Hospital Costs Associated with Sepsis Compared with Other Medical Conditions.

Sepsis is a condition that has become a main focus for health care organizations owing to the alarming cost of caring for patients, as well as the disturbing mortality rates, that accompany this condition. Sepsis is one of the costliest conditions billed to all payer groups: Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and uninsured patients. Health care organizations have implemented multiple strategies and best practices to improve the outcomes of patients with a diagnosis of sepsis.

Educating nurses to provide culturally competent care during disasters.

Health disparities are exacerbated during times of disasters. To decrease health disparities, it is essential that health care providers understand the specific needs, culture, and norms of individuals, groups, and populations in a disaster. Survivors respond and recover from disaster events within the context of their culture and beliefs; therefore, implementing cultural competent interventions for disaster victims is central to providing services and care. This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a continuing education program and academic courses for nurses and nursing students.

Providing culturally competent care during disasters: strategies for nurses.

Planning for and responding to disasters involves more than traditional emergency management; members of vulnerable populations should be included in the disaster response cycle. Nurses are key to employing culturally competent strategies with vulnerable populations during disasters, enhancing the access of these populations to care and reducing their health disparities.

Targeting prenatal emergency preparedness through childbirth education.

The lack of emergency preparedness planning remains problematic for families, but there is a special concern for prenatal women and families. This article proposes childbirth education as one avenue through which nurses can engage families to prepare for a disaster. Template guides and references are included for community-specific emergency preparedness education for childbearing families. Critical issues unique to childbearing women and newborns related to evacuation, sheltering, birthing in place, and mental health are addressed.

Perinatal considerations in the hospital disaster management process.

Nurses play a vital role in providing care to mothers and infants during a disaster, yet few are fully prepared for the challenges they will encounter under extreme conditions. The ability to provide the best possible care for families begins with understanding the perinatal issues in relation to each phase of the disaster management process. This article reviews the hospital and perinatal nursing role in the mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of disaster management.

Experiences of nurse leaders surviving Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Hurricane Katrina left New Orleans, Louisiana, USA destroyed by its impact on 29 August 2005. Working during a hurricane was nothing new to these authors. Having lived in New Orleans all our lives, we were used to preparing our homes and our families to weather the storm. Nurses are in leadership positions before, during, and after any disaster. Nurses are called upon to report to duty, leaving their loved ones to care for themselves while the nurses care for the sick and frail in unbelievably difficult situations. The purpose of this article is to share our experiences as nurse survivors during Hurricane Katrina, reflecting on 10 major aspects of disaster planning from the perspective of the "Then" (during the storm) and the "Now" (current recommendations).

From practice to education: perspectives from three nurse leaders.

Three nurse leaders recount their experiences transitioning from a practice career to an academic career. These nurse leaders discuss their experiences with role transition and gaining new competencies, comparing and contrasting the competencies of nurse educators and nurse leaders. Specific examples are presented addressing collaborative efforts between practice and education.

Improvements in disaster planning and directions for nursing management.

Since Hurricane Katrina, there have been numerous lessons learned and improvements in disaster planning and nursing management. The subsequent Hurricane Gustav allowed nurses and disaster planners to "test the system" and identify improvements that worked and did not. The authors outline those improvements and give direction for change and further improvements.