Life in the ER

Celebrating Women: Words of Wisdom from an Admired USACS Physician

March 30th, 2021
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As we conclude Women’s History Month, The Shift had a conversation with one of the most admired leaders at US Acute Care Solutions, Chairman of the National Clinical Governance Board Joan Kolodzik, MD, FACEP, also a physician in the southwest Ohio area, serving clinically in many of the Mercy Health hospitals. Her home base is […]

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Posted in Leadership, Life in the ER, The Shift, Uncategorized

The Value of 24/7 In-House Intensivist Coverage

24/7 In-House Intensivist Coverage
February 12th, 2021
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Hospitals across the country are implementing 24/7 in-house Intensivist coverage. The pressure COVID-19 places on ICUs has accelerated this trend. Regardless of the pandemic’s impact, numerous studies show that in-house Intensivist services positively impact patient outcomes, nursing and provider satisfaction, and overall quality and efficiency, especially in high acuity, high volume hospitals such as tertiary […]

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Posted in Future of Healthcare, Life in the ER

Achieving Sepsis Performance Excellence in the Emergency Department

December 2nd, 2020
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Excellence in the management of severe sepsis and septic shock, and compliance with SEP-1, the national core measure for sepsis, are top priorities for healthcare leaders across the country. This priority is driven by an increasing incidence of sepsis that coincides with disproportionate growth of the elderly population in the U.S., high mortality associated with […]

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Posted in Life in the ER

Taking Provider-in-Triage Efficiencies to the Next Level with Collaborative Focus on Appropriate Timely Discharges and Admissions

October 21st, 2020
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Many emergency departments do not focus resources on lobby triage. This is due, in part, to a misconception that the most influential patient entry point is ED traffic from EMS. This perspective results in strong team members and efficiency and quality strategies being allocated outside of lobby triage. In this post, former VEP Healthcare Chief […]

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Posted in Future of Healthcare, Hospitalist Medicine, Life in the ER, Patient Satisfaction

“When This Disaster Happened, We Were There…”

April 11th, 2019
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The Story of Hurricane Florence Through the Eyes of The Providers Who Worked Through It Wednesday, September 12th The week leading up to landfall for Hurricane Florence had been difficult from a planning perspective. The storm had weakened, then strengthened again. It had shifted course and slowed. Governors from Maryland down to Georgia had all […]

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Posted in Life in the ER

Opioid Treatment in the ED: A Revolving Door, or an Open Door?

March 21st, 2019
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Last year, Ariana Sampson treated a young man for opioid addiction in the emergency department of Marshall Medical Center in Placerville, California. His family told her that he’d been a golden child and a star athlete in high school. But after a football injury, he had been prescribed the painkiller Norco. Within six months of […]

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Posted in Life in the ER

You’re the Pilot: A Guide for Successful Shifts Your First Year Out of EM Residency

February 28th, 2019
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So, you’ve signed your first contract. You’ve successfully navigated your first real job search in nearly a decade. You’ll be graduating from residency in the near future, and it’s finally beginning to hit you: all too soon, you’ll be on your own. As USACS’ Vice President of Marketing and Recruiting, I am often in touch […]

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Posted in For Residents, Life in the ER

What It Really Means To Have Your Work Be A Family

January 3rd, 2019
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A family, says Dr. Kurtis Mayz, doesn’t always get along: “It’s not all rainbows and butterflies,” he said in a recent interview. “We fight, we have our disagreements, we play together, we love together, and at the end of the day, we’re a family. We all pull together in the same direction and we move […]

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Posted in Life in the ER

The Electric Daisy Carnival: What It’s Like to Provide Medical Coverage for a 400,000 Person Rave

December 10th, 2018
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Peter Carlo recalls the first time he was asked to provide medical staffing for a rave – he had had never heard of a rave before. “I was like, a rave? Explain.” But this wasn’t just any rave. This was the Electric Daisy Carnival, or EDC. It is one of the largest electronic dance music […]

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Posted in Life in the ER

Priorities and the Right Time: Looking Back On My Last Shift

November 28th, 2018
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On January of this year, I worked my last clinical shift in an ER. I realized recently that it’s been ten months since I cared for a patient at a bedside. The question some would ask is this: why, after 25 years of doing this, did I stop? Do I still miss it? Will I […]

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Posted in Life in the ER