There Are Caregivers Out There…And They Are Us!

Below is a letter ASG received from the Director of the DNP Program at Robert Morris University, Dr. Susan Van Cleve.

This letter is addressing the fact that a bill has been introduced to Congress to allow APNs to practice independently as Full Practice Providers within the Veterans Hospital Administration (VHA). There are two Congressmen opposing the bill. ASG urges you to write (email) your Congress Representative to get them to support this bill because it could change the entire dynamics of ALL APNs within healthcare. Kim Riviello has already emailed Rep. Richard Adams in the district where she lives to support this bill.  She has also asked him to consider supporting a bill to allow this same legislation to occur within the state of Ohio. Prior to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) the VHA was suffering from a shortage of healthcare providers to support the veterans.  If the enactment of Obamacare the VHA as well as the state of Ohio are taking on more individuals in need of care.  Ohio has increased the number of individuals in need of care by 30,000+. In order for these patients to receive QUALITY care the number of care givers must increase. There care givers are out there….they are us.  So write your Congress Representative to support this legislation and encourage them to consider the same for our state. 

"Dear Students and Faculty,

Please take a few minutes to write a letter or email  to your senators and representatives  to ask that they not support aDear Colleague letter being circulated by Reps. Michael Grimm (R-NY) and Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) regarding the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) guidelines to modernize its Nursing Handbook. The VHA has proposed to allow advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to be recognized as Full Practice Providers within the VHA system. Reps. Grimm’s and Kirkpatrick’s letter opposes this proposal supporting APRNs to practice to the full extent of their education and training.

If APRNs could become recognized by the Veteran’s Administration, this would be huge step forward for removing scope of practice barriers.

Please see the information attached to this email on how to contact your elected officials. Remember, it takes a village…

Susan N. Van Cleve DNP, CPNP-PC, PMHS

Associate Professor, Interim Director of the DNP Program
Robert Morris University
School of Nursing and Health Sciences
224 John Jay
6001 University Blvd.
Moon Township, PA 15108"

CLICK HERE to get more information and contact your representative.

A Retrospective Study of A Gastroenterology Facility: Are the Patients Sicker?

With the ever increasing number of outpatient surgeries coupled with advancement in technology for non-invasive procedures and shorter acting anesthetics, more and more patients are being treated at freestanding surgery facilities. However, the trend in patient co-morbities has also risen, increasing the risk of providing anesthesia even though the procedures are so-called "low-risk". This makes one wonder are the patients being treated in freestanding surgery facilities really sicker than they appear? And therefore is their patient safety at risk?

In this excerpt from her dissertation titled A Retrospective Study of A Gastroenterology Facility:Are The Patients Sicker, Kim Riviello DNP, MBA/HCM, CRNA, President of ASG, will discuss the concerns for patient safety in freestanding surgery facilities, despite the procedures being considered "low-risk".

There has been substantial growth in the number of ambulatory surgery centers across the United States. With the advancement in technology for non-invasive procedures, and shorter acting anesthetics, more patients are being seen in the freestanding surgery facility (FSF). However, the trend in patient co-morbidities, i.e., obesity, diabetes, cardiac, and respiratory diseases has also risen, increasing the anesthetic risk even though low risk procedures are performed. The most common malpractice claims have been associated with diagnostic procedures performed in ambulatory surgery centers under monitored anesthesia care (MAC) with patient co-morbidities as contributing factors. The morbidity and mortality of ambulatory surgery patients has led to an increased concern for patient safety in freestanding facilities. Of particular concern is sedation, specifically in gastroenterology (GI) centers. Yet, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently reported that two-thirds of the anesthesia procedures provided during colonoscopies and endoscopies (EGDs) were on “low-risk patients;” suggesting the lack of need for professionally administered anesthesia in GI facilities and implying that specialist monitored anesthesia would contribute to the increased cost of these procedures (Liu, Waxman, Main, & Mattke, 2012). 

Download PDF to continue reading.