How Mainspring supports Central Supply

At Mainspring, we believe that health care cannot be fixed until you fix hospital operations. What we have found to be true is that the use of equipment in hospitals is underutilized and misplaced, this causes friction between departments in hospitals as well as a stressful work environment.

“our process of providing our patients with necessary equipment was broken. We had no mechanism for tracking equipment that was ordered, no feel for if our inventories are adequate, no follow-up for broken equipment, and most importantly, no way of ensuring that equipment got to patients in a timely manner.”

Mainspring helps to solve problems “our process of
providing our patients with necessary equipment was broken. We had no mechanism for
tracking equipment that was ordered, no feel for if our inventories are adequate, no follow-up for broken equipment, and most importantly, no way of ensuring that equipment got to patients in a timely manner.”like this. We have created and developed software to help Central Supply receive equipment requests in an orderly fashion. By being alerted of when equipment is needed, when it is being used and when it is ready to be returned it helps to reduce stress and create a happier and healthier work environment.

In having a system that allows Central Supply to track equipment and orders it allows for you to allot time that was spent trying to find and clean equipment into time being spent recharging, picking up, and delivering equipment in a timely fashion, this will help in reducing the barriers and discrepancies between nurses and Central Supply.

Check out our website http://www.mainspringhealth.com/ to find out more information about what our software does and how it can help you in the workplace.

                                                                                                                            Written by: Brianna Stiklickas

Free study resources every nursing student should use!

“Ebola: The Risk of not being educated prior to treatment”

Recent controversy over the Ebola Virus has caused a lot of focus to be drawn to hospital operations and proper education of the virus for those treating patients. Briana Aguirre, a nurse at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, recently interviewed by Today, stated that her hospital didn’t inform its employees of Ebola or how to handle such a case.

She stated, “We never talked about Ebola and we probably should have,” she said. Instead, “they gave us an optional seminar to go to. Just informational, not hands on. It wasn’t even suggested we go … we were never told what to look for.” The situation was one that was alarming for the employees of the hospital because they were not equipped in any way to handle patients with the deadly disease. As a nurse of the hospital, Briana expressed that she threw a fit because she couldn’t believe that even the infectious disease department didn’t know what protocol they should take.

She believed the hospital did not do enough in protecting their employees; they only provided them with gloves, protective gowns and a mask that had a gap of several inches that exposed the neck. “Why would I be wearing three pairs of gloves, three pairs of booties, a plastic suit covering my entire body and then leave my neck hanging out this much so that something can potentially go close to my mouth or nose?” she said. Briana spoke out with fear and concern of losing her job, but she couldn’t hold back the distress she faced due to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

To read more on the controversial story go to:

http://www.today.com/health/dallas-nurse-we-never-talked-about-ebola-thomas-eric-duncan-2D80220579

Written by: Janina Temali

What is Ebola?

Ebola, everyone is talking about it and everyone is worrying about. It is important to know about Ebola in order to avoid it. Ebola is a virus similar to that of the flu. It can be spread by coming in contact with bodily fluids (breast milk, feces, saliva, semen, sweat, urine, and vomit) or skin to skin contact with an infected person. Ebola can also be carried and spread by wild animals such as chimpanzees, forest antelopes, gorillas, monkeys, porcupines, and bats. It is believed that the virus originated from African fruit bats.

Currently there are five different strains of the Ebola virus; four of the five strains are carried by humans. Each of the strains are named after the region it originated from, Bundibugyo, Reston, Sudan, Tai Forest, and Zaire.

So what are the symptoms?
High fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, weakness, stomach pain, diarrhea, unexplained bleeding or bruising, vomiting, and lack of appetite. If you have recently been out of the country and are experiencing any of these symptoms it is important to consult a healthcare professional and keep yourself isolated to prevent spreading the disease.

Written by: Brianna Stiklickas

A Nurse’s Job is Never Done!

A nurse’s job is never done!  Whether you work 8, 10, or 12 hour shifts there is always more that they can do in regards to fulfilling documentation requirements or patient care. More often than not, nurses can find themselves working hours above and beyond contractual obligations, and needless to say sleep is often a catch up game. So how can nurses relieve their stress? Listed here are six apps that will help to motivate you not to become a victim of the effect of stress, while improving your mental and physical state of wellbeing.

1. Breathe2Relax
   Like I said, nursing is a STRESSFUL job, this application provides its users with healthy breathing techniques and ways to keep track of your stress level. This is a great tool to help keep track of your mental health.
2. Happier
   Did you know that there is actually neurological science behind what makes us happy? Happier uses this science to help promote mental health in an extremely simple way. By simply posting positive things and acknowledging the things that make you smile, happier can help improve your mental health and help put you in better moods!
3. Luminosity
   As a nurse you know the importance of your physical and mental health. This application uses games designed by neuroscientists to promote brain activity and help improve your memory and attention over time.
4. Fitocracy
   This is an app that will help to motivate you to work out. Fitocracy turns your workout into a game, you   can compete against your friends and challenge each other. You receive pre-made workouts tailored to what activities you like to do, by fulfilling these work outs you gain points, what is more fun than challenging your fellow nurses to an exercise battle!
5. EatingWell
   This application provides you with 200 quick, simple, easy to make recipes which benefit your health. Being as busy as you are it can be hard to plan out your meals, with EatingWell you will be able to try out different kinds of meals every day with very little preparation.
6. Lose It!
   It’s hard to focus on your weight when you are so busy. With Lose It! you can manage your weight on the go, every day. You can manage your daily calories, track your food consumption, and achieve your weight loss goals!

 Written by: Brianna Stiklickas

New England Winner of the GEM award: “Advancing and Leading the Profession”

Patrice Nicholas, DNSc, DHL (Hon.), MPH, RN, ANP-C, FAAN

The GEM award, Giving Excellence meaning, is a recognition given to nurses in 6 different fields with the purpose of highlighting the advancements and attributions an individual adds to the nursing field.  The award was given to Patrice Nicholas for advancing and leading the profession in ways that show progression in knowledge through devotion to research and education. Patrice has held many leadership positions throughout her career, including roles as a clinical nurse, advanced practice nurse, doctor ally-prepared nurse researcher and Fulbright senior scholar, along with many more.

She has made a lasting impact on the students and nurses that she has guided and offered her mentorship and expertise too. One student even stated, “Nicholas changed her life because of Nicholas’ mentorship and guidance with her graduate work and interest in global health.” It is leaders like Patrice, who devote themselves to bettering their fields, that make an impact on the industry and show how dedicated some individuals are in working towards the bigger common goal, advancement in the medical fields.

Written by: Janina Temali