ED Nursing Archives – August 1, 2004
August 1, 2004
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Psychiatric patients are flooding EDs: Ensure safety with these solutions
This is the first of a two-part series on psychiatric patients in the ED. This month, we cover ways to improve care, ensure safety, and maintain throughput. Next month, we give strategies for reducing risks of chemical and physical restraints. -
Take these steps to keep staff and patients safe
In light of increasing numbers of psychiatric patients at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, NV, the following steps were taken to ensure safety of ED patients and staff. -
Want to stop IV drug errors? Use these proven strategies
A nurse pulls out a 10,000 units per cc concentration of heparin for a cardiac patient double the correct dosage. Did this patient get twice the dose of heparin, resulting in bleeding complications? No, because the dosage was double-checked by a second ED nurse, so the error never occurred, reports Sharon A. Graunke, RN, MS, CEN, TNS, ED clinical nurse specialist at Elmhurst (IL) Memorial Hospital. -
Are your ED staff at risk for needlestick injury?
Are potential violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act high on your worry list? Heres another high-risk area that you should add to your list: Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) citations for violations of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (BPS). This standard requires you to take steps to protect health care workers from needle stick injuries. -
One ED was fined $9K for these unsafe practices
Here are some of the alleged violations of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard that occurred at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY, which resulted in several citations and $9,000 in fines, according to Occupational Safety & Health Administration inspection No. 305769994. -
Stroke treatment to widen time window to 8 hours
How many times have you carefully assessed a stroke patient in your ED to determine time of symptom onset, only to find out that this individual is not eligible to receive thrombolytics? New treatment options on the horizon will give you other potentially lifesaving interventions for these patients. -
Cut door-to-doctor delays by 60 minutes
Its more important than a comfortable waiting room with VCRs and fish tanks, or even an attentive triage nurse. In fact, its often the single most important factor impacting patient satisfaction: door-to-doctor times. -
Wisconsin ED cuts $50,000 a year off its staffing costs
Have you ever wished that you could instantly adjust your staffing based on the current census in the ED? An off-with-benefits program at St. Vincent Hospitals ED in Green Bay, WI, saves approximately $50,000 per year by doing exactly that, reports Paula Hafeman, RN, MSN, director of the emergency center. -
Audio conference prepares you for influenza season
Flu season is right around the corner. Are you prepared? If an influenza pandemic hits, the entire U.S. population could be at risk. -
Use site to improve care of trauma patients
Is your ED practicing according to current guidelines for trauma patients? Do you need images for use during trauma inservices? The www.trauma.org web site has become an invaluable resource for many emergency nurses. -
Journal Review
EDs are not adhering to recommended guidelines when caring for patients with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to this study from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT.