Industry is not going to wait, "in my opinion"!

March 30,2012     (this letter will be e-mail only, too many links)

Honorable United States President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Re: reduction or eradication of Hospital Associated Infections (H.A.I.) in our Veterans Hospitals.

Honorable President Barack Obama,

Please allow me to thank you for your interest and patience as I develop my advocacy for the reduction or elimination of H.A.I. in our Veteran’s hospitals. As you are aware, to improve the consistency of patient safety in our Veteran’s Hospitals best practices in the States need to be developed. Currently I am advocating the California State Senate Health committee to consider the feasibility of developing a rating system that would allow a medical facility to register as a “V.A.P.” free facility, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recognized a facility in Daily City, CA, for not having an occurrence of V.A.P. (ventilator associated pneumonia) in four years. Coming from the other side of the “isle”, this article is from the Huffington Post,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-d-braunstein-md/hospital-acquired-infections_b_1422371.html

 Here is the one from the L.A. Times,

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/23/business/la-fi-hospital-infections-20110823

Perhaps it is just my observation but it looks a lot like the private sector is moving forward but to insure a consistent, sustainable bar of V.A.P. of even H.A.I. free medical facilities your support would be critical. As I have said in the past, there is no need for an Apollo style national mobilization, an H.A.I. free facility will be more efficient according to all of the data that I have seen! The cure is washing of the hands and following written instructions and that is about it in my opinion!

If we can improve the quality of care, that will translate into lower cost," Anthem President Pam Kehaly said. "These are real dollars."

Personally, I am doing my best to “help those who help others”, as clumsy as my advocacy may seem, our Veterans deserve the best!  Any support your office can give to the California State Senate Health Committee concerning  a rating system that consumers can understand concerning these “V.A.P. Free” medical facilities  would go a long way toward safer and more efficient health care, the consumer should drive the process in my opinion!

The more my advocacy develops the more trouble I am having understanding why H.A.I.s are even in our medical system let alone why it is costing tax payers billions of dollars and killing tens of thousands annually!

http://h-a-i-5.blogspot.com/

Respectfully,

Michael H. Slavinski




cc: All those who care!

Another draft, thinking in public, "no offence"!

April 23, 2012

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-d-braunstein-md/hospital-acquired-infections_b_1422371.html

 Draft!

Perhaps it is good to show how my advocacy for the reduction or eradication of H.A.I. (Hospital Associated Infections) unfolds on paper. The communications always start out with an idea, in my case, are our veterans getting taken care of and how to help them out. Modern communications only allow less than one page, preferably one half page, to get your point across and not lose your audience over the years.

 The kicker is that I do not have a personal “H.A.I. horror story” although there seems to be no shortage of those on the web, just trying to help out a few old "jarheads"! There just might be an easier way, fixing the entire medical industry, compared to ten years of continus warfare, just a token of my appreciation!

 Last but not least, how do you advocate in a positive manner with the goal of supporting those who help others?

 Perhaps the only connection with the medical industry is that we do manufacture components for ventilators in our humble machine shop and the stunning revelation via the L.A. Times of the of the opportunities to improve patient safety with very basic procedures. The attitude express by Ms. Pam Kehaly, President, Anthem Blue Cross, of the relationship of quality of patient care and costs was instrumental in inspiring my advocacy as practical and necessary as a business owner, a taxpayer and a veteran.

 The new national health care law does address some of the issues, that I believe is where the "Patient Safety" part comes from but when you look into H.A.I., there is not a real good reason why it even exists in my opinion, the science has proven the point beyond question, the economic view, Ms. Kehaley pretty much put the exclaimation point on that one.

 Ok, this time I am going to challenge myself, I think in the past I made a commitment to stay as positive as possible so I will try my best to find a way to present some of the facts to a highly educated audience and no, just like the last letter, I will not know who to address the letter to until it is done, “how odd is that”?

Draft!

April 23, 2012

 Please allow me humbly thank the Honorable “someone” for your interest and efforts to reduce and hopefully eradicate Hospital Associated Infections (H.A.I.) from our nations Veteran’s and public hospitals.

 As my advocacy for H.A.I. develops some very disturbing facts are coming to the forefront on the current efforts, least of which is the comments coming from the U.N. virtually declaring that modern medicine will no longer have the capacity to combat infections, we are feeding antibiotics by the ton to our livestock allowing for all kinds of complications and perhaps the most frightening is the recent discovery of antibiotic resistant organisms thriving in caves!

 The challenge is great, our hospitals, in my opinion and from what I have read, could actually be a “safe zone”, the cures are not drugs or multimillion dollar machines, it seems that following written instructions, washing of the hands and copper are most of the “cure”.

 At this time my advocacy is soliciting The Joint Commission (T.J.C.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-d-braunstein-md/hospital-acquired-infections_b_1422371.html

We now have “V.A.P. free” medical facilities in the U.S.A. and now we have “central line-associated bloodstream infection free” medical facilities as well, “WAY COOL”

So much for the “doom and gloom”!

 All right, dinner time, I will continue latter, still have some work to do on this puzzle!!

V.A.P., why is it still in our hospitals? "final cut"

April 23, 2012                                                               http://h-a-i-5.blogspot.com/             

Honorable California Senator Ed Hernandez

Chair, California Senate Health Committee

State Capitol , Room 4085

Sacramento, CA, 95814                                      

                                                                               

Regarding: Reduction or eradication of HAI (Hospital Associated Infections)!

Dear Senator Hernandez

 Please allow me to once again thank you and your fellow Senators on the California State Senate Health Committee for your efforts concerning patient safety in our medical system. My advocacy for the reduction or elimination of Hospital Associated Infections (H.A.I.) has led me to your office for all parties at the national level are awaiting “best practices” created at the state level and I can find no reason why the Great State of California should not lead the way.

Why is V.A.P., Ventilator-associated pneumonia, even in our hospital system? According to Quality Progress Magazine:

 Schneck Medical Center, Jackson County, IN, 2011 Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award recipient:

Ask anyone who has ever been treated at a hospital to list the jobs that are key to a positive patient experience and you’ll hear the obvious: doctors, nurses and receptionists. But what about the staff that deal with money more than medicine? Or those in H.R. instead of E.R.?

That all-inclusive approach to putting the patient first helped Schneck Medical Center(SMC) in Jackson, IN, earn a 2011 Baldgrige award and, more importantly, created an organization culture as healthy as the customers it serves. SMC created a patient-focused system supported by four areas-quality of care, customer service, fiscal and operations and human resources- and each area saw the improvements you’d expect from a Baldrige recipient.

Quality of care. For any organization, it’s quite a feat to measure your time between negative incidents in years. SMC is in that elite class thanks to a focus on preventing hospital-acquired infections. It recorded zero central line-associated bloodstream infections in 2011, the last case of ventilator-associated pneumonia was in 2009, and overall rate of hospital-acquired infections has remained at or below 1% since 2008.

The U.S. Department on Health and Human Services reports that there is a hospital in Daily City, CA, that has not had a case of V.A.P. in four years. In my opinion, it is time to start rating these facilities “V.A.P. Free” in my opinion, a phrase the consumer can understand!

Perhaps encouraging T.J.C. (The Joint Commission) to take action, the public will drive the process, a V.A.P. free facility should be more efficient, cost effective and above all “safer”!

 Once again, “thank you” for all that you do for the State of California!

Respectfully,

Michael H. Slavinski

Honorable President of the United States Barack Obama

Honorable United Stated Senator Dianne Feinstein

Honorable United States Senator Barbara Boxer

Honorable Majority Whip united States Congressman Kevin McCarthy

Honorable Governor Edmond G. Brown Jr.

The Great State of California

Honorable California Senator Sam Blakeslee

Honorable California Assemblymember William W. Monning

Chair, Committee on Health Care

Honorable California Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian

Ms. Donna M. Beiter, RN, MSN

Director,

V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Systems

Mark R. Chassin, M.D., F.A.C.P., M.P. P., M.P.H.

President

The Joint Commission

Ms. Amy Panagopoulos

Senior Director

The Joint Commission

Ms. Pam Kehaly

President, Anthem Blue Cross

Mr. Eddy W. Hartenstrin

Publisher and Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles Times

President and Chief Executive Officer, Tribune Company

Staff, Anthem Blue Cross

"If we can improve the quality of care, that will translate into lower cost," Anthem President Pam Kehaly said. "These are real dollars."

Another reason V.A.P. should not be!

April 15, 2012

Draft, I am sure I will be sending this to my supporters once I figure out how to get it under one half page! I have already e-mailed this draft to T.J.C., A.S.Q. and Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong but these are the organizations that could make a "V.A.P. Free" medical facility rating happen. My theory is that it should be a race to register after that, perhaps a little panic for those facilities who do not make the grade but it is not like the slow movers did not have time to prepare!
 Having the California Senate Health Committee take an interest in the issue would be an asset, if not, any expressed interest by any elected official would really be appreciated.
 P.D.C.A.,(plan, do , check, action), we are at the "action" part in my opinion and all of those who have done so much need the support of those who are comfortable taking action, in this case, leadership in the battle to eradicate H.A.I. from our health care facilities!



Revision #1_________________________________

Where should the bar be?

Why is V.A.P., Ventilator-associated pneumonia, even in our hospital system?

Quality Progress Magazine, April 2012

Schneck Medical Center, Jackson County, IN,  2011 Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award recipient.

This is a quote from the magazine, Q.P., as a senior member of the American Society of Quality I hope I do not offend anyone over there but if you read some of my previous writing, I give A.S.Q. a lot of credit for my efforts!  http://asq.org/health

Start of article,  by Brett Krzykowski, assistant editor

 Ask anyone who has ever been treated at a hospital to list the jobs that are key to a positive patient experience, and you’ll hear the obvious: doctors, nurses and receptionists. But what about the staff that deal with money more than medicine? Or those in H.R. instead of E.R.?

 That all-inclusive approach to putting the patient first helped Schneck Medical Center(SMC) in Jackson, IN, earned a 2011 Baldgrige award and, more importantly, created an organization culture as healthy as the customers it serves.

 SMC created a patient-focused system supported by four areas-quality of care, customer service, fiscal and operations and human resources- and each area saw the improvements you’d expect from a Baldrige recipient.

1. Quality of care. For any organization, it’s quite a feat to measure your time between negative incidents in years. SMC is in that elite class thanks to a focus on preventing hospital-acquired infections. It recorded zero central line-associated bloodstream infections in 2011, the last case of ventilator-associated pneumonia was in 2009, and overall rate of hospital-acquired infections has remained at or below 1% since 2008.

And the article goes on!

"the last case of ventilator-associated pneumonia was in 2009”

Really, the U.S. Department on Health and Human Services reports that there is a hospital in Daily City, CA, S.F. bay area, that has not had a case of V.A.P. in four years. In my opinion, it is time to start rating these facilities

“V.A.P. free”

It is time for T.J.C. (The Joint Commission) to take action, the public will drive the process, a V.A.P. free facility should be more efficient, cost effective and above all

                       “SAFER”!

O.K., you will read further in my stuff about my forming an advocacy for the issue, it is not about an Apollo style national mobilization, the science is there, the effort will only save money

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/23/business/la-fi-hospital-infections-20110823

"If we can improve the quality of care, that will translate into lower cost," Anthem President Pam Kehaly said. "These are real dollars."

All this to help out some vets, no problem, they never gave up on me! My efforts have been met with very kind words from United States President Barack Obama on down but I am only one person, hopefully, some day soon there may be two or more!

 The plan is complete, the “do” is done, everything has been “checked” and now, in my opinion, it is time for “action” ,      P.D.C.A., if I remember correctly!

Hai-five

Michael H. Slavinski

Ps, thank you A.S.Q.

 http://asq.org/health

Why bother helping out the Veterans, what did they ever do for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqnqLblyNa4&feature=related

Honorable President of the United States Barack Obama

Honorable United Stated Senator Dianne Feinstein

Honorable United States Senator Barbara Boxer

Honorable Majority Whip united States Congressman Kevin McCarthy

Honorable Governor Edmond G. Brown Jr.
The Great State of California

Honorable California Senator Ed Hernandez
Chair, California Senate Health Committee

Honorable California Senator Sam Blakeslee

Honorable California Assemblymember William W. Monning
Chair, Committee on Health Care

Honorable California Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian

Ms. Donna M. Beiter, RN, MSN
Director,
V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Systems

Mark R. Chassin, M.D., F.A.C.P., M.P. P., M.P.H.
President
The Joint Commission

Ms. Amy Panagopoulos

Senior Director
The Joint Commission

Ms. Pam Kehaly
President, Anthem Blue Cross

Mr. Eddy W. Hartenstrin

Publisher and Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles Times
President and Chief Executive Officer, Tribune Company

Staff, Anthem Blue Cross

"If we can improve the quality of care, that will translate into lower cost," Anthem President Pam Kehaly said. "These are real dollars."

2

“Plain English Please”

 April 9, 2012

 One of the keys to success in an advocacy, in my opinion, is the ability to keep the interested parties motivated at all levels, “leave no woman/man behind”! A good sense of humor helps too!

My first follower’s inquiry, “Plain English, please”!

My advocacy for the eradication of H.A.I. (Hospital Associated Infections) is supportive in nature with Veteran’s Hospital’s patient safety as my primary interest.

To help the Veteran’s the whole system needs to be fixed, the V.A. is watching the Department of Health and Human Services who is waiting for “best practices” to be developed in the 50 states and yes, currently, 50 states are going in 50 different directions and most of the studies are redundant. Here is a good description of H.A.I. and the current situation:

 http://www.hhs.gov/ash/initiatives/hai/index.html

 Meanwhile, some really good progress has been made and the system is flooded with money, study after study, when the money runs out what did we accomplish?

 My advocacy came to life due to an excellent article in the L.A. Times,

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/23/business/la-fi-hospital-infections-20110823

I had always assumed that the healthcare system was best left to some wizard to fix, the “wizard” turned out to be an insurance company, cutting costs the way we do here in our humble shop:

"If we can improve the quality of care, that will translate into lower cost," Anthem President Pam Kehaly said. "These are real dollars."

Hey, wait a minute, our website has the had the phrase “using quality as a source of economy” for the past couple of decades, Pam Kehaly, President of Anthem Blue Cross, probably has never set foot in a “mom and pop” job shop but throw in the fact the we have been making parts for ventilators for the past decade or so made things more than a little interesting, “do our Veteran’s hospitals have the bennifit of this kind of motivation"?

There it is, "Plain English"!

Alright, job shop linguistics, K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid), H.A.I., way too many issues, V.A.P., Ventilator Associated Pneumonia, one H.A.I., there is a hospital in Daily City, CA (S.F. Bay area) that has not had a V.A.P. event in four years according to U.S.D.H.H.S., my challenge is to get that hospital certified as a V.A.P. free facility by T.J.C., The Joint Commission, yes, the article you read about last month in A.A.R.P. magizine quoted

Mark R. Chassin, M.D., F.A.C.P., M.P. P., M.P.H. President, T.J.C.

http://www.jointcommission.org/standards_information/npsgs.aspx

concerning patient safty in our hospitals, T.J.C. is a large medical facility rating company, given a choice, would you rather go to a V.A.P. free rated facility, it should be more cost effective and how long do you think it would take other hospitals to learn how to compete?

    If you read up on how easy it is to prevent V.A.P. you will take action,"trust me",   the fact that so many people are loosing their lives to it is very distrubing.

If you are in California, send a letter of interest here as well:

Honorable California Senator Ed Hernandez

Chair, California Senate Health Committee
State Capitol , Room 4085
Sacramento, CA, 95814

 Looking for elected officals in the system, so am I, The President of the United States Barack Obama is a fan, United States Senator Dianne Feinstein is listining, Honorable California Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian has shared some kind words, Ms. Pam Kehaly, President, Anthem Blue Cross offered to come up and visit us, we passed, went down to Anthem, Lynne, my wife, and I had lunch with five of her top healthcare proffessionals,

"the hai-5"

114 years of healthcare service, “head west”, plain English!

The healthcare industry is very fragminted, concerning H.A.I. in our Vetran’s Hospitals, the Michigan system seems to be very proactive on the issue but for how long? Start with V.A.P., the proffessionals doing the current studies are good at studies, leadership is a different skillset in my opinion, the answers are there,be positive and above all, get involved, the victims are not “statics”, it is “you and I, your mom, dad, brother, sister and kids"!

More shop talk, “entropy”, we need “standards,” improvement is nice, improvement is not a “standered” in my opinion, write to Dr. Chassin at T.J.C.. and do not forget about your elected officals, they need your “support”!

My advocacy has been going for the past six months or so, I would love to tell you about all of the hardships involved, we all have a stake in this, all have been very kind watching me stumble through the development of my advocacy, "thank you"!

 What do I want, my advocacy is not about me, it is about patient safety in not only Veteran's Hospitals but the hospital you may visit some day. You will see some support in my writtings concerning Anthem Blue Cross, they are actually part of the solution, in my opinion, and have a vested interest in improving patient safety and providing affordable healthcare, that is their "mission", I have been following their contract negotiations around the country for the past six months, "they practice what they preach"! For those of you who do not know who works at Anthem Blue Cross, I would challenge you to make the effort to find out! For those of you who think bashing insurance providers will make our healthcare system more efficent, it has not worked so far, it is the equivalint of blaming your local gas station for the price of gas in my opinion!

 There is no "quick fix" but a V.A.P. free rating, you have to start somewhere in my opinion!


 This is a great country we live in, I thank the Veterans for that,our system only works if you participate in it but do be suppotive and patient, as I have said, all of the comments I have recieved from my efforts have been kind and supportive.

hai-5

Michael H. Slavinski

April 5, 2012

Honorable California Senator Ed Hernandez

Chair, California Senate Health Committee

State Capitol , Room 4085

Sacramento, CA, 95814

Regarding: Reduction or eradication of HAI (Hospital Associated Infections)!

Dear Senator Hernandez,

 The advocacy for the reduction of Hospital Associated Infections in our veterans hospitals has led me to your office as Chair of the California Senate Health Committee, your efforts concerning safe, efficient and affordable healthcare are most appreciated. With an interest in helping veterans acquire the benefits of the efforts underway in the private sector, starting at the top, all are watching the efforts of the states as “best practices”, as I am sure you are aware. My advocacy has led me to the efforts of a hospital in Daily City, CA, which has not had a ventilator acquired pneumonia event recorded in four years according to the U.S. D.H.H.S.

V.A.P. is a good start in my opinion, not just reduction but eradication, perhaps a rating by T.J.C., given a choice, the consumer should drive the process, a V.A.P. free facility should not only be safer but also more affordable according to my research!

 As my advocacy develops some numbers have come to mind, 12/7/1942, Pearl Harbor, 2,333 souls we lost resulting in the U.S.A. entry to W.W.II, 9/11/2001, 2,753 souls were lost resulting in the U.S.A. starting the War on Terror and invading  two countries, 2001, 99,000 soles were lost to H.A.I. in the U.S.A. resulting in a disclaimer that “only one in seven  errors, accidents and other that harm Medicare patients in hospitals are recognized and reported by hospital employees” issued by Danial R. Levinson, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Quality Progress Magazine via N.Y. Times, 1/6/12.

 The interest, resources and science are available in my opinion, my advocacy as a vet, a business owner and a taxpayer will do little without the leadership of the “Great State of California” and the support of T.J.C., the 99,000 souls lost to H.A.I., the statistics are improving but I do not consider mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers “statistics” and to learn that some vet will loose  their life because a hospital bed was not placed at the proper angle gives me the inspiration to humbly ask your office to address the issue.

 Again, thank you so much for all that you do for the Great State of California!

Respectfully,

Michael H. Slavinski                                                       Continued on page 2

                                                             

                             Page 2 Reduction or eradication of HAI (Hospital Associated Infections)!

Honorable President of the United States Barack Obama

Honorable United Stated Senator Dianne Feinstein

Honorable United States Senator Barbara Boxer

Honorable Majority Whip united States Congressman Kevin McCarthy

Honorable Governor Edmond G. Brown Jr.

The Great State of California

Honorable California Senator Sam Blakeslee

Honorable California Assemblymember William W. Monning

Chair, Committee on Health Care

Honorable California Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian

Ms. Donna M. Beiter, RN, MSN

Director,

V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Systems

Mark R. Chassin, M.D., F.A.C.P., M.P. P., M.P.H.

President

The Joint Commission

Ms. Amy Panagopoulos

Senior Director

The Joint Commission

Ms. Pam Kehaly

President, Anthem Blue Cross

Mr. Eddy W. Hartenstrin

Publisher and Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles Times

President and Chief Executive Officer, Tribune Company

Staff, Anthem Blue Cross

"If we can improve the quality of care, that will translate into lower cost," Anthem President Pam Kehaly said. "These are real dollars."

An advocacy for safer hospitals!

Hello,

 Perhaps my profile is that I am an advocate for the eradication of HAI in all medical facilities in the U.S.A. My original advocacy was deeply rooted in the article published by the Los Angeles Times,

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/23/business/la-fi-hospital-infections-20110823


 I have included my first attempt to articulate my advocacy. Our company has been making ventilator parts for the past decade and as a veteran, taxpayer a rate payer and business owner, "why not"!

 It is back to the "Great State of California", my observation, the National V.A. is taking direction from the D.H.H.S. who is watching for the "best practices" developed at the state level and all of the regional V.A. are doing their own thing although they are advised to watch the developments in the state activities. How somebody could have figured out this process without the assistance of a blow to the head is way beyond me. I do reference Deming, this is about the point where he would be buying his ticket to Japan.
 Fortunately for me Ms. Pam Kehaly, President, Anthem Blue Cross allowed my wife and I to do a lunch with her staff in Thousand Oaks, CA. With virtually no discussion the consensus was that I needed to head back to California. Much like Ms. Kehaly's statement about the relationship of quality medical care and cost, just the change in direction took at least a couple of months off my efforts.
 My first interest is VAP, ventilator acquired phenomena, there is a medical facility in Daily City, S.F. bay area, that has not had a VAP in four years according to the Department of H.H.S., enough of the studies, it is time for action on this one in my opinion, what is your “acceptable level”? In my opinion the money is there, how about a VAP free rated hospital, “would you pay more to go there”, that is the puzzle, they should have lower operating costs according to everything I have been reading over the past few months! 

 My interests now lie in the California State Assembly, Committee on Health

Chair, Honorable California State Assemblyperson William W. Monning                                                                                                                      
P.o. Box 942849, Room 6005
Sacramento, CA, 94249-0027                                Tel 916-319-2027

And

California Senate Health Committee

Chair, Honorable California State Senator Ed Hernandez

State Capitol
Room 4085
Sacramento, CA 95814                                      Tel 916-651-4024

In my opinion, these are not statistics or automotive parts; these are Veterans, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters and loved ones! Before I get everybody too depressed, our local public school district is nearly insolvent and may soon be taken over by the State of California, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune ninety five percent of their budget is payroll and benefits! Point of sale price control did not reduce the cost of health care in my opinion and it did little to improve patient safety in our hospitals. 

Thank you for your interest!

To: General Eric Ken Shinseki

       United States Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs

Date: 11/6/11

Re: Infection prevention in ventilators at V.A. hospitals, page 1 of 2.

Dear General Shinseki,

 At this time I will humbly ask your office to investigate the opportunity to implement a  cost and life saving innovation currently underway in the private sector.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/23/business/la-fi-hospital-infections-20110823

 Following the teachings of  W. Edwards Demming, “quality must start from the top”, the reason for my request to your office and my enthusiasm for the effort.

 The L.A. Times did an outstanding job of identifying all of the stake holders and the benefits to society, identifying the entrepreneurial spirit from the “top”, Ms. Pam Kehaly, President, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield.
 The L.A. Times has also in the recent past highlighted the great strides the Veterans hospitals have made in inpatient care, giving me the confidence that the Veteran’s hospitals are either ahead of the curve or open to improvement. 
 This program would fit well within the parameters of President Barack Obama’s current cost cutting efforts, one of his current "key initiatives"!
Although not involved in the medical field, A.S.Q. allowed me to have some insight into the complexities of the workings of hospitals, in the 90’s several nurses gave our local chapter presentations on how to implement quality programs from the “middle down” and the less than desirable results. Dissecting the space shuttle disaster was the work of the decade, keeping a few people alive for a week in space was far less complicated than running a hospital. Personally, I struggled to figure out what motivated these nurses to go to work every day during that period for the consensus was that it was far safer in the space shuttle than it was in our local hospitals. Recently a nurse auditor at Anthem Blue Cross helped me resolve the issue, “ I strive to help at least one person every day”, our veterans deserve nothing less, even in these challenging times, in my opinion.

Semper Fi

Michael H. Slavinski  

Continued on next page!

Re: Infection prevention in ventilators at V.A. hospitals, page 2 of 2.

Cc:                                                                                                              

The Honorable United States President Barack Obama

      

 The Honorable United States Senator Barbara Boxer

The Honorable United States Senator Dianne Feinstein

The Honorable Majority Whip Congressman Kevin McCarthy

The Honorable United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus

General James A. Amos

Commandant of the United States Marine Corps

Ms. Pam Kehaly

President, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield

Mr. Eddy W. Hartenstrin

Publisher and Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles Times

President and Chief Executive Officer, Tribune Company

Staff

Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield

"If we can improve the quality of care, that will translate into lower cost," Anthem President Pam Kehaly said. "These are real dollars."

 

 Thank you for your interest!