Wednesday | March 29, 2023

Healthcare starts with you. This is your beat.

☀️ Happy hump day, TNB fam!

It’s true; safe staffing saves lives. A nurse can’t provide quality and safe patient care without safe staffing. So I give a big round of applause to the ED charge nurses at UCSF, who took a stand with their administration for the safety and well-being of their patients. Bravo.

Stay curious!

Hannah B.

COO | The Nursing Beat

MORNING BRIEF 🍳 ☕️

UCSF Hospital Nurses’ Call for Safer ER Conditions Remains Unanswered

Last month, 125 charge nurses from the University of California San Francisco Parnassus Hospital ER sent a petition to hospital leadership about unsafe conditions impacting patient care. The petition included a list of changes leadership could make to improve situations, such as canceling elective surgeries, increasing staff coverage, and maintaining sufficient supply levels, including for things like wheelchairs and cardiac monitors. Unfortunately, six weeks later and the administration has yet to respond. 

The conditions in the ER have gotten dangerous. Rooms are so full that patients are spilling out into the hallways — filling those spaces as well. Some sick patients wait days to be treated while sitting on hallway beds not outfitted with oxygen, suction, or monitoring equipment. Cleanliness has taken a nosedive; some areas reek of feces and vomit. Patients are sometimes sent to the organ transplant unit, where nurses are already focused on transplant patients.

Pilots of Small Planes Have Been Flying People to Nearby States for Abortion Care

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, we knew that women in conservative, anti-abortion states would start making the sometimes long trek to other states where abortion would still be legal. The same goes for those seeking gender-affirming care in states where that’s become contentious. One thing we didn’t expect was pilots ferrying patients across state lines to receive the care they need. 

The pilots are volunteers with Elevated Access, a clandestine Illinois-based group whose work falls into “gray legal territory,” according to NPR. With their help, a trip that would typically take multiple days is cut down to just a few hours. Elevated Access makes the flights free and virtually anonymous — all pilots know are the passengers’ first names and weights. And to protect pilots from lawsuits or other legal troubles, pilots do not ask passengers why they’re traveling, providing plausible deniability

Virginia Nurse Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter in Patient’s Death

Last August, a Virginia adult detention center patient informed deputies that he was having trouble breathing. After the patient became unconscious, medical staff performed CPR and used an AED on him. He was transported to Sovah Health Martinsville, where he was pronounced dead. And the nurse on duty, Deborah Sue Damron, has now been indicted by a grand jury of involuntary manslaughter for his death. 

A medical examiner determined the patient died from acute fentanyl toxicity with adrenal crisis, which investigators allege was due to lack of proper care. According to police, video evidence shows that Damron didn’t perform the required medical checks on the patient. Investigators also say Damron also falsified the patient’s medical records, making it appear that she performed the rounds and vital checks she needed to.

COMMUNITY PICKS 🌼 

If you love nursing and social change, you’ll love the nurse-founded company Riot Healers. Their thoughtfully and artfully designed products are geared toward human rights, health equity, and social justice.

🔎 NOBC INSIGHTS powered by

When Leadership is about Exposure

Board service, a very specific type of leadership, is not something many people are exposed to. Most of us don’t even know who sits on the board of the companies we work for, and yet, the board makes so many decisions that impact us. For underrepresented groups, exposure to board leadership is even less likely. Board leadership does not feel like it is meant for us. If you are a nurse serving on a board, I’d like to ask a favor: invite another nurse to visit your board during an open session to allow them to see a functioning board. Inviting them in as an observer will expose them to a new world of possibilities: one in which there is a seat at the table for them too. Sometimes leadership is about increasing access through exposure.

Samantha Beaver | Linguist; Author; Senior Workplace Communications Analyst; Communications and Research Consultant; NOBC News Editor

Memra Language Services | Nurses on Boards Coalition

⚖️ Raising the Bar powered by

The Future of Nursing: AI and Its Impact on Nurses

Nurses analyze large amounts of data to identify patterns and predict potential health risks, allowing for earlier interventions and improved outcomes. Nurses will leverage AI to make this process easier. AI-powered tools can help with staffing and scheduling, optimizing nurse schedules to ensure adequate coverage and reduce burnout. We know that educating nurses in situations of crisis can be difficult. Still, AI can provide patients with personalized education and guidance, improving patient outcomes and reducing the burden on nurses.

While AI has the potential to benefit nursing practice significantly, it’s important to note that it can only operate with accurate data and expert-level input that nurses provide. Nevertheless, AI is the future of nurses, and the impact will be significant. It will not eliminate as many jobs as people think, but it will enhance the care and workflow of those who still work at the bedside.

Irnise F. Williams, Esq. is a nurse and principal attorney at The Law Office of Irnise F. Williams, LLC. You can learn more about her practice at www.irnisewilliams.com. You can follow her on all social media platforms @yournurselawyer.

DAILY DIVERSION 💊

Cultures worldwide have been celebrating the arrival of spring — a time of rebirth and new beginnings — with festivals for centuries, if not millennia. Many of these traditions are still around today! These include Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain, Holi in India and Nepal, Spring Equinox in Mexico, and Nowruz in Iran and other countries, among others.

🤯 ONE BIG NUMBER

Thanks for reading! 🤓