...The Snow Storm Lawsuit Strayer University Identify and explain at least three legal considerations. The first legal consideration in this case is related to corporate liability. The hospital itself is negligent under this doctrine. Corporate negligence is the failure to provide the equipment, facilities, and staff to carry out the duties of the corporation in accordance with the established standard of conduct (Showalter, 2007). Corporate negligence is evident in this case in regard to the failure to ensure that sufficient healthcare personnel were available to provide the established standard of care to the patients in the facility. Moreover, the personnel that were required to remain at the hospital from the day shift were likely not performing at their peak after already working their own shift; which could result in errors in patient care. The nurse managers should have been proactive and had a plan in place in the event of severe weather such as forming a team of healthcare personnel who were willing to come to work at the beginning of the storm and stay until they could be relieved. This team should consist of a variety of personnel in sufficient numbers to allow for some personnel to rest while others work. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the hospital to ensure proper personnel coverage regardless of the circumstances. Policies and procedures for handling this type of crisis must be in place and utilized as needed. The second legal consideration in this...
Words: 2042 - Pages: 9
...Abstract Healthcare unlike many high-risk industries has made slow progress in improving patient’s safety. The role of nursing in improving medication safety has been largely underestimated. Much of the research undertaken to date in relation to adverse medication events has neglected the impact that nurses have or could have in improving patient safety. In examining literature regarding adverse medication events one can see the urgent need for significant improvement in medication practices and processes. In addition that this health care issue will only improve with the participation of all disciplines working towards a common goal of improving the safety of those in our care. Introduction Medications play a key role in healthcare but can also be a significant key cause of medical error and of adverse patient outcomes. Nurses by the nature of their roles in medication administration can be the last line of defense in eliminating or reducing adverse medication events. The administration of medication is a common and almost routine activity in a nurse’s daily work, yet it is fraught with complexity and risk for both the patient and nurse. As a student nurse working in partnership with a registered nurse I have observed a variety of practices in medication administration that have varied from what I have been taught in class. On reflecting on these practices and questioning nurses why such practice has been adopted has illustrated to me both the flawed processes and environment...
Words: 2857 - Pages: 12
...Position Statement Introduction Nursing is a call to serve the humanity. Present day healthcare system focused on preventive care and wellness has become highly advanced which makes every nurse responsible to achieve maximum level of education, skills and power of knowledge to meet the challenges. Continuous research in nursing and the evidence obtained from the research serves to support the nursing care. Continuing education helps nurses to keep track of all the developments taking place in the field, trace advances in technology and care, have a better understanding of all current rules and regulations, beware of all ethical and legal aspects of nursing as envisaged by various boards of nursing and other authorities in the field of healthcare. In this paper, I would like to explain the position statement of career development in nursing. It is only through proper and continued education that nurses can provide patients better care, assess and report what is best for the patient and always seek ways to improve patient outcome. In order to achieve the best results, nurses need to identify the core knowledge, scientific principles, skills and attitudes of nursing practice to improve healthcare system (International Council of Nurses, 2007). Therefore career development must be achieved by integrating care through our scholastic system, giving nurses opportunity to learn, grow and move up the ladder, making them capable of leading from the forefront. Career Development...
Words: 2144 - Pages: 9
...factors, errors and hazards that led to a sentinel event. In this case it was a patient’s death. RCA should not look to place blame on people, but rather processes that need to be improved. The first step in a RCA is to identify what happened. In the scenario, presented in this task, the patient was over sedated and subsequently died. Step two is to identify why this happened. There were preventable causative factors, or errors, that led to this sentinel event. The hospital’s conscious sedation policy requires that the patient remains on continuous BP, ECG, and pulse oximeter throughout the procedure and there was no mention that this was performed at all throughout the procedure. It was not until after the procedure that Mr. B was placed on continuous BP and pulse oximeter, and at that time, the patient was left in the room, with only a family member while Nurse J attended to another patient. When the alarm is heard that the patient has low O2 sats, the LPN, enters the room and resets the alarm and repeats the B/P reading. His oxygen level was not rechecked, nor was he placed on supplemental oxygen, nor was the RN informed at this time, and the patient was once again left unmonitored. The conscious sedation policy also states that all practitioners who perform moderate sedation must first successfully complete the hospital’s moderate sedation training module, which includes drug selection and acceptable dose ranges. There is...
Words: 2649 - Pages: 11
...Essay Camrron Anderson Grand Canyon University: UNV-504 04/06/2016 On March 10, 2016 I embarked on a journey to continue my education and obtain a Masters’ level degree from Grand Canyon University. This has been a goal that I have set for myself since the completion of my undergraduate degree in 2012. I know that in order for me to continue to build myself professionally a graduate degree is extremely necessary. A Master’s degree will not only qualify you for more advanced career opportunities and increase salaries but it will also allow one the opportunity to completely immerse one’s self in a specific area of study. After the completing of my master program I hope to continue to progress along the professional ladder in the Healthcare industry. My dream job would be to work in a position where I would be able to directly affect patient care and experience without having to be clinical. To me this position would best be suited in patient advocacy or even patient relations. In either of these departments I would have the ability to work directly the community that we serve by listening to concerns, answering questions, and providing the necessary help and care to anyone who enters the facility. These departments are also culturally and religiously sensitive to the growing populations and demographics that contribute to the community in which they serve. In a professional setting the process of earning a Master’s degree will aid me in acquiring skills such as cognitive...
Words: 1097 - Pages: 5
...examination to another with little personal interaction received from their healthcare provider. Patients are hooked up to monitors alarming endlessly due to staff being either unavailable to silence them or not having the compassion to comfort. Technology has become so dominant in hospital settings that we have lost sight of providing the loving care aspect of our profession. Dehumanizing our patients will not heal them; our current practices could actually cause more harm. Healing Hospitals are now surfacing around the country with the concept supporting a culture of caring. This does not mean that technology has been pushed aside; a Healing Hospital incorporates technology as well as the whole patient, body, mind and spirit. To understand the concepts of a Healing Hospital, we can examine the work of Erie Chapman, founding president and chief executive officer of the Baptist Healing Trust in Nashville, Tennessee. On October 1, 1998, Chapman took the reins of The Baptist Hospital System and unbeknownst to him, many financial and emotional challenges would be awaiting. He defines them as tornados, one being an actual tornado causing structural damage to the hospital earlier that year and the other being an inside (corporation) financial tornado. The latter would be more challenging for him, leading a company that is $83 million dollars worse off than what he was told (Chapman, 2007). His first step was to develop a mission and value statement for the...
Words: 1406 - Pages: 6
...Three Ideas That May Improve the Performance of Healthcare Abstract This paper explores eight published articles, and one book that report on results from research conducted on three big ideas that represent great opportunities to improve the performance of healthcare organizations. Three articles explain the helpfulness of virtual teaming, two articles and one book explains the benefits of outsourcing, and the last three articles explain why customer relationship management, also known as CRM, is a helpful resource. This paper will define the management practice or breakthrough idea, discuss the expected impact on improved patient outcomes, higher levels of customer satisfaction, and identify the critical success factors associated with implementing these programs in a health services organization. These management practices or breakthrough ideas, in my judgment, will be ranked the greatest, second greatest, and third greatest potential benefit for healthcare organizations. Healthcare is one of the biggest organizations around. Because of its size, and the many departments within a healthcare cooperation there is much need for organization between management, staff and their patients. There are many ways to make sure that a healthcare system operates smoothly. I agree with Martin Van Buren when he stated that it is easier to do a job right, then to explain why you didn’t. In this paper there will be three ideas that may get the job done right such as, virtual teams...
Words: 2450 - Pages: 10
...I enjoyed reading your paper on staff retention, I can tell you put a lot of thought into it. In your paper, several ideas were identified that could certainly lead to staff turnover as well as several initiatives that should lead to staff retention. I am glad to hear that your healthcare organization is making strides to change the workplace culture. The high cost of nurse turnover is truly staggering, just think what improvements could be made to patient care and the working environment with that amount of money. You are correct in stating that a high rate of turnover is detrimental to patient outcomes, staff morale, and the financial stability of the healthcare organization. One strategy you identified as a negative is insufficient orientation,...
Words: 541 - Pages: 3
...The Economics of Health Care Quality and Medical Errors Charles Andel, Stephen L. Davidow, Mark Hollander, and David A. Moreno Charles Andel, MBA, BSRT, is Manager of Radiology Quality and Compliance at Loyola University Medical Center and a graduate of Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business MBA in Healthcare Management program. He may be reached at cjandel@lumc.edu. Stephen L. Davidow, MBA, APR, is a health care marketing and communications professional with a strong focus on quality and patient safety. He is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business MBA in Healthcare Management program. He may be reached at stephen@davidowcommunciations.com or 708-284-2300. Mark Hollander, MBA, is a financial manager at the Department of Veterans Affairs and graduate of Loyola University Chicago ’s Quinlan School of Business MBA in Healthcare Management program. David A. Moreno, MBA, is a biotechnology business analyst and graduate of the Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business MBA in Healthcare Management program. He may be reached at dmoreno1@gmail.com. Hospitals have been looking for ways to improve quality and operational efficiency and cut costs for nearly three decades, using a variety of quality improvement strategies. However, based on recent reports, approximately 200,000 Americans die from preventable medical errors including facility-acquired conditions and millions may experience errors. In 2008, medical...
Words: 6247 - Pages: 25
...CVS Health Summary of Industry Characteristics December 31, 2014 Summary The Food and Drug Store industry consists of stores that primarily focus on the sale of food, drugs (nonprescription and prescription), or a combination of both. Typically smaller than General Merchandisers, such as Wal-Mart, the companies in the Food and Drug Store industry provide grocery products such as cold and hot foods, pharmaceuticals, general pet care, and typical household products meant for everyday living. Stores that fall within the industry may specialize in one aspect over the other, such as CVS Health in pharmacy and health care. Even though the major products of the industry are food and drugs, there are several other minor products like health clinics and fuel centers that play an important role in the industry. Industry Sales The industry revenues can range from $139,367 Million to $14,194 Million and profits range from $4,644 Million to $113 Million, just within the companies within the Fortune 500. Their revenue is mostly derived from their sales of their inventory, no matter which side of the industry they sell from. Since most companies will use FIFO inventory methods, this helps decrease their product waste due to expiration dates and will increase their total sales and revenue. Their highest costs tend to be for plant, property, and equipment. Kroger, for example, owns a majority of the buildings where their retail stores are located and they are slowly disposing of their...
Words: 2151 - Pages: 9
...religious freedom, Medicare, anti-abortion, and those who are looking for accessible healthcare. Finally, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act emerged relatively unscathed with only one significant change—it was now a tax. The excitement and energy exhibited by PPACA supporters were matched by the discontent exhibited by opponents upon learning the court’s decision. Everyone wants to be healthy. These same people, however, cannot agree on how this should be achieved. Clearly healthcare in this country is broken and America is deeply divided on how to fix it. Yet the bridge between the two sides is agreement that something must be done. Multiple national polls show a majority of Americans view PPACA unfavorably. Many feel the law will “do serious harm to American families” and is “a profound attack on our liberties.” U.S. business owners speak of passing on costs to employees, slashing work hours, or terminating jobs altogether. Opposition has also emerged outside of the U.S., with the Vatican openly opposing a portion of the law’s provisions. Catholic leaders objected to the “use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions” and the failure of the act to help “those most in need.” With all the bickering, though, both sides generally agree on one thing: America’s healthcare system is in crisis. Exploding costs are hindering patients’ abilities to afford medical treatment. In 1980, healthcare expenditures were $256 billion, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
Words: 1618 - Pages: 7
...HEALTHCARE TRENDS This week’s assignment centers around a report released by the centers for disease control (CDC) back in 2011. Within the report we are asked to focus on two specific topics; mortality and morbidity. In addition to reviewing the data, there were some accompanying questions that will be addressed. Before delving further into the topics, lets first start with a good working definition of both. According to Webster’s Online Dictionary, mortality is defined as the quality or state of being a person or thing that is alive and therefore certain to die (Webster’s 2014). For morbidity, Webster’s summarizes it as quality or state of being morbid; the relative incidence of disease (Webster’s 2014). Now that good working definitions have been established, the relating questions can be addressed. The first discussion point asks to identify changes that seem to be occurring based on the mortality and morbidity data. In his article titled MORTALITY TRENDS, Preston shares “When death rates decline, they do so at all ages. Hence, the likelihood that an individual of any age will survive to subsequent stages of life will increase, and the largest effects will tend to occur among the very young. Individuals typically undergo a series of related cycles as they age - physical, educational, occupational, recreational and familial. The chance that an individual will complete any particular cycle obviously depends on prevailing risks of death. Moreover, the choice of stage at...
Words: 1735 - Pages: 7
...and Interprofesional Team Development Patient Family Centered Care Organization Practice Setting Currently I have the privilege to work for the largest Not-for-Profit healthcare system in Texas. Memorial Hermann Health System is more than a hospital system, we are designed to be a healthcare delivery model, incorporating affiliated physicians with care delivery hospitals, effortlessly working together with one goal in mind, the goal of advancing health. By setting our focus on evidence based medicine, the constant pursuit of healthcare quality, and patient safety, Memorial Hermann Health System has been recognized as a national and regional leader in quality healthcare. As an integrated healthcare system, Memorial Hermann has surrounded the city of Houston with 12 acute care hospitals, three heart and vascular hospitals, a neuroscience institute, two sports medicine institute locations, a chemical dependency treatment center, a home health agency, a retirement community, a nursing home, several surgical, and cancer centers. Working in conjunction with our physician network Memorial Hermann also offers local employers with health solutions and health benefits through its wholly owned insurance company. (Memorial Hermann Houston Hospital, Institutes & Centers, n.d.) Within this vary large framework of a healthcare system, I work within one of our acute care hospitals, Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital, located in the Houston suburb of Humble, Texas. Our mission is to serve the...
Words: 9976 - Pages: 40
...Excerpted from The Tracks We Leave: Ethical and Management Dilemmas in Healthcare, Second Edition, by Frankie Perry, RN, LFACHE (Health Administration Press, 2013) CHAPTER 1 Understanding Your Ethical Responsibilities Hea lt h c a re l eader s and those aspiring to be leaders must recognize first and foremost that character and integrity constitute the very cornerstone of leadership. Organizations have failed and promising careers have been derailed when ethics have been relegated to secondary importance or, worse yet, ignored in the pursuit of more bottom-line considerations. Healthcare managers must understand their role and responsibility in creating an ethical healthcare environment that is honest, just, and always in the best interests of those being served. Whether you are the CEO, an assistant administrator, a department head, a program manager, or a clinician, if you are “in charge,” you have the ultimate responsibility for establishing the culture and setting the standards of conduct in your sphere of influence. This task is not always an easy one. Nor is it easy for well-intentioned managers to always make ethical decisions themselves. BARRIERS TO ETH ICAL D ECIS I O N M A K I NG In our book Healthcare Leadership Excellence: Creating a Career of Impact, James Rice and I identify some of the common barriers to ethical decision making and seven pitfalls for managers to avoid (Rice and Perry 2013, 29–37). We then make recommendations for building...
Words: 3611 - Pages: 15
...November 1999 I N S T I T U TE OF M E D I C I N E Shaping the Future for Health TO ERR IS HUMAN: BUILDING A SAFER HEALTH SYSTEM H ealth care in the United States is not as safe as it should be--and can be. At least 44,000 people, and perhaps as many as 98,000 people, die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors that could have been prevented, according to estimates from two major studies. Even using the lower estimate, preventable medical errors in hospitals exceed attributable deaths to such feared threats as motor-vehicle wrecks, breast cancer, and AIDS. Medical errors can be defined as the failure of a planned action to be completed as intended or the use of a wrong plan to achieve an aim. Among the problems that commonly occur during the course of providing health care are adverse drug events and improper transfusions, surgical injuries and wrong-site surgery, suicides, restraint-related injuries or death, falls, burns, pressure ulcers, and mistaken patient identities. High error rates with serious consequences are most likely to occur in intensive care units, operating rooms, and emergency departments. Beyond their cost in human lives, preventable medical errors exact other significant tolls. They have been estimated to result in total costs (in cluding the expense of additional care necessitated by the errors, lost income and household productivity, and disability) of between $17 billion and $29 billion per year in hospitals nationwide. Errors...
Words: 3171 - Pages: 13
