What’s New at PULSE of NY!

See What’s New at PULSE of NY!

January 20, 2011

Caring in a Crisis, Sunday Sermon - January 23, 2011 I will be speaking at the Southold Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Southold, NY.  My sermon is titled “Caring in a Crisis, How You Can Best Step Up to Help the Ones You Love”.  Services begin at 10:30 AM.

An Introduction to Empathy, Wednesday evenings February 2 and 9, 2011  from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM join us in an Introduction to Empathy. To get more information or to register, go to:  Introduction to Empathy

Family Centered Patient Advocate Training, Back by popular demand! May 2, 2011.  Space is strictly limited so register early at FCPA Registration! 

Look what is new to empower patients and families!

Center for Disease Control 

http://www.cdc.gov/

Since 1999, more than 125,000 patients in the United States have been notified of potential exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and HIV due to lapses in basic infection control practices. Many of these lapses involved healthcare providers reusing syringes, resulting in contamination of medication vials or containers which were used later on subsequent patients.   See what is being done to inform the public!  http://www.youtube.com/user/OneandOnlyCampaign

The Joint Commission  

http://www.jointcommission.org/

Released by The Joint Commission, entitled “Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient- and Family-Centered Care: A Roadmap for Hospitals.” Provides recommendations to inspire hospitals to address unique patient needs and comply with new standards for patient-centered communication.

National Patient Safety Foundation   

http://www.npsf.org/

Celebrating Patient Safety Awareness Week March 6-12 Watch the Patient Safety Awareness Week Video

What else is new?

I was a participant at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, IHI patient activists’ meeting in Orlando, FL in December 2010.  Fifty activists from all over the country (and from many other countries) came together to learn from each other and network.  If you are a Patient Safety Activist, see what is being discussed on Facebook at

IHI National Forum Leadership Summit for Patient Activists   

  

See what Doug is doing at PULSE of Florida!  http://www.pulseofflorida.org/

Meet Ted. Ted was misdiagnosed for years until his mother insisted she see doctors who could help and take her concerns seriously. You can see Ted on this video. I blog about my personal relationship with Ted.  You can read my blog here: Rants of a Patient Safety Advocate. 

See what’s new at the PULSE of NY website and keep up on our events and trainings.

PULSE of NY has speakers available and training about patient safety and advocacy for your organization or group from Middle School to Senior Citizens.  Our programs can be developed to your needs.  To learn more about PULSE of NY visit http://www.pulseofny.org/ or call 516.579.4711

If you want to make a tax deductible donation to PULSE of NY, go to Donate Now. 

PULSE of NY Held First Long Island Patient Safety Advocate Training

November 15, 2010

PULSE of NY Held First Long Island Patient Safety Advocate Training
LAKE SUCCESS, NY – PULSE of NY held its first Long Island Patient Safety Advocate Training last week at the North Shore-LIJ Health System’s Center for Learning and Innovation (CLI) and its Patient Safety Institute in Lake Success, attracting 22 community-minded individuals from as far away as Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

The full-day training was taught by PULSE board members Charles Cal, RN, MBA, who is also the Vice President of PULSE of NY and director of program evaluation at the North Shore-LIJ Krasnoff Quality Management Institute, and Leslie Farrington, MD, a gynecologist based on Long Island. In the first part of the program, the group learned about patient safety and hospital policy. It was followed by a discussion about critical communication skills presented by Ilene Corina, President of PULSE of NY and Dr.Farrington. This interactive session taught essential communication skills and empathy.

During the second half of the training, volunteers were introduced to CLI’s Patient Safety Institute, which houses high-tech simulation labs resembling hospital rooms and feature life-like computerized mannequins that respond like actual patients. The facility – one of the largest of its kind in the country -- is used to train doctors, nurses, medical students and other healthcare professionals to hone their clinical skills to prevent medical errors. The Patient Safety Institute is also used to train emergency medical technicians and community groups.

Using the simulation lab, participants had an opportunity to interact with clinicians and practice their communications skills, for instance, when a doctor or nurse didn’t wash their hands, appropriately answer their questions or follow hospital policy on consent for surgery. The training was videotaped and the rest of the group watched from a nearby classroom on a large screen as the situations unfolded. After the scenario, participants joined the group for a debriefing.

“We address the needs of the entire family in our training” explained Ms. Corina. “By using the simulators and the actors, participants are emotionally engaged in the process and learning is enhanced. The hands-on aspect definitely makes a huge impact as opposed to just talking about patient safety.”

Participants received certificates of completion and many will continue their training with PULSE of NY through conference calls or the internet.

For three years, PULSE of NY has brought together a team of community members, physicians, pharmacists, nurses and risk managers who developed the Patient Safety Advocate Training and taught the program in the community. Another Patient Safety Advocate Training is planned for the Spring of 2011.

To learn more, visit http://www.pulseofny.org/ or call (516) 579-4711.

RL Solutions Presents 2010 MITSS HOPE Award to Ilene Corina

November 15, 2010

Sanjay Malaviya, President & CEO, RL Solutions prsents HOPE award to Ilene Corina, President PULSE of NY
RL Solutions Presents 2010 MITSS HOPE Award to Ilene Corina

RL Solutions, developers of innovative and easy-to-use healthcare quality and safety software, announced today that Ilene Corina is the winner of the 2010 MITSS HOPE Award. For the past 12 months, nominations have poured in from acrossNorth America for individuals and organizations that have embodied the MITSS mission: to provide support for patients, families and physicians who are involved in adverse medical events.

Although there were many exceptional submissions this year, the judges selected Ilene Corina, the founder of PULSE of New York, as the nominee who was most representative of MITSS' mission. RL Solutions, the sponsor of this year's HOPE Award, recognized Ms. Corina for her tireless efforts in pursuit of patient safety, advocacy and education. Selected from among 10 finalists, Ilene was awarded $5,000 at the 9th Annual MITSS Dinner and Fundraiser, held at the Westin Copley Place Hotel inBoston, MA on Thursday, November 4th.

"Ilene has experienced the best and worst of our healthcare system and has never wavered from her goal of improving the patient experience," said Sanjay Malaviya, President & CEO of RL Solutions. "We are honored to sponsor the HOPE award and support an outstanding organization such as MITSS. Our small role is especially humbling when we are able to help bring more attention to extraordinary people like Ilene and her inspirational organization, PULSE of New York."

"Not a minute goes by that I am not thinking about patient safety, that I am not passionate about my work or anxious to reach more people," said Ilene Corina, founder of PULSE of NY. "Being awarded this year's MITSS HOPE award helps reaffirm the value of the work that patient safety advocates do each day. It will also help save additional lives, as the services we offer are now more visible to both healthcare consumers and healthcare providers. I can't thank RL Solutions and MITSS enough for this honor."

For more information about Ilene Corina, her organization (PULSE of NY) and other finalists, visit the HOPE Award website at www.mitsshopeaward.org

About RL Solutions
RL Solutions designs innovative healthcare software for patient feedback, incident reporting & risk management, infection surveillance and claims management. At RL Solutions, nurturing long-lasting relationships with our clients is what we do best. We have over 600 clients, including healthcare networks, hospitals, long-term care facilities and more. RL Solutions is a global company with offices in Canada, the United States, Australia and the UK. For more information, visit www.rlsolutions.com.

About MITSS
MITSS is a non-profit corporation with headquarters in Chestnut Hill, MA, who is Supporting Healing and Restoring Hope to patients, families and clinicians impacted by medical errors and adverse events. For more information, please visit www.mitss.org.

About PULSE of NY
Since 1997, PULSE of has been dedicated to raising awareness about patient safety and reducing medical errors through advocacy, education and support. PULSE of NY works to empower the public to make informed decisions, increase effective communication and respect between healthcare providers and the public, and creates community partnerships that will foster and ultimately lead to safer healthcare environments. Learn more at www.pulseofny.o rg.

PULSE of NY Offers an Introduction to Empathy

An Introduction to Empathy -- Learning How to Connect with Others


Empathy is a respectful understanding of what others are experiencing, but most of us learn early on that we are expected to "fix-it" when others are in pain.


Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."


• Learn listening skills and how to offer empathy at home, at work and anywhere that you want to connect with someone.
• Practice listening skills.
• Connect with the feelings and needs of yourself and others.


When: Wednesday evenings, February 2 and February 9 (attendance at both is recommended)
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Where: South Nassau Unitarian Universalist Congregation
228 South Ocean Ave, Freeport, NY
Cost: Recommended donation for both evenings $15.00 to be paid at first session.

We encourage small groups so we anticipate that this program will be filled early. Register early here

 About the instructors: Anne Fleming and Barbara Singer have been facilitating Compassionate Communication classes at the South Nassau Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Freeport since 2005. Their 13-week course is presented on Saturday mornings in the fall and spring of each year. The next session begins Saturday, February 5.

Gynecologist Opens Patient Centered Practice on Long Island

Gynecologist Opens Patient Centered Practice on Long Island

For many women a visit to the gynecologist means sitting in a waiting room for what feels like an eternity, then a visit with a doctor that feels like a flash. A quick exam, the chart abruptly closes and the doctor vanishes.

Dr. Leslie Farrington has reversed this trend for her patients. Looking for a new mode of healthcare delivery, Dr. Farrington has opened a “ patient centered” practice in Freeport, New York. “Patient centered” is when doctors treat patients as partners, involving them in planning their health care and encouraging them to take responsibility for their own health.

Research shows that patients’ health is more likely to improve when they are allowed to help shape their treatment plans. To do this, Dr. Farrington has slowed down the pace with patients. Because she schedules no more than two patients an hour, Dr. Farrington is able to offer more personalized care and help patients to better understand and get more involved in their own care – however long it takes.

Farrington worked for 26 years as obstetrician-gynecologist, delivering babies and performing surgeries in a large, busy medical practice. But the scheduling crush left her scant time to partner with patients on their healthcare. Her decision to move to a different model stemmed from her involvement in the patient safety movement.

Four years ago, Dr. Farrington joined PULSE of NY, a community based patient safety organization. She studied Compassionate Communication – a system that helps people speak and listen in ways that inspire compassion. She applied those techniques to her practice, eliciting more information from patients by asking them what they felt or thought about their healthcare information. Later, Dr. Farrington, joined the PULSE Board of Trustees and became an advocate for doctors partnering with patients to improve healthcare and reduce medical errors. “Patients should be treated as members of the team, with respect, honesty and compassion,”

Dr. Farrington said. “I want to be able to spend more time with patients so I can learn more about them and diagnose them with care.” Dr. Farrington opened a new modern doctor’s office in Freeport that puts the patient in the center. Her office is equipped with a table that lowers to allow easy access for patients in wheelchairs. She makes patient safety literature available, invites patients to ask questions and encourages them to participate in their care.

PULSE President Ilene Corina applauded the principals of a patient centered practice: “Putting the patient on center stage helps improve health care quality and reduce medical errors. A stronger alliance between doctor and patient takes time to build and provides a higher level of care and patient satisfaction.”

To learn more call Dr. Farrington at: 516-355-0101 or email drfarrington@ vzw.blackberry.net To learn more about choosing a doctor who is “patient centered” or making your practice patient centered, call PULSE of NY at (516) 579-4711.

Family Centered Patient Advocacy Training

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(October 6, 2010) Long Island’s first community based patient safety advocate training will be held on November 1, 2010 in Lake Success. The PULSE of NY, program called Family Centered Patient Advocacy Training will focus on the family, friends and community helping a patient through medical treatment including an injury, long term diagnosis or surgery.

According to a 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine, as many as 98,000 people die in hospitals each year from preventable medical errors. Many more are injured or die in nursing homes or at home. A 2006 IOM study showed that medication errors injure 1.5 Million people and cost billions of dollars annually. The recommendation for improvement includes steps to improve communication and interactions between health care professionals and patients.

In 2006 PULSE of NY, a grassroots patient safety organization, studied the role of the patient and family and the expected relationship between the patient’s community support system and the healthcare system. Through focus groups, surveys and interviews, PULSE of NY developed the handbook “Family Centered Patient Advocacy.” A curriculum was built around the information from that book and small group trainings have been offered since 2007. The training has evolved to include Critical Communication skills, simulations of true experiences and quizzes to test the audience’s skills.

This full day of training will cover skills needed to help a family member feel empowered, understand the healthcare system better, or begin a new career of advocacy.

“We focus on safety,” says Ilene Corina, President and founder of PULSE of NY. “While we are being encouraged to partner with the medical team, no one has given us the skills to do that.” Corina has been a bedside advocate and has been helping families understand their rights in hospitals for the past three years. She has been a patient safety educator on Long Island since 1997 and lectures extensively throughout the country at medical conferences and communities about the patient and family role in patient safety.

Classes will be small so early registration is encouraged. Register here.

PULSE Patient Safety Advisory Council

Patient Safety Advisory Council Issues Final Report
Safe care requires communication, honesty between patient and provider

(September 9, 2010) PULSE of New York, a grassroots patient safety advocacy organization headquartered in Nassau County, NY, today released the final report of its Long Island Community-Based Patient Safety Advisory Council (PSAC). This advisory council was formed more than a year ago by Ilene Corina, founder of PULSE and the first Long Islander to be named an American Hospital Association Patient Safety Fellow. The PSAC itself became her fellowship project and through her interactions with PSAC members the unique needs of different patient populations, such as the disabled, transgender, and Hispanic, were revealed.

“The purpose of the Patient Safety Advisory Council was to learn from those representing different patient populations about each groups’ specific needs to ensure they receive safe, quality care no matter their situation,” said Corina. “The next step is making all health care providers aware of the needs of these patient populations who may have been overlooked in the past.”

The Long Island hospital community, which has long focused on patient safety and quality improvement efforts, provided partial funding for the AHA Fellowship project through the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council (NSHC), the association that represents all hospitals on Long Island, by a separate grant from the 15-hospital North Shore-LIJ Health System, also a Hospital Council member and the Long Island Community Foundation.

“The overarching goal of the PSAC is to enhance communication between patient and provider which is the best way to improve health literacy”, says Corina. The report outlines projects to meet that goal. Transgender patients, for example, typically encounter health providers who are insensitive, often unknowingly, to the physical and emotional needs of this transforming patient group. The report suggests staff training using films and testimonials as one way to improve the delivery of care for these patients. Among many Spanish-speaking patients there is little to no comprehension when it comes to advanced directives. Two PSAC members produced films in both Spanish and English that introduce patients to their right to have a translator and present an overview of advanced directives. Another project seeks to mitigate the misuse of prescription drugs, especially pain killers, through an educational pamphlet distributed at the time of hospital discharge, when medication is prescribed in the physician’s office, and when medication is purchased at the pharmacy.

“We were very pleased to support PULSE of New York and the work of Ms. Corina and the Patient Safety Advisory Council,” said Kevin Dahill, president/CEO of the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council and the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association. “Our hospitals engage in patient safety and performance improvement initiatives every day. An organization like PULSE helps improve outcomes for all with its emphasis on communication and an empowered patient.”

“With the leadership of Ms. Corina, a compassionate and highly knowledgeable advocate, PULSE of New York has helped patients and families across the region cope with adverse medical events experienced in healthcare facilities,” said Kenneth Abrams, MD, North Shore-LIJ’s senior vice president of clinical operations. “The final PSAC report demonstrates that hospitals must be patient-centered; create open and honest dialogue among healthcare providers and patients; and emphasize patient safety at every level of an institution.”

PULSE of New York is seeking funding to continue the Patient Safety Advisory Council and its work with these and other community groups that represent different patient populations and their unique safety concerns.

About PULSE: PULSE is a nonprofit 501 (c)3 grassroots organization dedicated to raising awareness about patient safety and reducing medical errors through advocacy, education, and support. We work to empower the public to make informed decisions, increase effective communication and respect between healthcare providers and the public, and create community partnerships that will foster and ultimately lead to safer healthcare environments.

About Nassau Suffolk Hospital Council: The Nassau Suffolk Hospital Council helps enhance health care for all Long Islanders by representing the interests of its member hospitals before lawmakers, regulatory agencies, the media, and the public.