Consortium's next conference on technology and nursing to take place at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

Early-bird registration now open

The Nursing Consortium of Florida's next conference Caring Connections; Discovering Magic at the Intersection of Technology and Nursing will take place at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. The two half-day conference will begin at noon on Friday June 28 and conclude before noon the following day.  Consider gifting yourself a Consortium conference and your family or a friend a magical weekend.  Click here to register at early bird rates and see the special travel packages available only to conference attendees and their accompanying families and friends!  
“Conference attendees can look forward to informative and thought provoking presentations by leading subject matter experts and value-packed resort offers at Central Florida’s most magical destination,” stated conference planning chair Vicki Caraway the VP and Chief Nursing Officer of Baptist Health Cancer Care.  “As Consortium membership has grown to include hospitals and schools of nursing along the Treasure Coast and on the Florida Gulf Coast, our Board decided that, beginning in 2024, one of our two yearly conferences should take place away from South Florida.  The Greater Orlando area offered many venues, but none that put together a better package of discounted offerings for our attendees.  In addition to a great conference, we will offer an extraordinary get-a-way value for those traveling to Orlando and locals alike,” added Consortium Executive Director Ralph Egües. Once registering early to attend the conference, attendees will be able to book a discounted hotel room and select from a range of specially-priced Theme Park tickets including partial-day tickets available only to those attending a conference at Walt Disney World®.  

McKinsey survey shows how innovative companies leverage tech to outperform

Leading companies are increasingly deploying sophisticated technologies in pursuit of innovations that will help them secure future growth. However, the latest McKinsey Global Survey on digital strategy and investment finds that for those investments to bring enterprise-wide benefits, companies need to develop operating models and cultures that embrace innovation. Respondents to McKinsey prior surveys had identified cultural challenges as the biggest barrier to getting results from digital investments. Risk aversion, siloed mindsets, and a general aversion to technology slow down the adoption of new tools and processes. The latest survey of more than 1,000 executives reinforces those earlier findings, with misaligned culture or ways of working cited among the top three reasons for failed or stalled digital transformations. With new technologies such as generative AI (gen AI) poised to disrupt many sectors and functions, and more than three-quarters of survey respondents stating that their companies’ current business models will not be economically viable by 2025, innovation is a clear priority for many organizations. Please click here to read more.  

Laudio launches Laudio Insights to amplify evidence-based decision making for healthcare execs and frontline leaders

Laudio an innovator in frontline leader solutions for health systems, recently announced the launch of Laudio Insights, a groundbreaking new resource for evidence-based insights on the evolving role of healthcare leaders and trends affecting their work. Key themes include organizational design, workplace culture, employee engagement, frontline retention, team structure, leader work design, and more. Laudio is excited to offer the industry novel insights to enhance data-driven decision-making involving the frontline. Please click here to read more or visit the Laudio Insights page to view the first set of articles and subscribe for updates.

Florida Center for Nursing publishes the Nursing Education Program Report for academic year 2022-2023

This annual report provides information about the nursing education programs in Florida, including the programs’ capacity, enrollment, graduates, and demographic data that potentially contribute to the state’s nursing workforce. Prelicensure nursing programs are the pipeline to the nursing workforce.

What do you listen to on your daily commute?  Try one of Becker's podcasts

Becker's Healthcare Podcasts are a new offering from Becker's Healthcare which features interviews and conversations with healthcare industry thought leaders. Gain the information you need to stay in the know in the healthcare world on your daily commute. Every episode will cover a topic related to the ins and outs of the ever-changing healthcare landscape.  Please click here to read more.

CDC issues "Urgent" Vaccination Alert; Plan B use doubled

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to alert healthcare providers to low vaccination rates against influenza, COVID-19, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). Low vaccination rates, coupled with ongoing increases in national and international respiratory disease activity caused by multiple pathogens, including influenza viruses, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), and RSV, could lead to more severe disease and increased healthcare capacity strain in the coming weeks. In addition, a recent increase in cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) following SARS-CoV-2 infection in the United States has been reported. Healthcare providers should administer influenza, COVID-19, and RSV immunizations now to patients, if recommended. Healthcare providers should recommend antiviral medications for influenza and COVID-19 for all eligible patients, especially patients at high-risk of progression to severe disease such as older adults and people with certain underlying medical conditions. Please click here to read more. 

Miami-Dade County public schools again earn an ‘A’ Grade!

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) released the 2022-2023 school grades recently and for the fourth time in five years, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is an A-rated school district. Superintendent Dr. Jose L. Dotres was joined by School Board members as he made the announcement. This is the first year that the rankings contain elements of the new B.E.S.T. Standards assessments. Of Florida’s 67 school districts, only 16 received a grade of “A.” M-DCPS outshined all of the state’s largest school districts, including Broward, Palm Beach, Duval and Pinellas counties. “I’m happy to announce that even though we were faced with the challenge of new standards, our school system has demonstrated phenomenal academic results based on proficiency,” said Dr. Dotres. “We owe the students of this community the best teaching and learning environment, and I believe strongly that we have delivered once again.” Please click here to read more.

Baptist Hospital and VITAS offer Inspirational space for patients and visitors

Consortium member Baptist Hospital has opened it's Inspiration Hall, offering an immersive experience where patients, visitors and hospital team members can submit, read or watch messages of comfort and support that will inspire others in their health journey. The hall is located on the first floor near the hospital’s imaging center waiting room. The hall is powered by Consortium member VITAS Healthcare, a national leader in hospice and palliative care services. Uploading an inspirational message for broadcast on the Inspiration Hall’s digital monitors is easy via a QR code available at the Inspiration Hall or by visiting BaptistHealth.net/Inspiration from a mobile device or desktop. “We invite everyone visiting our hospital to leave messages of hope, gratitude and encouragement at our Baptist Hospital VITAS Inspiration Hall,” said Bill Ulbricht, CEO of Baptist Hospital.  Please click here to read more.

CISA releases advisory on enhancing cyber resilience

and more complex passwords; ensure that only ports, protocols and services with validated business needs are running on each system; train users against password reuse; discontinue reuse or sharing of administrative credentials among systems; and implement a security awareness program that focuses on methods commonly used in intrusions that can be blocked through individual action, among other solutions. “This report of findings from a network penetration test of a health care organization conducted by CISA provides useful guidance which may be applicable to other health care organizations,” said John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk. “In particular, the recommendations outlined in Table 6 of the document may help organizations identify and mitigate key sources of cyber risk. CISA offers free risk and vulnerability assessments and has become very pro-active in helping organizations share best practices in mitigating cyber risk."  Please click here to read more.

Broward Health Coral Springs now offering Aquablation therapy to treat enlarged prostate

DEI and Health Equity Fellowship applications open until January 5, 2024

The Executive Certificate in Diversity and Health Equity (formerly the Certificate in Diversity Management) is a 10-month fellowship that provides health care professionals the competencies to effectively lead diversity, health equity, inclusion and justice practices in their hospitals and health systems. The ECDHE fellowship offers a blended learning curriculum that aims to strengthen the skills of diversity, health equity and inclusion leaders so that they can create change at their hospitals and health systems. The Executive Certificate in Diversity and Health Equity is the only national diversity certificate that is endorsed and sponsored by the American Hospital Association. The hybrid program offers both human resources and clinical applications of DEI principles and practices and is led by faculty of current practitioners. The 2024 Program Application Deadline is January 5, 2024. Please click here to read more.

Lee Health to host community Town Hall meetings on governance structure evaluation

Lee Health board members, alongside senior leaders, will host a series of town hall gatherings in January 2024 open to the public to speak with community members to share updates and answer questions regarding the governance structure evaluation that is currently underway. Following a recent change to Lee Health’s Enabling Act by the Florida Legislature and a formal vote by Lee Health’s Board of Directors (LHBOD) in August, Lee Health is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of its business structure with its safety-net mission in mind. The evaluation, which is being completed by a third-party expert, will help determine what, if any, benefits there would be to Lee County residents and the health system if Lee Health changed from its current public nonprofit business structure to a community-centered private nonprofit business structure--Lee Health’s business structure prior to 1968. Please click here to read more.

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