Thursday Gazette
New Horizons looks at ventilator-associated events
Yesterday afternoon’s New Horizons Symposium brought attendees up to speed on ventilator-associated events (VAEs) and the surveillance used to track them. Speakers included Michael Klompas MD MPH, Rajiv Dhand MD FAARC FCCP, Thomas Piraino RRT, Brady Scott MS RRT FAARC, and Rich Kallet MSc RRT FAARC. Lectures addressed everything from the role of specialty tubes in preventing VAE to an overview of guidelines and bundles and what the evidence has to say about them.
Service member salute
AARC President Karen Schell participates in the Flag Folding Ceremony.
AARC members who are serving our country today, or have served it in the past, received special recognition during a Flag Folding Ceremony that took place this morning. Joseph Buhain EdD RRT FAARC, Harry Roman MA RRT FAARC, and Wadie Williams Jr. MS RRT presided over the ceremony.
A special call out went to Master Sergeant Thomas Wallsmith, the only RT known to have been killed in the line of duty. And a very special tribute to World War II vets was made via a slideshow featuring family members of AARC members who served. The show ran before and after the ceremony.
Attendees who were on hand to witness this moving tribute to those who have sacrificed so much so that the rest of us can live in the land of the free and the home of the brave walked away grateful to have had the chance to pay their respects to their fellow AARC members who are wearing or have worn the uniform.
Phil Kittredge Memorial Lecture: Journey to Zero Harm — Developing a Culture of Safety
Hospitals are places to go to recover from illness or injury. Unfortunately, they are also places where vulnerable patients pick up nosocomial infections.
Michael Anderson MD MBA is an international expert in patient safety, and tomorrow morning he will share his expertise and insights with Congress-goers in a session aimed at outlining the steps we’ll all have to take on the journey to zero harm.
“Hospitals are complex, busy, and sometimes stressful worlds,” says Dr. Anderson. “It is a foundational role for all members of the health care team to focus on safety — every patient and every day. We will explore the why and the how.”
Dr. Anderson believes these strategies can and should be implemented in every medical facility to advance a culture of safety that will result in fewer patients leaving the hospital with a greater burden of illness than they came in with.
Michael Anderson is president of the University of California San Francisco’s Benioff Children’s Hospital and a pediatric critical care specialist who has published and presented on topics ranging from patient safety to pediatric disaster preparedness. He was appointed by President George W Bush to serve as vice chair of the National Commission on Children and Disasters and by President Barrack Obama to chair the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters at HHS.
Top abstracts spotlighted in Editors’ Choice
A large crowd was present for the Open Forum Editor’s Choice presentations.
The top 10 abstracts accepted for this year’s Open Forum took center stage this morning in the Editors’ Choice session. Each author presented a short slide show with his or her findings, then answered questions from the audience.
Here are the abstracts that made the grade —
- Noninvasive Ventilation Device-Related Pressure Injury in Pediatrics: A Correlation Study – Denise L Lauderbaugh RRT RRT-NPS, San Diego, CA
- A Respiratory Therapist-Driven Asthma Pathway Reduces Hospital Length of Stay in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit – Kaitlyn E Haynes RRT RRT-NPS, Durham, NC
- Novel Endotracheal Tube for Monitoring Static Lung Compliance in Real-Time – Michael D Davis PhD RRT, Richmond, VA
- A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effectiveness of Lung Expansion Therapy Following Upper Abdominal Surgery in Adult Human Subjects – Daniel D Rowley MSc RRT RRT-ACCS FAARC, Charlottesville, VA
- Does Acetic Acid Solution Decrease Trach Stoma Site Infections Compared to Sterile Water When Used as a Daily Cleaning Task for Patients With Tracheostomy Tube Under One Year of Age? – Teresa G Zustiak CRT CRT-NPS, Minneapolis, MN
- Sustained Effectiveness of Aerosolized Prostacyclin in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome – Gregory S Burns RRT, San Francisco, CA
- Characteristics of Unplanned Extubation Events in The Critical Care Setting – Travis J Summers RRT, San Francisco, CA
- Changes in Respiratory Parameters After Caffeine Administration in Mechanically Ventilated Premature Neonates – Danielle Lazarus Camacho RRT, San Diego, CA
- Success of a Tobacco Cessation Program for Parents at a Children’s Hospital – Leighann Sweeney RRT RRT-NPS CTTS-M, Philadelphia, PA
- Impact of A Respiratory Therapist Home Visit Program Post Hospitalization to Decrease Readmission and ER Visits for COPD Patients in a Primary Care Network – Rebecca Kopelen RRT, Falls Church, VA
The Open Forum is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Monaghan.