In alignment with HCA's documentation standards, Evidence Based Clinical Documentation, The North Carolina Division's clinical informatics team has updated the Central Venous Access and Urinary Documentation.
The cut-over is occurring 1/21/2021 between 0700-1000. During the cutover, the previous documentation will be inactivated but visible via the flowsheet. All patients will have documentation in the new update.
Please review the education and contact the superusers on the units with additional questions.
Please review the attached education on CPN Database Updates in alignment with EBCD and General enhancements. These updates are applicable to Women and Children's Services documenting in the CPN Database.
The DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award is an international recognition program that honors and celebrates the skillful, compassionate care nurses provide every day. Presented by the DAISY Foundation, the DAISY Award celebrates and rewards nurses for the extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care that they demonstrate daily.
Currently, the DAISY Foundation is running a public campaign where people are encouraged to share their appreciation for the diligent work of extraordinary nurses. Through your nominations for the DAISY Award, nurses who have made an exceptional impact in your life and in the lives of your families and friends can have the potential opportunity to be recognized and acknowledged.
The campaign, which kicked off with virtual signs in Manhattan's Times Square, will continue to be shared throughout the country. The DAISY Foundation's ultimate goal is to show the public's gratitude for the diligent work of nurses and to help reduce the burnout that many nurses continue to feel, especially during the fight against COVID-19.
We are standing alongside the DAISY Foundation and are asking for our community to make nominations, sharinghow a nurse has made a meaningful impact on a patient or on a patient’s family. DAISY Award honorees receive a certificate of recognition, a DAISY Award pin, and a Healer’s Touch stone sculpture.
To learn more or to nominate an outstanding nurse, click here.
Please review the attached document reviewing the standard workflow for the COVID-19 Vaccine Nursing screen assessment, COVID-19 Vaccine order, and the Case Management consult order (COVID Vacc).
We recognize that many PRNs received lower than normal hours in 2020 due to COVID-19 scheduling policies. As a result, in recognition of their valuable service and dedication, we are reducing the 2020 hours requirement for PRNs from 1,000 to 800 hours for the 401(k) Plan annual match and vesting service.
For eligible PRN colleagues who participate in the 401(k) Plan and who were employed in a PRN status on Dec. 31, 2020, this means:
A year of vesting service will be granted if their annual eligible hours totaled at least 800.
An annual 401(k) Plan match will be deposited to their account in February 2021 if their annual eligible hours totaled at least 800.
In addition, an Employee Retirement Assistance Contribution will be deposited in accounts of eligible PRN colleagues if their annual eligible hours totaled at least 1,280 (reduced from 1,600), they were employed on Jan. 1, 2020, and they were still employed in a PRN status on Dec. 31, 2020.
These changes apply to all PRNs - regardless of location or labor union representation - because it is the right thing to do.
Note that this only affects the 2020 annual match for PRNs, and that the 1,000 hours requirement will remain for full-time and part-time colleagues.
Participants can access their 401(k) Plan account by going to www.HCARewards.com and selecting BConnected or by calling (800) 566-4114.
When COVID-19 arrived in the United States earlier this year, it forever changed our lives. Healthcare workers on the front lines quickly proved themselves heroes and demonstrated their resilience time and again, even while coping with unprecedented scale and precarious personal circumstances. Nine months later, hope is finally here. HCA Healthcare colleagues began receiving the vaccine on Tuesday, signaling a turning point in the pandemic.
Stephanie Behek, a nurse in the COVID unit, was one of the first frontline workers at HCA Healthcare’s Summerville Medical Center in South Carolina to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on December 16, 2020.
“Since the onset of COVID, our caregivers, whether at the very front lines or in supporting roles, have been selfless in answering the call to care for others,” said Dr. Jonathan Perlin, president of clinical operations and chief medical officer at HCA Healthcare. “The arrival of the COVID vaccine represents a pivotal moment in this pandemic. We know vaccines are the safest and most effective way to combat this virus, and we have implemented a comprehensive plan to distribute them – starting with our frontline colleagues.”
As states distributed the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to our facilities, our care teams on the front lines began receiving vaccinations. HCA Healthcare affiliate hospitals Alaska Regional Hospital, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, Sky Ridge Medical Center and HCA Virginia were the first to receive vaccine shipments on December 15. Dr. Vito Capotorto, chief of staff and hospitalist medical director for Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, was the first colleague to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among HCA Healthcare’s 185 hospitals. As of Jan. 6, 2021, all 16 HCA Healthcare divisions have received the COVID-19 vaccines with more than 130,000 colleagues now vaccinated.
Dr. Vito Capotorto, chief of staff and hospitalist medical director for Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, was the first colleague to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among HCA Healthcare’s 185 hospitals on December 15, 2020.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prioritized the vaccine for healthcare personnel who may have potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials. Given the critical role they play in caring for others, continued protection of caregivers at work, at home, and in the community remains a national priority.
When HCA Healthcare’s Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina received its first shipment of the vaccine, Keerstyn Allen, a registered nurse in the hospital’s COVID intensive care unit, was one of the first colleagues to receive it. “I can’t begin to say how much December 16, 2020 means to me. I’ve never cried happy tears for a shot in the arm. Nine months of literal blood, sweat and tears – so many tears – has a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Keerstyn.
HCA Healthcare nurse Keerstyn Allen receives one of the first COVID-19 vaccines at Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on December 16, 2020.
“I am forever grateful for the amazing, intelligent and hardworking people behind this vaccine,” Keerstyn continued. “Believe in science. Believe in this vaccine.”
Pastor Jim Feirtag of Parkgate Community Church blessing COVID-19 vaccines that arrived at HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast in Pasadena, Texas on December 17, 2020.
Yesterday, frontline caregivers from seven Nashville-based HCA Healthcare hospitals from the TriStar Division received their vaccinations in Tennessee. Dr. Tama Van Decar, chief medical officer at the TriStar Division, noted the excitement around the vaccine and explained what it means for healthcare workers.
“What’s exciting for us is we’ve been planning for the vaccine’s arrival, and now that it’s at our doorstep, I think everyone here has a sense of renewed energy, a renewed purpose, and a sense of honest excitement about what this could mean for us in healthcare broadly and for caregivers directly,” said Dr. Van Decar.
She continued, “I believe in this vaccine. I believe in this science behind this vaccine. I believe in the intricate process scientists and oversight bodies went through to review it. The vaccine is safe. The vaccine is 95% effective, this is an incredible tribute to our science.”
Salomey Agyemang, a registered nurse for TriStar Health, echoed those sentiments saying, “I feel really good. I feel encouraged. I feel hopeful. It feels like the beginning of the end of this.”
Dr. Sydney Hester, an infectious disease specialist with HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Division, receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Nashville, Tennessee on December 17, 2020. “We’ve all been waiting to do this moment with just baited anticipation, and to be standing here and to be one of the first people to get the vaccine is just absolutely amazing,” Dr. Hester said.
Find answers to some of the most common questions people are asking about COVID-19 vaccine below…
Q: What types of vaccines are available?
A: Two manufacturers, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, have recently developed COVID-19 vaccines. Pfizer/BioNTech was granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 11. Moderna received an EUA on December 18 and is the second approved vaccine, which will be critical in our continued efforts to quickly vaccinate and protect our workforce.
Q: Is the vaccine safe to receive?
A: Both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are a new type of vaccine, but the technology behind them has been studied for decades. These vaccine types teach our cells to make the “spike protein” and train our immune systems to protect us from infection when the real virus enters our bodies. This type of vaccine cannot give you COVID-19 and does not affect or interact with your DNA.
Q: How were these COVID-19 vaccines developed so quickly?
A: Coordinated efforts by public and private partnerships helped accelerate vaccine development, but these accelerated efforts have not sacrificed scientific standards, integrity of the vaccine review process, or safety. Prior knowledge in vaccine development and advances in bioengineering were critical to the timeline, as well as government funding which decreased the monetary risk to companies, allowing them to develop and manufacture the vaccine concurrently with clinical studies.
Luders Michaud, certified pharmacy technician at Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation Florida, holds the COVID-19 vaccine on December 17, 2020.
Q: Who will receive the vaccine first?
A: Based on national guidance, a “tiering” system is being used to prioritize those at greatest risk of exposure, particularly healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents. On December 1, 2020, the CDC recommended that healthcare personnel with direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials receive a COVID-19 vaccine first.
Q: When will the general public receive the vaccine?
A: Experts began working during the summer of 2020 on a strategy for distributing these limited vaccines in a fair, ethical and transparent way. Vaccines have been allocated to each state based on population. Each state is responsible for developing a distribution plan. Therefore, distribution plans and timelines will vary by state. For those receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, two doses are required separated by 21 days. Check with your local health department for updates.
Q: Why is it important to get the vaccine?
A: Based on what we know about vaccines for other diseases, experts believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine may help keep you from getting seriously ill, even if you do get COVID-19. Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. According to the CDC, the combination of getting vaccinated and following CDC’s recommendations to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from COVID-19.
Please review the attached Patient Expiration Process to include the Documentation. Escalations should occur at the facility level following the chain of command.
As the year comes to an end, HealthTrust Workforce Solutions would like to take a moment to thank you for your continued dedication to patient care. Throughout the uncertainty that 2020 has brought us, one thing is certain - our appreciation for our valued clinicians, clients and team members. While this year has presented us with unprecedented challenges and has tested each of us personally, we know we are stronger together because of it.
While the holidays are typically a time of gift giving, we put a lot of thought into what the best token of our appreciation would be this year. Ultimately, we determined that the most impactful gift we can give is to help others in our communities during these tough times. In the spirit of the season, we have elected to make a donation to the United Way on behalf of our valued clinicians, clients and team members. Together we can do more good.
Throughout the holiday season our wish to you is for you to enjoy this special time of year with your loved ones - your family, your friends and anyone else you hold dear.
From the HealthTrust family to yours, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Congratulations to our 47 StaRNs who completed their first year of nursing through our nurse residency program. To close out the program, they worked in teams to develop Evidence-Based Change projects to improve patient care, improve workflow, and make Sunrise Hospital, an HCA Healthcare facility, an even better hospital.
We are proud of their hard work this year and look forward to watching them continue continue to make improvements in patients' lives for years to come. Well done!
As nurse leaders within HealthTrust Workforce Solutions, we partner with our colleagues to promote clinical excellence throughout the communities we serve. HealthTrust advocates on behalf of our ultimate client, the patient, ensuring that they receive the highest quality, cost-effective care in a professional, compassionate, and ethical environment.
