Vascular Access Group on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a tremendous information resource for professionals. But for the most part those in nursing – especially professionals with an interest in infusion therapy and vascular access – have been underrepresented on LinkedIn.

No more! We’ve just established a new forum for vascular access professionals on LinkedIn. It’s open to anyone interested in the field, who wants to read or post about issues and questions pertaining to vascular access.

We hope you’ll consider joining the group. To do so, go to http://www.LinkedIn.com. Join LinkedIn if you are not already a member, then search the “Groups” function for the phrase “vascular access.”

Thanks, and we hope to see you over on LinkedIn soon.

Patient Safety Gets a Certification Program — At Last

More than a decade after patient safety hit the national agenda with the publication of the Institute of Medicine’s “To Err Is Human” report, someone is finally putting together a certification program for professionals involved in ensuring patient safety.

The leading group in this field, the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), has just launched the certification program. It’s designed to standardize a curriculum, elevate the profession and share best practices.

“Patient safety is a top priority for our healthcare system,” said Dr. Lucian L. Leape, chair of the Lucian Leape Institute at NPSF. “But we will not be able to truly move the needle until those who are involved in the practice have the knowledge base necessary to do the job. The certification program is an essential element in that quest.”

Dr. David Shulkin attempted as far back as the late 1990s to highlight the profession through creation of the Patient Safety Officers Society. PSOS got some early traction but hasn’t been active for several years. Dr. Shulkin is now president of Morristown (N.J.) Memorial Hospital and vice president of its parent, Atlantic Health.

This time around, NPSF reports, membership in the American Society of Professionals in Patient Safety is open to professionals whose primary responsibility is patient safety as well as others across the healthcare disciplines.

Our view: The patient safety field represents the essential nexus of numerous healthcare fields, and NPSF’s new initiative represents a major step forward in better protecting patients. More details at http://npsf.org/pr/pressrel/2010-12-22.php.

 

TV Appearance by Greg Dennis

Greg Dennis got his 10 seconds of fame on Vermont television over the last few days. His comments about the opening of the new bridge in downtown Middlebury, Vt., where Greg lives, were featured in a report on Channel 5, the local NBC affiliate. The Middlebury bridge was a joint effort between the town and Middlebury College. http://www.wptz.com/news/25542401/detail.html

PR Spending Rises, Even in Recession

The respected Economist magazine reports that even in this horrible recession, corporate spending on public relations is on the rise.

“According to data from Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), a private-equity firm, spending on public relations in America grew by more than 4% in 2008 and nearly 3% in 2009 to $3.7 billion,” the magazine writes. “That is remarkable when compared with other forms of marketing. Spending on advertising contracted by nearly 3% in 2008 and by 8% in the past year. PR’s position looks even rosier when word-of-mouth marketing, which includes services that PR firms often manage, such as outreach to bloggers, is included. Spending on such
things increased by more than 10% in 2009.”

Why the rise?

Part of the answer is that PR is so cost-effective, at a time when
everyone is carefully counting dollars. In healthcare, ad dollars have been shrinking because advertising is very costly and far less credible than media coverage and other awareness-building achievements generated by good PR. Moreover, the increasing need for businesses to be involved in social media — where PR shines in delivering the message — also drives investments.

Excelsior, Novian Added as New Clients

We’re happy to report that even in the economic downturn, we’ve added two new clients:

* Excelsior Medical is a leading maker of prefilled catheter flush syringes. The company is also launching an exciting new technology called SwabCap™. This product promises to pioneer more effective prevention of potentially deadly catheter-related bloodstream infections.

SwabCap provides passive, verifiable disinfection of the top and threads of luer access valves. These valves are a critical part of providing IV medication and nutrition. Both the Joint Commission and SHEA/IDSA Compendium have new guidelines calling for hospitals to have a specific disinfection protocol– meaning Excelsior expects strong demand for SwabCap as part of the company’s focus on preventing intra-luminal contamination of catheters. http://www.ExcelsiorMedical.com

*Novian Health makes the Novilase™ laser ablation device to treat fibroadenomas of the breast. These non-cancerous lumps are a troubling breast health problem for many women. Novilase provides a minimally invasive alternative to surgical lumpectomy, with no scarring and less infection risk. Novilase is FDA-cleared for treating fibroadenomas. http://novianhealth.com