Physio Control, Inc., issued a recall of LifePak CR Plus Automated External Defibrillators (AED), used by emergency or medical personnel to treat adults in cardiopulmonary arrest. The product was recalled because the AED instructs the responder by voice prompts to press the shock button which is not visible because it is covered, thereby making the responder unable to provide shock therapy. The AED device should be removed from service or the manufacturer-provided diagram should be consulted to remove and discard the shock button cover.

Read the entire 2008 MedWatch Safety Summary, including a link to the manufacturer's Recall Notice regarding this issue: www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2008/safety08.htm#LifePakCR

ANA is inviting nurses to submit theme ideas for National Nurses Week 2009. The theme for 2008 was "Nurses Making a Difference Every Day". The following describes the guidelines to use for theme development. Guidelines:

• Must be a positive statement about nurses/nursing
• Must be concise with no more than five words
• Must be representational of all nurses

Submissions will be accepted through Sept. 30, 2008. Email your suggestions to catherine.wiafe@ana.org with "2009 National Nurses Week Theme Idea" in the subject line.

Free telephonic counseling and a 24-hour Nurse Helpline established for impacted members

WellPoint announced revised medical and pharmacy guidelines to help members who are directly impacted by Hurricane Ike. In addition, a 24-hour nurse helpline -- 1-866-417-7107 -- has been established to assist members.

The revised guidelines will help members who are impacted by Hurricane Ike access needed medical care and prescription drugs.

Members affected by the hurricane should seek medical assistance wherever it is available and have their medications refilled at any pharmacy or shipped to them at an alternative address.

In addition, from Sept. 12 through Sept. 19, 2008, for members evacuating from Texas and Louisiana, all providers caring for affected members will be considered "in-network" providers, and affected members will not be required to satisfy prior authorization, pre-certification or referral requirements during this time.

These revisions apply to affected members living in Texas and Louisiana who are under a mandatory evacuation and who are covered by UniCare, WellPoint NextRx and WellPoint affiliated health plans in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin and Virginia. More information on WellPoint's affiliated health plans can be found at http://www.wellpoint.com/business/about_family.asp .

  For impacted members, WellPoint is:
  -- Suspending requirements for prior authorization and pre-certification.

-- Suspending requirements for authorization or referral from a primary care physician.

-- Allowing the affected members to see any physician necessary to provide access to care.

-- Paying all claims as in-network, regardless of whether or not the health care provider is in network.

-- Suspending early refill limits and shipping prescriptions to members at alternative addresses.

-- Suspending utilization management (UM) review of in-hospital cases.

These medical and pharmacy guidelines are effective Sept. 12 through Sept. 19, 2008. At that time, it will be determined if these guidelines need to be extended.

WellPoint's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is offering free telephonic counseling and referral services for the next 30 days to all members in the areas impacted by the hurricane. Services include access to a resource-rich Web site and telephonic consultations with professional counselors. The EAP program is available 24 hours a day by calling, toll-free, 1-800-765-4446, or by logging into the EAP member Web site at www.anthemeap.com and entering the password "hurricane."

For additional questions, members should call the phone number on the back of their membership card. If they do not have their card, they should call 1- 866-417-7107.

 Defining Nurses' Lounge Magazine

This past weekend I spoke with a nurse who complained about the nursing magazines she received. She was not one of our readers, so I can understand why she would want to reduce the amount of paper she sends to the recycling bin. However, let me share with you my goals for Nurses' Lounge magazine so that you can understand how Nurses' Lounge is a unique publication. Since I started with the magazine, my goal has been to make a positive contribution to the profession by validating, empowering and informing our readers.

To validate we seek to recognize those in the field who stand out among their peers for striving for excellence, or simply demonstrate through story how nursing is truly the best career choice for those looking to care for others. For example, this month we feature Dian Adams on page six who recently joined Medical Center of Arlington as CNO, and we tell the story of unit secretary Alicia Garza on page four whose life was saved by her coworkers when she called in sick with a headache that turned out to be a subarachnoid hemorrhage in her brain. 

To empower we want to show nurses that they have the ability to take charge of their present and future, whether personally, such as the nurses on page 14 who are taking charge of their future by attending online classes for advanced degrees; or like Deb Taylor on page 20, who decided she wanted to reclaim her life by losing more than 170 lbs. in less than a year. She is truly an inspiration.

To inform, we strive to provide topics that will contribute to the nursing profession. We are fortunate to have assistance in meeting this goal from UTA, who provides our CE articles (page 23) each month to help you expand your professional knowledge while earning CE credit at the same time.

So far, the positive feedback and reception our magazine has received makes me feel that we are meeting our goals. Please remember that we are here for you, so if you have an idea for a story or if you would like to contribute one yourself, please drop me a note at aarmstrong@nurseslounge.com.

More than 2,000 healthcare workers launched a 24-hour strike up and down California today, calling on the Daughters of Charity Health System to improve patient care.

Caregivers represented by SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West organized the strike in response to what they claim are "continued attempts to undermine the voice of caregivers in how quality care is delivered, and to protest a series of unfair labor practices committed by management, including the failure of hospital administration to bargain in good faith."

The strike began at 6 a.m. and will continue for 24 hours at five different hospitals in California: St. Francis Medical Center near Los Angeles, Seton Medical Center in Daly City, Seton Coastside in Moss Beach, St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, and O'Connor Hospital in San Jose.

Caregivers at the five hospitals have been in negotiations for a new contract since March.

Daughter: "Can I watch Snow Buddies and watch how they mated?"
Me: "Why do you want to watch how they mated?"
Daughter: "Cause I want to."
Me:"Yeah, but why do you want to watch that?"
Daughter: "To see how they make all the dogs and places and snow and stuff."
Me:" Oh...how they made it..."

She is, of course, refering to the "Making of" bonus features on the DVD.

Daddy dodges another bullet and lives to tell about it...

Our August issue is packed with nurses and stories that remind us why nursing is a great profession, so take a break from the heat and find a cool spot to sit and enjoy your Nurses' Lounge magazine!

This month's issue features two articles by special guest nurse-authors. Emma Soy, RN, CHPN, is a nursing career coach who has a unique method for classifying nursing personalities to illustrate how nurses can position themselves for career success. Our second guest author, Lorna Bell, RN, CHPN, MOC, is a local hospice nurse who shares her experiences in using yoga to help grieving children cope with loss. Her insight into how children cope with the death of a loved one and how yoga can help them through the process is a fascinating read.

Donna Richardson, RNC, BSN, the new CNO of UT Southwestern, is featured as we look at how her hands-on approach is likely to be a new trend as more CNOs reach out to their staff in highly competitive markets. We also profile Cathy Grayson, RN, BSN, the director of infection control at Trinity Medical Center, a nurse who was honored earlier this year for helping catch a Serratia outbreak in Denton.

Perioperative nursing is this month's Career Spotlight. Read about this popular specialty and three of DFW's top OR nurses. Finally, the issue of nursing informatics and how it will affect nursing practice now and in the future is explored in our CE article by Dr. Mari Tietze, PhD, RN-BC.  

If you would like to contribute an article or have an idea for something you would like to read about, please let us know at editor@NursesLounge.com. In the meantime...

See you in the lounge!

PBS will present a special evening of programming focused on Alzheimer's disease on Sunday, August 3 starting at 8 p.m. Central (check local listings). The programming starts with a national encore broadcast of the Emmy-Award-winning THE FORGETTING: A Portrait of Alzheimer's, followed by a new half-hour discussion, The Future of Alzheimer's, moderated by actor and Alzheimer's champion David Hyde Pierce, which features a panel of medical experts and scientists discussing the latest developments in Alzheimer's.

The programs claim to approach the subject of Alzheimer's in a unique manner, balancing the scientific with the heartfelt through first-hand stories of affected families.  

An interactive website designed to serve as a center for resources, support and materials for Alzheimer's patients, their families and caregivers is avaialbe starting today at www.pbs.org/theforgetting/.

My six year-old daughter's summertime boredom has finally been assuaged with a steady stream of creative activities and crafts. The month of July carries magic for my family that promises fireworks and sparklers, decorations and festivities, the joy of eating a cold watermelon in the park and playing in lawn sprinklers.

In the same spirit of exploring things that are fun and new, I'm excited about our stories this month. The first is our cover story on Cook Children's Transport Team. These nurses work on helicopters and airplanes and conduct around 2,000 transports per year over a 110-county area.

If the heat and stress of the summertime-rush on hospitals is too much to bear, you'll enjoy our feature on managing nursing stress. You'll see how many hospitals and facilities are becoming aware of the effects stress has on nurses and patient care and learn what they are doing to help nurses relax and clear their heads.

This month's Career Spotlight is written by special guest author, Judy Denison, MSN, RN, FACHE, CNAA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer and Associate Administrator of the world-renowned Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. She examines orthopedic nursing as a career choice in DFW and offers fascinating insight into pediatric orthopedics.

Finally, our CE article is a fascinating exploration of the growing need for genetic competencies in nursing and how advances in gene technology are changing nurse interactions with patients and their families.

I hope you find this month's issue as fun and interesting as I did. Remember that we are here for you, so feel free to send me a note if there is something you would like to see in the lounge, or just to let us know how we are doing: editor@nurseslounge.com.

 See you in the lounge!

ANA poll reveals serious concerns about quality of care

An American Nurses Association poll of registered nurses nationwide reveals their significant concerns over how nurse staffing affects the quality of care, and contributes to the growing nursing shortage. The results highlight the need for adequate nurse staffing critical to the delivery of quality patient care.

The poll of more than ten thousand nurses nationwide shows the nurses’ perspective on how staffing levels impact their work environment:

• 73% of nurses asked don’t believe the staffing on their unit or shift is sufficient.

• 59.8% of those asked said they knew of someone who left direct care nursing due to concerns about safe staffing.

• Of the 51.9% of respondents who are considering leaving their current position, 46% cite inadequate staffing as the reason.

• 51.7% of respondents said they thought the quality of nursing care on their unit has declined in the last year

• 48.2% would not feel confident having someone close to them receiving care in the facility where they work.

“Safe nurse staffing has been linked to more positive patient outcomes, decreased length of hospital stay, and decreased number of medical errors and patient falls. It has also been shown to improve nurse satisfaction and decrease burnout, both significant factors contributing to nurses leaving the profession. It benefits the patient by improving care, the hospital by reducing cost and the nurse by improving the work environment. That is why it’s vital to enact legislation that will set safe staffing levels, and why ANA is such a strong advocate for the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act,” said ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR.  

The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act (S.73/H.R. 4138) is consistent with the ANA’s Principles for Nurse Staffing. It holds hospitals accountable for establishing valid, reliable, unit level nurse staffing plans. These plans would be developed in consultation with direct care RNs and be based on each unit’s needs and characteristics. Hospitals would also be required to post daily public reports of staffing levels and provide whistleblower protections for RNs and others who might file a complaint about staffing.

To view more results of ANA’s Staffing Poll, or to learn more about the issue of safe staffing please visit www.safestaffingsaveslives.org/results.