News
Dr. Skiba to keynote Consortium's February conference on Technology & Nursing
 
Diane J. Skiba, PhD, FACMI, ANEF, FAAN, Professor and Specialty Director, Health Care Informatics at the University of Colorado College of Nursing will keynote the Nursing Consortium of South Florida's next education conference.
Technology & Nursing: Enhancing High Touch through High Tech will take place at the Signature Grand on February 26, 2016.  Dr. Skiba is an internationally recognized leader for her work preparing of health care professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to practice in a technology-rich health care environment. Make plans to join us as we focus on how technology is changing nursing and how nursing is leveraging and shaping technology.  The deadline for submitting abstracts for poster presentations on successful initiatives that utilize technology to improve patient care and nursing student education has been extended to through January 15, 2016. Please click here for information on the limited number of program sponsorship opportunities and exhibitor tables available for this one-day conference.  The last three Consortium conferences sold-out in advance.  Don’t just save the date, register today and save!
 
Know a Health Care Hero?
         
The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce has extended the deadline for submitting nominations its Health Care Heroes Awards to Tuesday January 15.  Please consider making a nomination for the nurse category and help get recognition for that special colleague that is making an extraordinary impact in South Florida and beyond .  For a nomination form, please click here.  For additional information please click here or contact Tania Valenzuela attvalenzuela@miamichamber.com or 305-577-5491.
                             
FIU Dean Honored Among South Florida Women of Distinction
                  
Florida International University (FIU) Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences Dean Ora Lea Strickland, PhD, RN was honored by the Plaza Health Network charitable foundation, at its Sixth Annual Women of Distinction & Caring Luncheon, for her key role in founding the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR) and for her work as a founding member of the Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research (FNINR).  The event was held in Miami at Jungle Island’s Treetop Ballroom on Thursday, November 5, 2015 was attended by more than 300 community leaders.  Dean Strickland is a Director of the Nursing Consortium of South Florida and the organization’s Treasurer.
 
Legislation funding federal programs through FY 2016 increases funding for nursing programs
              
Last month, the President signed House and Senate passed legislation funding federal programs through fiscal year 2016.  Among other health care provisions, the legislation increases funding from FY 2015 levels by $2 billion for the National Institutes of Health; $300 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and increases funding for NURSE Corps loan repayment and scholarship programs by $1.35 million and advanced nursing education by $1 million. 
             
ASPR seeks input to inform Hospital Preparedness Program updates
              
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response encourages hospitals to participate in recently opened discussions on its Information Exchange about updating the Hospital Preparedness Program’s health care preparedness capabilities and performance measures. To register for the Technical Resources, Assistance Center and Information Exchange, please click here. All registrants are vetted before admission to the Information Exchange. For additional information or assistance, contact the ASPR TRACIE Assistance Center.
                                     
Congress urged to reauthorize nursing workforce development programs
                
The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing in December on several health care-related bills, including the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2713). Introduced by Reps. Lois Capps (D-CA) and David Joyce (R-OH), the legislation would reauthorize the Health Resources and Services Administration’s nursing workforce development programs through fiscal year 2020, and update the programs to reflect current nursing roles and practices. Nursing Community, a coalition of 55 nursing organizations, provided testimony in support for the legislation at the hearing. “Regional demands for nursing services, coupled with an aging nursing workforce, contribute to a projected need that will outweigh supply if current entry rates into the profession continue,” stated Suzanne Miyamoto, PHD, RN, FAAN. “Therefore, it is essential that our nursing pipeline has the support of Title VIII programs to address these workforce challenges and increase the number of individuals entering into the registered nursing workforce.”
     
OSHA webpage focuses on preventing violence in health care settings
                    
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has created a new webpage featuring strategies and tools for preventing workplace violence in health care settings. According to OSHA, the rate of serious workplace violence incidents was more than four times higher in health care settings than the private industry average. The webpage is designed to support OSHA's Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workerswhich details the five components of an effective workplace violence prevention program.
 
Consortium announces rate reduction on its 2nd Nursing Leadership Development Conference at Sea 
 
Thought all the great sales on the stuff you really wanted are over?  Guess again! You can attend the Consortium’s second Sea-E-You™ conference at sea at reduced prices starting at only $470.00 per person (interior cabin / double occupancy), including program registration, port fees, and taxes!  Awakening the Leader Within – Empowering Nurses across the Career Spectrum, will be held aboard the Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas April 14-18, 2016.  This unique 10 contact hours leadership development program will feature six co-facilitated educational seminars and four facilitated roundtable discussions in a unique setting to enhance the opportunity of nurses at all levels to formally and informally engage senior nurse leaders and aspiring nurse leaders while enjoying the four-night weekend cruise aboard a five star cruise ship. For additional information, please call 800-422-0711.  There are a limited number of sponsor opportunities available.  The cruise conference now has a Facebook page; "like" it and send us a friend request today.
           
CCPS Fall 2016 Placement Cycle Dates Set
             
The Nursing Consortium has established the dates for scheduling student nurse clinical experiences via the Centralized Clinical Placement System (CCPS) it administers.  Clinical Agencies will establish unit availability by extending their end dates via the CCPS from Monday, March 7 through Sunday, March 13.  On Monday March 14 through Sunday, March 27, schools are to submit their placement requests through the CCPS.  Clinical Agencies will respond to placement requests from Monday, March 28 through Sunday, April 10.  The vast majority of hospitals and nursing schools in Miami Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties use the CCPS to schedule student nurse clinical experiences and an increasing number are also using the system to schedule clinical experiences for allied health students,” noted Sue Medina, CCPS Resource Manager.  For more information on how the CCPS can reduce the time required to schedule student clinicals, please send an email to CCPS@nursingconsortium.us or call (561) 633-5574.
 
Report: Nursing making progress on path to transformation

The nation has made significant progress toward transforming nursing roles, responsibilities and education to meet the promise of a reformed health care system and the nation's health needs, according to a report released by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The report assesses progress since the Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report on the future of nursing and identifies areas that should be emphasized over the next five years, including efforts to remove scope-of-practice barriers, strengthen pathways to higher education, increase workforce diversity and improve the collection of workforce-related data. 
                 
ONC issues final 2016 Interoperability Standards Advisory
               
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has released its  2016 Interoperability Standards Advisory, which provides an updated list of the “best available” standards and implementation specifications to meet specific interoperability needs for clinical health IT. The 2016 Interoperability Standards Advisory includes a “projected additions” section to identify new interoperability needs suggested by stakeholders; and a summary of public comments that were not incorporated into the final advisory and ONC’s planned action or rationale for the exclusion from the final version.
         
FDA to host January forum on medical device cyber security
                       
The Food and Drug Administration, National Health Information Sharing Analysis Center, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Homeland Security will hold a public workshop Jan. 20-21 on collaborative approaches to medical device cybersecurity. The workshop will highlight past efforts and existing models and engage stakeholders in focused discussions on unresolved gaps and challenges in advancing medical device cybersecurity. For more information, please see the FDA notice.
 
BLS: Health care to lead job growth through 2024
              
Health care is expected to add more jobs than any other sector through 2024, including at least 394,900 hospital jobs, according to new employment projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition to hospitals, the agency anticipates roughly 760,000 new jobs in home health care, 736,000 in nursing and residential care facilities, 523,000 in physician offices, 352,000 in other health practitioner offices, 348,000 in outpatient care centers, and 160,000 in dentist offices. “With the increase in the proportion of the population in older age groups, more people in the labor force will be entering prime retirement age,” the BLS said. “As a result, the labor force participation rate is projected to decrease and labor force growth to slow. This slowdown of labor force growth is expected, in turn, to lead to Gross Domestic Product growth of 2.2% annually over the decade. This economic growth is projected to generate 9.8 million new jobs – a 6.5% increase between 2014 and 2024.”
             
CMS publishes corrections to final rule for 2015 Edition health IT certification
    
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has published a notice correcting technical errors in its Oct. 16 final rule for the 2015 Edition HIT certification criteria. The notice also clarifies requirements for the exchange of the Common Clinical Data Set in support of transitions of care, the approach to privacy and security certification, and mandatory disclosures by health IT developers during certification and random surveillance. Like the final rule, the corrections and clarifications take effect on Jan. 14, 2016.
 
 

 

 


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