NEWS BRIEFS
NEWS BRIEFS
Coordinate education across continuum
To help coordinate patient education across the continuum of care, representatives from the patient education and cardiac departments at Grant/Riverside Methodist Hospitals in Columbus, OH, have begun to meet with representatives from the cardiology practices that perform surgery at the hospitals.
During the first round of meetings, the hospital’s patient education manager, cardiac rehab staff, outcome managers, and cardiac educators meet with one physician and nurse from each practice individually, says BJ Hansen, BSN, patient education coordinator at Grant/Riverside.
"We meet to see how we can improve; for example, what teaching needs to be reinforced or how we can streamline the process by making only one phone call rather than have the physician office and cardiac rehab call the patient after discharge," explains Hansen.
Once the meetings with the individual practices are complete, hospital staff and representatives from each practice plan to meet biannually in a large group.
For more information, contact: BJ Hansen, BSN, Patient Education Coordinator, Grant/ Riverside Methodist Hospitals, 111 South Grant Ave., Columbus, OH 43215. Telephone: (614) 566-5613. Fax: (614) 566-8067. E-mail: bhansen@ ohiohealth.com.
Dedicated teaching area can improve learning
Some health care facilities have dedicated learning centers where patients and family members go to learn medical skills. Yet most institutions don’t have the extra space.
That was the case at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics in Salt Lake City. Therefore, staff in the bone marrow transplant program use the conference room as a teaching area. In this room, they demonstrate the use of medical equipment and have the family caregiver demonstrate back.
"The home care nurse spends a lot of time with the caregiver. We have practice equipment set up in the conference room so they work there, and then we have them work the equipment with the patient. We want to make sure they are maintaining sterile techniques and understand how to work the pump and different lines," says Robin Phillips, MSN, RNC, nurse manager for the bone marrow transplant program at the health care facility.
For more information contact: Robin Phillips, MSN, RNC, Nurse Manager, Bone Marrow Transplant Program, University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, 50 North Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132. Telephone: (801) 581-2780. Fax: (801) 585-2098. E-mail: [email protected].
Handbooks help manage chronic conditions
Channing L. Bete Company has developed handbooks to promote patient involvement in the management of chronic diseases and conditions. Topics covered by the booklets include:
• helping your child manage asthma;
• learning to live with heart failure;
• living well with diabetes;
• hope and help for depression;
• learning to live with COPD;
• stress management.
Handbooks cost $2.50 each with discounts available for multiple orders. Shipping and handling begins at $5.75.
For more information on the handbooks or to order, contact: Channing L. Bete Co., 200 State Road, South Deerfield, MA 01373-0200. Telephone: (800) 628-7733. Fax: (413) 665-2671. Web site: www.channing.bete.com.
Keep library Web list at nursing stations
The patient library Web site list at USC/Kenneth Norris Jr. Cancer Hospital is about to become part of the directory of patient education materials planned for each unit.
"For each nursing station, we are assembling a small notebook with resources available for patient education. At each nursing station where there is a computer, we’ll include the Web site list. We find that nurses are currently going onto the Web and getting National Cancer Institute information and printing it at the station for patients," says Ellen Sitton, MSN, OCN, advanced practice nurse in ambulatory care at the Los Angeles hospital and co-chair of the patient education committee.
The 23-page list has the names of health care-related Internet site addresses. The list briefly explains how to access a Web site on the Internet. Its purpose is to make computer access easier for people who come to the library to research a condition. The list also provides direction so people can find the information quickly, explains Sitton.
For more information, contact: Ellen Sitton, MSN, OCN, USC/ Kenneth Norris Jr. Cancer Hospital, 1441 Eastlake Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033-0804. Telephone: (213) 764-3085. Fax: (213) 764-0000. E-mail: [email protected].
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