Author Archives: Barbara

One morning, an 84-year-old retired NYPD officer fell in his home. His wife called the Emergency Medical Service (EMS). However, rather than responding and transporting him to the Emergency Department at a local hospital, a Paramedic assessed him for trauma, … Continue reading →

There is just no great way to say it. Healthcare in the US is not as safe as most of us think it is. Medical errors unfortunately do happen in healthcare. There is plenty of blame to go around – … Continue reading →

After being in the business nearly forty years, I have come to realize I no longer (and perhaps never did) understand the meaning of the word “healthcare.” The concept of “healthcare” is malleable; it morphs into every size, shape, application, … Continue reading →

During my four decades in healthcare, “sacred” routine of patient safety (consisting of side rails and restraints) and concerns about making patients feel “dirty” (by wearing gloves while providing care) have disappeared.  Along the way, I replaced those concepts with … Continue reading →

Implementing and maintaining change has become an enormous challenge within healthcare. It is little wonder. Continuous improvement efforts occur within a complex industry as transformational change is rocking its long-established business model. As a result, improvement has never been more … Continue reading →

Proving what millions of Americans have long contended, the benefits of Yoga are showing up in scientific studies today and well beyond anecdotal stories. Furthermore,Yoga is becoming an ideal healthy prescription for so many of us. According to studies, Yoga … Continue reading →

Perhaps you have squirted a yellow packet of lemon juice onto your hot dog thinking it was mustard instead. Sometimes such mistakes are funny or just annoying – sometimes they can be very serious. Similar Look-Alike or Sound-Alike occurrences have … Continue reading →

I encountered a moment of truth while creating an online interactive class regarding Risk Management in healthcare recently. I had presented information about the importance to integrate risk management thinking into everyone’s job; in essence to critically question, “what can … Continue reading →

OK, ok. I get it. Wash your hands. Do it often and do it well. I have been an RN forever and sometimes I swear I can feel Kooties on my hands. I take advantage of every opportunity to obliterate … Continue reading →

Something amazing happened the other day. I found a treasure I unwittingly buried for myself five years ago. While cleaning out a file cabinet at home, I discovered the notes I compiled while studying for my CPHQ (Certified Professional in … Continue reading →