Tag: Lynn Razzano

Malignant Hyperthermia Is Your Facility Prepared?

[Editor’s note: This poster was accepted for presentation at the 2020 AORN National Conference and Surgical Expo, which unfortunately has been canceled because of the current Covid-19 crisis. However, the information contained on the poster contains important information that all healthcare facilities should be aware of and implement to prevent Malignant Hyperthermia and to minimize patient harm and prevent patient mortality, so we asked the poster authors to discuss their findings here. 

By Thereza  B. Ayad, RN, DNP, CNOR and Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONC CMSRN

Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) complicates 1:100,000 adult surgical cases. MH is a severe reaction to a dose of anesthetics – infrequently, extreme exercise or a heat stroke can trigger MH in someone with a muscle abnormality where the individual’s muscle cells have an abnormal protein on their surfaces.

Although rare, MH can be fatal. 

MH symptoms/ manifestations include:

Continue reading “Malignant Hyperthermia Is Your Facility Prepared?” →

Nine Minutes to Improving Opioid Safety: PPAHS Releases Patient Safety Video

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) has released a YouTube video which discusses in nine minutes how to improve opioid safety. The video features highlights from over 10 hours of in-depth interviews released by PPAHS in 2016; altogether, the podcast series has generated over 130,000 cumulative views on YouTube. The podcast series brings together physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists discussing how they have improved opioid safety in their hospitals.

According to Michael Wong, JD, Founder and Executive Director of PPAHS:

“In just nine minutes, the video summarizes experiences of clinicians in improving opioid safety in their hospital or healthcare facility, and reminds us of the tragic consequences of adverse events and deaths that may ensue if clinicians and healthcare executives are not proactive in promoting safety. We hope that the video will energize quality improvement and patient safety teams to strive to reduce adverse events and deaths related to opioid use.”

The opioid epidemic was one of the most heavily-covered, and hotly-debated, topic in patient safety covered in 2016. This dialogue has been mostly centered around the effects of ‘street’ use and abuse of prescription painkillers. In contrast, the PPAHS podcast series aims to highlight the preventable harm of opioid-induced respiratory depression during hospital procedures. Continue reading “Nine Minutes to Improving Opioid Safety: PPAHS Releases Patient Safety Video” →

Incorporating OB VTE Safety Recommendations during Electronic Transitions

By Lisa Enslow, MSN, RN-BC (Nurse Educator, Women’s Health and Ambulatory Care Services, Hartford Hospital) and Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONCC (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

[Editor’s note: PPAHS is web-enabling the OB VTE Safety Recommendations. If you are interested in the web-enabled version, please download the OB VTE Safety Recommendations to add your name to the contact list by going here: https://ppahs.org/ob-vte-safety-recommendations-pdf/]

The use of electronic medical records (EMR) is no longer an option, but a necessity in today’s healthcare environment. Many institutions are in the process of transitioning from paper to electronic documentation or upgrading to systems that manage records from one institution to another. Continue reading “Incorporating OB VTE Safety Recommendations during Electronic Transitions” →

Joan Rivers’ Death & Safety Considerations for Outpatient Surgery & Pregnant Mothers

Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONCC (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety) wrote about the safety considerations for outpatient surgery that we can learn from the recent death of comedienne Joan Rivers: Continue reading “Joan Rivers’ Death & Safety Considerations for Outpatient Surgery & Pregnant Mothers” →

Medical standards of care and the Joan Rivers death

By Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety), Frank Overdyk, MSEE, MD  (Professor of Anesthesiology, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine), Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONCC (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety), Kenneth P. Rothfield, MD, MBA (Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Ascension Health’s Saint Agnes Hospital, Baltimore; Adjunct Associate Professor of Nursing at the University of Maryland; soon assuming role of System Chief Medical Officer, St. Vincent’s Healthcare)

When medical tragedies occur, one of the very first questions asked by patients, families, the legal system, the press, and the public is: “were appropriate care standards met?” Continue reading “Medical standards of care and the Joan Rivers death” →

4 Lessons Learned from the Death of Joan Rivers

By Kenneth P. Rothfield, M.D., M.B.A., Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology, Saint Agnes Hospital (Baltimore, MD), Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONCC (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety), and Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

It is often said that a death is meaningful if it serves as lessons for others to learn from and increase awareness so they “speak up” when found in a similar situation. So, what can be learned from the death of Joan Rivers? Continue reading “4 Lessons Learned from the Death of Joan Rivers” →

Procedural Sedation guidelines for Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy: The Basics

By Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONCC (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) defines procedural sedation as:

“a technique of administering sedatives or dissociative agents with or without analgesics to induce a state that allows the patient to tolerate unpleasant procedures while maintaining cardiorespiratory function. Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is intended to result in a depressed level of consciousness that allows the patient to maintain oxygenation and airway control independently.”

Continue reading “Procedural Sedation guidelines for Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy: The Basics” →

3 Key Lessons Learned for Implementing OB VTE Safety Recommendations

By Lynn Razzano RN, MSN, ONCC (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

On June 18, 2014, approximately 250 attendees at the annual conference of AWHONN (Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses) attended the panel presentation entitled: “Implement VTE Change in OB Practice.“ Continue reading “3 Key Lessons Learned for Implementing OB VTE Safety Recommendations” →

5 Steps to Keep New Mothers Safer from VTE (blood clot) development

By Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONCC

Following delivery, mothers are at risk for developing blood clots much longer than previously thought – twice as long – according to research presented February 13, 2014 at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference. Continue reading “5 Steps to Keep New Mothers Safer from VTE (blood clot) development” →