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Musculoskeletal injuries, especially back injuries, are among the most frequent injuries sustained by direct caregivers who lift, transfer, and reposition patients. These injuries can be debilitating and, for some caregivers, career ending. In the first year following implementation of the safe patient handling program in a multihospital health care system, an 82% reduction in Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) recordable patient handling injuries was realized, a 94% decrease in days away from work, an 85% reduction in restricted duty days, and an 82% reduction in incurred workers' compensation costs. These reductions have been sustained for an 8-year period since the program's implementation in 2008. The primary focus of the program's first year was training and education. Compliance and retraining efforts began in the second year, followed by a gradual transition to the present emphasis on sustainability. This article describes the development and implementation of a safe patient handling program in a multihospital health system and the impact on caregiver injuries over 8 years. Also presented are key strategies that were used to achieve sustainability.

Streamlining the OR can increase physician and staff member satisfaction and improve efficiencies. Leaders at the West Florida Division for Healthcare Corporation of America took on the task of streamlining technology and processes for 16 facilities with the goal of surgical volume growth. After assessing the current processes, the team developed a plan to streamline the OR in four major areas. For each area, they paired technology with a process to accomplish the goal. The plan included improving the virtual supply inventory set up and case picking process, coupling the procedure groups and procedure set up with the scheduling process, improving the preference card set up and maintenance system, and pairing documentation with the pre-admission and chart completion process.

Quickly identifying patients can give a new EMR more bang for the buck. If you don't have all the answers, reach out via the Internet and networking. Using a novel approach to demonstrate a new technology to the organization can have fantastic results. Clarity around patient identification leads to continuity in care. The culture of innovation starts at the top. An offsite with speakers can encourage innovative thought. Originality and creativity go hand in hand with risk. Rewarding behaviors and celebrating success lead to a culture of innovation.

The University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries created a task force representing various departments to review data from its 2004 LibQUAL+ survey. This review compared results from the 2002 and 2004 LibQUAL+ surveys, and the data from the Association of Academic Health Science Libraries 2004 cohort. The task force analyzed the key components of the LibQUAL+ survey: Affect of Service, Information Control, Library as Place, and user comments. At the conclusion of this review, the task force made recommendations and suggestions along departmental lines to meet the patrons' needs and expectations. In addition to following the task force recommendations, the Libraries independently implemented several new services and hired additional personnel after the completion of the 2004 survey. Combined, these changes should improve overall library service and increase customer satisfaction. Looking towards the 2006 LibQUAL+ survey, the task force will be convened in advance and will guide the entire process.

Baptist Hospital of Miami has been honoring its staff authors annually during National Library Week since 1979, at the time the library was relocated. Upon "doing the math" and realizing that twenty-five years had passed, a special event was planned to celebrate the occasion in 2004. A merger of four hospitals in 1995 to form Baptist Health South Florida, and an addition of a fifth hospital in 2003 added into the complexity of these publications. Organizing the event led to the conclusion that there had to be a "better way" to manage the publication archive. This paper will include a look back at the event's past, present efforts to develop an archival database, and future plans to make articles available electronically to users, copyright permitting.

Slash hours of wasted nursing time with wireless phones and laptop computers. Part of a massive redesign, Regional Memorial Hospital in Hollywood, FL, found significant time saved and patient care substantially improved by reengineering how and where nurses place orders for medications, retrieve lab results, and make contact with physicians and other caregivers.