have foregone retirement, and or have come out of semi-retirement or translated part-time and PRN jobs into full-time status and have therefore made many hospitals flush with Nurses.

Previously, many experienced Nurses would have taken PRN (Latin for “pro re nata,” meaning “as needed”) or part-time positions, working anywhere from one shift every two weeks, 12 hours weekly, or in some cases no more than 24 hours weekly at most. Most Nurses are hospital-based employees, and work 12-hour shifts, and a typical full-time work week for Nurses is three, 12-hour shifts in a 7-day (one week) period.

Nursing has been, and continues to be a predominately female-populated profession, so the indicator of hospitals flush with Nurses is indeed a fascinating observation on at least two accounts. It speaks volumes about dire national economic conditions because women have found themselves in the unenviable position of having to work, and in many cases being their family’s primary breadwinner.

In an article published by Alabama & New Jersey’s State Nurses Association, Dr. Buerhaus shared his perspective on “The Short and Long-term Outlook for Registered Nurses in the US.” He wrote in part “that once the jobs recovery begins and RN’s spouses return to work, many currently employed RNs could leave the workforce.”

He noted further that while RNs’ employment prospects continue to be… To read more, click here.