Nurse Knitty

The Value of the School Nurse

2011-12-15T10:35:00.000-08:00

There was a time when nurses and healthcare providers were active participants in our everyday lives. You could access healthcare in a variety of places, and school was one of them. The benefit was not only improve quality of life, but also a reduction in the overall cost of the healthcare system as fewer individuals accessed health services unnecessarily, and still more had improved education for various health topics.

Although the school nurse is still around, the number of students under one nurse has ballooned. Budget cuts force some nurses to have over 15000 students under their care.

Some parents even make decisions of which school to send their child based on healthcare provision. Do you?

Health Ideas rewarded by Obama Administration

2011-11-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

The Obama administration has $1 billion of federal funds earmarked from last year's health reform law that will go toward innovation programs designed to boost jobs and improve patient care.

Have any ideas?

The administration will award grants in March 2012 to people who come up with the best ideas to lift care and save money for those enrolled in the federal healthcare programs Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. THe money is coming from the Affordable Care Act slated to fund a new CMS Innovation Center.

To get a grant, projects must start within six months and the program will concentrate on those ideas that spur the most hiring and workforce training.

Constitution Clash Over Healthcare Heads to Supreme Court

2011-11-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

Some people just hate to see those in need get healthcare.

http://www.latimes.com/la-na-healthcare-court-20110929,0,6378627.story

The Obama care package is heading to the Supreme Court (the first of various rounds). What's the issue? Afront to civil liberties? Or a civil society taking care of the least among them. We sure know that we haven't been doing a good job of the latter. What's your take?

Ever Striked as a Nurse?

2011-09-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

23 000 nurses in California his the streets for a one day strike to send a message to three hospital employers that RNs will not accept reductions in patient services or cuts to nurses and other caregivers.

The members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United walked out. They are making 200 demands to counter Sutter executives that would:

Restrict their ability to effectively advocate for patients
Effectively force nurses to work when sick, dangerously exposing extremely ill patients to infection.
Sharply reduce nurses’ healthcare coverage and retiree health benefits.
The Sutter RNs are also protesting years of widespread cuts in patient care services

Have you ever striked as a nurse? If so what were the circumstances?

America's Underfunded State healthcare

2011-08-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

It's not good, not good at all. But thankfully Republicans have the solution which involves cutting healthcare, medicare, and of course corporate taxes

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/mapping-americas-underfunded-state-pension-and-healthcare-liability-debacle

The Healing Power of Nurses

2011-07-29T10:30:00.001-07:00

Nurses are not only on the front line when it comes to healthcare, they're also usually the provider patients see the most often during their stay at a hospital or even a clinic.

That highlights the necessity of providing health care. Ok, that's so obvious. However, the type of care is starting to matter. Treatment doesn't just involve the facts of the ailment, yet the holistic healthcare experience for the patient.

Nurses who offer healthcare that goes beyond merely pills and measurements are starting to notice noticeable improvements in patients.

http://blog.mynursinguniforms.com/index.php/nurses-put-caring-back-into-healthcare/

The simply act of caring improves not only patient experience, but empirically noted to speed up recovery.

of course there's a differentiation between offering a 'hotel' service at hospital, and offering holistic healthcare.

Healthcare focus is changing in hospitals to encourage different methods of healthcare provision.

Patients can help this process by supporting their nurses who work a tireless and highly stressful job. That goes a long way to help make a stressed patient receive the care they require and usually deserve.