Our partners in the West Florida Division have shared some important education on Sepsis. Please review and ensure you are familiar with all guidelines.

Sepsis Flowchart

Sepsis Bundle Guide

SPOT Alert

HWS Sepsis Quick Reference Guide

Sepsis is Time Sensitive: Timely, Monitor, Execute and Complete Sepsis bundle for optimal patient safety and outcomes.

Thank you for your dedication to patient care!

COVID-19 remains a concern to public health and, in order to prevent its further spread in hospitals, SNFs, and other health care settings, new public health requirements are necessary at this time in the state of California.

The California Department of Public Health has issued a new order that will require all healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated, including a booster when eligible, by February 1, 2022.  After February 1, the worker must receive their booster within 15 days of being eligible for a booster. The only exemptions provided are for religious beliefs or qualifying medical reasons.  

For clinicians who are exempt or have not yet received their booster, twice weekly testing and proper PPE will be required. Testing will occur for all-booster eligible colleagues who have not yet received their booster by January 7, 2022.

In addition, Santa Clara County (SCC) in California recently mandated all healthcare workers, regardless of exemption, must be vaccinated and receive a booster, if eligible, on or before January 24, 2022. The HCA Healthcare facilities this applies to are Good Samaritan Hospital and Regional Medical Center of San Jose.

Dates to know:

• January 7, 2022 – testing twice a week will begin for booster-eligible workers, who have not yet received a booster dose.
• January 24, 2022 – The deadline for booster-eligible healthcare workers working in Santa Clara County to receive their booster, or within 15 days of becoming eligible for a booster if they are not eligible. Also the deadline for currently non-vaccinated/exempt healthcare workers working in Santa Clara County to receive their first dose of vaccination.        
• February 1, 2022 – The deadline for booster-eligible workers to receive their booster, or within 15 days of becoming eligible for a booster if they are not eligible as of February 1, 2022; medical and religious exemptions apply.
• March 21, 2022 – The deadline for currently non-vaccinated/exempt healthcare workers working in Santa Clara County to receive their second dose of vaccination.

Immediate Next Steps:

If healthcare workers received their full series of vaccination, including the booster, for one of the three types of vaccines — please make sure that proof has been uploaded to the candidate’s HealthTrust Workforce Solutions account. If unable to upload to the account, please send a copy to HWS.DenverHR@HealthTrustWS.com.  

Acceptable forms of proof include:

• Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card (issued by the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control & Prevention or WHO Yellow Card1) which includes:
• Name of person vaccinated
• Type of vaccine provided
• Date first and last dose administered
• Date of birth

• Documentation of vaccination from a healthcare provider; must show:
• Name of person vaccinated
• Type of vaccine provided
• Date first and last dose administered
• Date of birth

• For workers in California, outside of Santa Clara, if the healthcare worker is exempt from being vaccinated for religious beliefs or qualifying medical conditions, a completed exemption form is required.  The Exemption forms are found here: https://vproverified.com/health/
  
   
  • If a medical exemption is needed, the healthcare worker must provide the following:
    • A written statement signed by a physician, nurse practitioner, or other licensed medical professional stating that the individual qualifies for the exemption (but the statement should not describe the underlying medical condition or disability).
    • Indication of the probable duration of the worker’s inability to receive the vaccine (or if the duration is unknown or permanent, so indicate).
  • If a religious exemption is needed, the healthcare worker must provide the following:
    • The religious belief, practice, or observance that prevents vaccination.
    • Please note, once the exemption documentation has been provided, it will be reviewed to ensure qualifications have been met for compliance.
  • Please note, if the clinician has already been deemed exempt, additional documentation is not required, unless exemption expiration, if any, has occurred.

Booster Eligibility Guidelines:

• Pfizer - BioNTech: At least 5 months after completing your primary COVID-19 vaccination series
• Moderna: At least 6 months after completing your primary COVID-19 vaccination series
• Johnson & Johnson's Janssen : At least 2 months after receiving your J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccination
   

HealthTrust Workforce Solutions encourages vaccination as a safe and effective solution. As the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and our own infectious disease experts have recommended, vaccination is a vital step to protect individuals from the COVID-19 virus.

All healthcare workers working in patient care facilities are required to adhere to the mandate and receive the COVID-19 vaccine by the date mentioned above unless there is a valid, documented medical or religious reason for opting out. Failure to do so can result in a disruption of service.

This is an evolving situation and we are actively working to maintain compliance with the State's mandate. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

If you have any questions, please contact your Staffing Office or recruiter.

Our partners in East Florida have shared education: Patient Safety Regarding the Bedside Commode.

Bedside commodes can be a safety hazard if left at the bedside. Bedside commodes should be left in the patient's bathroom, and only brought to the bedside when being used. 

Bedside Commode

Thank you for your continued dedication to Patient Safety!

As a Surgical Services RN please ensure you are completing all required documentation.

Utilization of the Documentation Dashboard or Am I Finished Report is required prior to leaving each shift. This report identifies all required documentation fields and highlights anything that is missing. 

If additional assistance is required with this report please escalate to charge nurse. 

Documentation Dashboard

Thank you for your continued dedication to patient care!

Our partners in West Florida shared education regarding the pre-procedure checklist.  Please ensure this has been added to the Process Interventions and completed prior to patient being transported to procedure. 

All patients going for any procedure should have:

• Witnessed & signed consent
• Completed Pre-Op Checklist
• “Yes” to ESR (Enhanced Surgical recovery Program) protocol
  
  

Thank you for your continued dedication to patient care!

Our partners at Rapides Regional Medical Center have shared some important education related to Advanced Primary Stroke Center Certification. 

Our compliance for this measure is based on the percentage of final coded ischemic/hemorrhagic stroke patients having *both* the following:

1. Meditech documentation attesting “written information regarding stroke was provided to the primary learner” [i.e. Purple Packet] and a
2. Signed copy of the Purple Packet personalized Risk Factors education present in the patient’s permanent chart

Nursing Education PP-Stroke

Thank you for your continued dedication to patient care!

Subject: Important Information Regarding HWS Annual Update Deadline

Annual Update Compliance Deadline is 12/15/2021

Please ensure completions by deadline. Failure to complete all portions of Annual Update will result in being removed from the schedule until completion, resulting in termination by 12/31/2021.

To complete Annual update, log into HealthStream and complete assigned learning.

HealthStream

1. Login to HealthStream

• Click Here to open HealthStream
• Enter your 3-4 ID for your Username and Password, then click Sign In
• Select your HWSWF – HWS Education Affiliation, and then click Login

For any log-in/assignment questions please call the Education department at 1-954-514-1333.

For all other additional inquires please contact your local staffing, employer, or recruiter.

Thank you for ALL you DO!

It is the responsibility of the primary nurse to review restraint orders and ensure accuracy for non-behavioral vs. behavioral restraints. Inaccuracies should be escalated to the charge nurse and physician immediately. 

Included in the HCA Restraint Policy for Review.

Restraints

Thank you for all you DO and your DEDICATION to PATIENT SAFETY!

U.S. federal courts have officially put the previously announced regulations requiring COVID-19 vaccinations on hold indefinitely and deemed them not enforceable. 

Given this development, HCA Healthcare has paused the vaccine requirement for all colleagues with the exception of those in California and Colorado who are subject to local and state mandates.

With that being said, our approach has always been to strongly encourage vaccination, but not to mandate it unless we are required to do so by the federal government (i.e., CMS mandate) or a state government. 

• At this time, we will continue to process any proofs of vaccination received thus far and any proof of vaccination submitted going forward (supplied on a volunteer basis). 
• We will no longer be processing any exemption documents since the vaccine is not required.  

We understand the frustration and difficulty the changing information has created for all involved. We will keep you informed of any significant changes in federal vaccine mandates that may modify our response. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and your unwavering commitment to our mission.

Lastly, we remain focused on Annual Updates and compliance with any items that may be due soon.