The Path to Nursing Excellence in the LTC Sector

Karen Drenkard of the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a solution provider at the marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012, on developing nursing excellence. Interview with: Karen Drenkard, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Executive Director, American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A workplace environment that engages and inspires nurses has a direct, positive impact on nurse satisfaction and retention in long-term care (LTC) facilities, says Karen Drenkard, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Executive Director, American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). This positive practice environment also improves patient satisfaction, safety, and quality outcomes, she adds.

From a solution provider at the marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012 Drenkard shares key ideas for achieving the optimal nursing practice environment.

How can the quality of LTC be improved?

The viability of LTC organizations is increasingly based on quality: quality care, quality patient outcomes, and a quality nursing environment. It is essential that organizations focus on ways to create a practice environment where nurses can thrive.

The benefits of positive practice environments on patients, nurses, and organizations are well documented. They impact everything from nurse engagement and satisfaction to care delivery and patient outcomes.

It is also increasingly evident that wise investment in nursing services is the most effective way to achieve excellence. Studies show that positive practice environments ultimately save money – in the form of improved staff retention and decreased turnover, improved nurse and customer satisfaction, improved quality and safety, and superior business results.

The cost of replacing a nurse is high – anywhere from one to four times that of a nurse’s average salary. So LTC organizations that are able to improve nurse satisfaction and retain a high quality nursing staff realize a significant return on investment.

What is the Path to Excellence Program and the optimal nursing practice environment?

ANCC’s Pathway to Excellence® Program recognizes a healthcare organization’s commitment to creating a positive nursing practice environment. At the program’s core are 12 practice standards that impact the quality of LTC.

Based on evidence and expert nurse input, the standards represent qualities that both nurses and researchers agree are critical to high quality nursing practice, professional development, and job satisfaction. They include shared governance and collaborative multi-disciplinary decision-making at all levels, autonomy in practice, a safe and healthy work environment, professional development opportunities, fair compensation, work-life balance, and an organizational commitment to quality improvement and evidence-based practice.

Some features that make the Pathway to Excellence Program unique include: benefits to nurses (recognizing what is important to nursing practice, demonstrating to the community a commitment to nurses and their practice and inviting nurses to join their colleagues in a desirable and nurturing environment) and benefits to patients (improved unit effectiveness, quality patient care impact by the nurse’s ability to problem solve, collaborate and handle conflict, and patient safety outcomes – influenced by the quality of a nurse’s work environment, mediated with burnout and engagement).

This results in a person-centered model of care.

What changes do you predict for the LTC sector?

Our growing aging population will fundamentally transform LTC delivery over the next 30 years. Up to a third of the population will soon be over 55, and the demand for LTC will increase dramatically. We must work now to create the positive practice environments and care delivery models that will prepare us to meet the needs of an aging population with chronic disease.
 
As we look forward, we see an emerging community of LTC organizations that extends around the world and a new generation of global “gold standards” that guide quality patient care. Having engaged and dedicated nurses is the key to making this vision a reality.

Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012

Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on the Health Care Reform, innovative quality improvement, and staff recruitment and retention strategies.

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal 

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

The mission of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association (ANA), is to promote excellence in nursing and health care globally through credentialing programs. ANCC’s internationally renowned credentialing programs certify and recognize individual nurses in specialty practice areas; recognize healthcare organizations for promoting safe, positive work environments; and accredit continuing nursing education organizations.

For more information: www.nursecredentialing.org

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

Successful Electronic Medical Record Implementation

Jonathan Levoy from Alego Health, a solution provider company at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2012, on getting the most out of Electronic Medical Records through mobile devices. Interview with: Jonathan Levoy, VP of Business Development & Technology, Alego Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

All Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), will soon be connected and translated to mobile devices, says Jonathan Levoy, VP of Business Development & Technology, Alego Health. “Doctors must be able to get information when they are on the road visiting facilities, whether it be on a tablet device or smart phone,” he adds.

Ahead of the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2012, taking place in Hollywood, Florida, April 26-28, Levoy discusses the criticality of efficiency and mobile devices when implementing EMRs.

How can healthcare executives implement EMRs while making an impact on their bottom line?  

It is easier to train a clinician to do technical work, than teach an Information Technology (IT) major to do clinical work. The implementation of mobile devices can easily be accomplished through in-house employees; there is no need to spend time and money searching for high-end consultants. Utilize local talent that have experience and an interest in IT.

Instead of keeping the focus on the software and IT, it is advisable to make it about customer service and the experience of the physicians.

How can EMRs be used more efficiently?

Healthcare executives must first get used to the fact that paper records will soon no longer exist and EMRs are here to stay. They must work with the physician to ensure that they are comfortable with the software. The biggest challenge is getting used to doing things differently. The program must be user friendly so that users can process results and utilize the software as intended.

Efficiency is created by usage. Clinicians must initially get comfortable with the program. Giving too much to a person at once is detrimental to the overall success of the implementation. Healthcare executives can then go back and work on efficiency, number of clicks and learn how to navigate screens better.

Trying to teach a new product to someone is a difficult task. It is important to optimize the product, making it faster and easier to understand the program itself initially.

Are mobile devices currently being used to access EMR?

A lot will happen in the hospital environment in the next five years around efficiency and mobile devices.  

Soon, all EMRs will be connected and translated to mobile devices. Doctors must be able to get information when they need it. Speed and efficiency are paramount in the implementation of EMRs. Also the ability for physicians to access patient information from anywhere will make the transfer from paper to electronic storage more appealing to physicians as well as increase the level of patient care. These solutions are currently being offered through the use of tablet PCs and smart phones. As the use and experience level grows through these technologies so will the efficiency in day to day hospital operations.

Contact: Stacey Melvin, Journalist, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 400
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2012

This unique forum will take place at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida, April 26-28, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on continually finding ways to maximize budgets, developing an accountable care organization and ensuring compliance for upcoming transformations of our healthcare system.  

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About Alego Health

Alego Health is a full service provider of EMR implementation support, training, and management. This Minority Owned Company (Woman Owned) specializes in providing Clinical Resources to fulfill EMR Support needs through programs like physician dedicated support, interactive training, nurse focused initiatives, and many other support; build; and efficiency offerings. Contact Jonathan Levoy at (440) 617-6518 or jlevoy@alegohealth.com for more information.

www.alegohealth.com 

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

The Impact of Healthcare Reform on Urban & Safety Net Hospitals 

Mark Chastang, a speaker at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2012, on lowering patient length of stay and infection rates. Interview with: Mark Chastang, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Grady Health System

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
“Patients must be moved efficiently from diagnosis to effective treatment with careful attention to their specific needs and unique circumstances,” says Mark Chastang, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Grady Health System. It is important to have caring and compassionate teams dedicated to creating new and more efficient methods of managing the total patient experience from admission to discharge.

A speaker at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2012 in Hollywood, Florida, April 26-28, Chastang discusses the need to create a seamless provision of care.

How can healthcare professionals improve patient care and lower length of stay? 

There must be full commitment and high priority placed on improving quality and lowering patient length of stay at the highest levels of executive leadership. 

Committed and engaged leadership will create an organizational culture supportive of safe, efficient and high quality patient care. The absence of broad institutional commitment will result in poor to mediocre quality.

Efficiency in hospitals can save lives, costs and time. What best practices would you recommend for increasing efficiency within the hospital environment?

Senior leadership must be open to new ways of improving organizational performance at every level. Learning from others and a willingness to adopt industry best practices is important for top performance. At a minimum, setting reach goals and adopting national benchmarks for quality, safety as well as financial improvement will drive institutional performance. Focusing on systems and processes, not single events, that support safe and efficient patient care will help tremendously.

Hospitals are under great pressure to treat uninsured patients. What do you believe can be done?  

The new healthcare legislation attempts to reduce the financial pressures created by large numbers of uninsured patients by offering coverage for a major segment of this population. This will go far in improving bottom lines for many urban and so called safety net hospitals. The challenge for these hospitals is to keep cost down and run competitive on a cost and quality basis. Not all will survive.

One piece of advice?

Stay committed to high quality. This will require motivated, committed and expert staff. Pay attention to the needs of staff and caregivers. This is critical to advancing your mission and meeting the needs of patients.

Contact: Stacey Melvin, Journalist, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 400
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2012

This unique forum will take place at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida, April 26-28, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on continually finding ways to maximize budgets, developing an accountable care organization and ensuring compliance for upcoming transformations of our healthcare system.  

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

The Criticality of Re-Designing Healthcare Delivery

Ninfa M. Saunders, a speaker at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2012, on redesigning healthcare delivery to better adapt to the current environment. Interview with: Ninfa M. Saunders, President & Chief Operating Officer, Virtua

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Healthcare must be re-designed so that patients can get the right care, at the right time and at the right cost,” says Ninfa M. Saunders, President & Chief Operating Officer, Virtua. Healthcare executives should look at processes and tools to re-engineer care delivery and adapt to the dynamics of the current environment, she adds.

A speaker at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2012 in Hollywood, Florida, April 26-28, Saunders shares her view on why hospitals will not survive if they do not re-design.
 
How can healthcare executives navigate through the challenges of the current healthcare environment?

Healthcare executives must place more focus on the integration of strategies, processes and people. As we get into the changes of healthcare reform, thinking of new models that have a longitudinal view of population-based care as opposed to episodic is crucial. Look towards key measures such as people, growth, access, quality, cost and experience. 

What cost reduction strategies would you recommend?

The target of cost reduction is 20 to 25 per cent. To achieve this, organizations can look at three factors. Firstly, incremental cost reductions and reducing wherever possible, which will account for five to six per cent of reductions. Secondly, process improvement, looking at Six Sigma and Lean to remove waste and minimize variation. Thirdly, redesign the care delivery process, which should yield the highest cost reduction.  

Healthcare must be re-designed so that patients can get the right care, at the right time and at the right cost. This will involve developing new modalities. Healthcare providers will have to think outside the box.

How can healthcare delivery be re-designed? 

Healthcare executives must go back to the basics, look at adoption processes and identify where efforts are going. They can then start re-design by using processes and tools to re-engineer care delivery and adapting to the care dynamics of the current environment. If hospitals do not do this, they will not survive.

Virtua recently opened a new 358-bed facility from the bottom up, using Six Sigma. Our 213 patients were safely and efficiently moved from our old facility to the new one, without spending consulting dollars. Traditionally, facilities are built and organizations fit operations into a specific space; we however, designed the process and then built the facility around that. This saved us USD 14 million in change orders and allowed us to size appropriately in terms of total bed capacity. This has resulted in improvements in patient care, staff engagement and efficiency.

Contact: Stacey Melvin, Journalist, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 400
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2012

This unique forum will take place at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida, April 26-28, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on continually finding ways to maximize budgets, developing an accountable care organization and ensuring compliance for upcoming transformations of our healthcare system.  

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

Selecting Vendors for Better Long-Term Care

� Jim Ankoviak of Winco Mfg., LLC, a solution provider at the marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012, on selecting vendors in the long-term care sector. Interview with: Jim Ankoviak, Chief Executive Officer, Winco Mfg., LLC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Long-term care (LTC) facilities should select and work closely with providers that have a broad range of solutions, are reactive to changing market demands, and thus offer value added solutions rather than just products, says Jim Ankoviak, Chief Executive Officer, Winco Mfg., LLC.

From a solution provider company at the marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012, Ankoviak discusses strategies for the vendor selection process and what would improve patient care in LTC facilities. 

What would improve patient care in the LTC sector?

We work to improve patient care by providing the type of seating specific to the resident’s and the facility’s needs. Seating must be comfortable and safe for the patient, while reducing caregiver effort, the potential for strain or injury and time spent on cleaning. It must be durable for the LTC environment, and demonstrate great value.

LTC executives need to partner with providers like Winco that understand and can meet these needs across a broad spectrum of applications.

How can LTC facilities ensure that budget cuts do not affect the quality of care provided?

By selecting and then working closely with providers that add value, who provide a broad range of solutions, are reactive to changing market demands and thus offer value added solutions rather than just products.

What strategies for the efficient running of LTC facilities could you share?

Consolidating seating and furnishing needs with a single provider can simplify the order process, lock in and stabilize pricing, and manage purchase schedules to meet project requirements as needed. This would allow for balanced purchasing, predictable budgeting and the flexibility to adapt to unexpected changes.

How can they stay up-to-date with changing demographics?

LTC facilities must seek vendors with an established track record, not only for providing quality products, but also known for innovating, improving and continuously adding new products to their portfolio. The vendor should strive to include their facilities in requests for market feedback and in presenting new ideas proactively for their consideration. We listen closely to our customers and work with them to develop and test their innovation in real world settings.

Do you have a final piece of advice?

Explore the options available. Do not be hesitant to share your concerns and special requirements with your vendors. Winco prides itself in being able to react to ever evolving customer and market changes.

A partner who is willing to be innovative to help reduce operating expenses in ways beyond just price, is critical to establishing a long-term, sustainable and mutually beneficial relationship.

Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division

Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com

About the Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2012

Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on the Health Care Reform, innovative quality improvement, and staff recruitment and retention strategies.

For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website

marcus evans group – healthcare sector portal 

Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.

About Winco Mfg., LLC

Winco Mfg., LLC is an Ocala, FL based medical furnishings manufacturer whose Products are designed and assembled in an ISO9001/2008 certified facility and distributed worldwide. Winco established itself by providing innovative furnishings that enhance patient comfort, improve caregiver safety and convenience and exceed customer requirements for function, durability and aesthetics. 

For more information: www.wincomfg.com

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit www.marcusevans.com 

All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced – kindly inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com

The study which was published by Cancer Research UK, and published in the British Journal of Cancer, found that by 2030 there could be around 432,000 cancer cases a year, with male cancer’s rising by a staggering 55 per cent over the period.

The reason for this increase it says is down to the population aging. However, while the number of cancer cases is expected to increase the survival rate is also expected to get better.

However, the report does warn that the NHS risks being overwhelmed unless they start to take action now.
Marcus Evans presents business training events, created by experienced professionals and with information presented by industry experts.