1. NEVER hand your sharps to anyone else.

2. NEVER let others hand their sharps to you including physicians.

3. ALWAYS engage safety device after an injection.

4. DO NOT use your hand to engage the safety device after an injection. ALWAYS use a surface that is away from you and the patient instead (e.g., instead of using your other hand to engage the safety, use the tabletop instead).

5. Place sharps into the sharp container IMMEDIATELY after an injection instead of leaving the sharp on the patient’s bed or the bedside table.

6. NEVER take your eyes off the sharp.

7. Make sure the sharp actually goes INSIDE of the sharp container.

8. NEVER attempt to recap a contaminated needle after an injection. Instead, toss the sharp into the sharp container immediately.

Dr. Jane Englebright, HCA Healthcare’s chief nurse executive, is among the list of nominees for Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives of 2019.

Voting is open and will close on May 10, 2019. Additionally, each e-mail address can register to vote one time, for one executive. Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives program honors clinicians working in the healthcare industry, deemed by their peers and an expert panel to be the most influential in terms of demonstrating leadership and impact. Previously known as Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Physicians Executives and Leaders.

Click here to learn more about the program.

Should you ever need to report an injury below are the steps to follow:

1.  Report the incident to immediate supervisor of the unit.

2. Complete incident report in Meditech (under "non-patient notification") with the assistance of supervisor/charge nurse if needed before the end of shift.

3.  Go to the ED of the facility for evaluation if needed.

4. Report the incident to HealthTrust Workforce Solutions.

5. Contact Employee Health Nurse: Lilly Ranney at 954-514-1631 for follow-up instructions and additional questions.

HCA injury reporting policies apply to HealthTrust WS employees, vendor partner employees should contact their employer.

Please comment below with questions or concerns.

Thank you for all you do!

Please review included education regarding restraint documentation:

Restraint orders must be renewed by the end of the calendar day (2359).This prevents restraining without an order while awaiting a new order.

Safety/Rights/Dignity status is documented with the other restraint component every 2 hours with the attestation that is was done 3 times per hour. Done now is used to document observation in real time and time stamps just one assessment complete.

Please comment with questions.

Have a great week!

Restraint Documentation

Included is an educational resource that provides examples of key words that ED and inpatient staff can use during times of high census. You may not always be able to prevent challenging circumstances, but you can prepare and choose words that help reduce stress and show patients and staff we care. The goal of the communication during these times is to keep patients informed, proactively address needs and concerns, keep them safe and ensure their comfort and patient experience. Please review the included education and comment with questions. Have a good weekend and Thank You for your dedication to patient care.

Patient Experience

I have attached an educational PowerPoint on core measure education provided by Kingwood Medical Center in the Gulf Coast Division. Please review the education and comment with questions. Have a great week!

Core Measures

Tuesday, March 26

1p.m. Eastern Time

Comment with your email address and I will send you link.

HWS will be receiving more courses/opportunities in the future.

As a friendly reminder, please make sure you are scanning the patient armband prior to medication administration.  If the armband is no longer scanning, please replace the armband utilizing the patient identifiers. Scanning a patient label in lieu of the armband is a violation or policy and jeopardizes patient safety.

Thank you for all you do and your dedication to patient safety.

Please comment below with questions.

Included are two very helpful educational resources supporting the HCA initiative of Patient Experience

White Boards-Defines the purpose of white boards, includes tips for better communication, and provides a visual example of a white board.

Patient Experience Pre-Round and Nurse Leader Rounding-Defines the expectations of pre-rounds (questions the nurse leader will ask the clinician) and beside validation/observation by Nurse Leader.

Please review and comment with any additional questions.

Thank you for all that you do and your commitment to patient care.

White Boards

Pre-Rounds/NLR: Patient Experience

BCMA Scanning Tip: Some medications may have a double bar code for scanning, upper and lower. In this scenario, the lower bar code is the bar code that should be scanned. Make sure to cover the upper bar code with something when scanning as it has been found that even though it looks as if you are scanning the lower bar code, the scanner has been picking up the upper bar code in some cases.

If the scanner picks up the upper bar code if will look like a scan did not occur.

Best Practice: Double check all medication documentation after scanning to ensure documentation accuracy.