Sunday, July 29, 2012

Healthcare-Associated Infections Action Plan Update



  OHQ@hhs.gov


Healthcare-Associated Infections Action Plan Update



To: United States Department of Health and Human Services,

      Centers for Disease Control And Prevention (CDC)





Re: Public comment of Phase 3 in the 5-year National Action Plan to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections: Roadmap to Elimination (HAI Action Plan).







From: Michael H. Slavinski

           “hai-five”                       http://h-a-i-5.blogspot.com/

           Citizen Advocate for the Eradication of Hospital Associated Infection in our Veteran’s Hospitals!

           Paso Robles, CA







Re: input





To Whom it may concern,



 1: Would it to be too much to ask that we change the goal of “reduction of Hospital Associated Infections” (HAI) to the goal of “eradication of Hospital Associated Infections” and treat HAI just as any other disease?  Healthcare professionals have clearly identified the fact that all forms of HAI are “preventable” and exist due to the lofty goal of “reduction”? Incremental improvements are acceptable when manufacturing automotive parts or the need to improve the unknown but I personally believe we are at the "Action" phase of the "Plan, Do, Check, Action" according to Edwards Deming concerning the eradication on Hospital Associated Infections!



2: Could we please certify and register Ventilator Acquired Pneumonia “free” medical facilities in the United States, perhaps a two year documented period, just pick one, I think there are quite a few of them! Sure, it will put pressure on underperforming facilities, that is the point, a VAP free facility should be safer and a more efficient facility, capitalism should drive the process in my opinion!



Please view my input from the prospective of a taxpayer, small business owner, ratepayer and a veteran. Personally I do not view the victims of HAI as statistics, they are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and veterans and their survival is dependent  upon variable levels of commitment, I find this fact just as unacceptable as the fiscal burden HAI places on our entire nation.

 If you get a chance, please include the following statement, the inspiration for my advocacy to “support those who help others”:



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



Your efforts and request for public comments will be posted on my blog and once again, “thank you so much for all that you do at the CDC”, I really appreciate it and at this time I offer my services and resources, as limited as they are, to support the C.D.C.’s effort to reduce HAI in our hospitals and my attempt to “support those who help others”!



Sincerely,



Michael H. Slavinski



Ps: Perhaps my comments are global verses your focus in phase 3 but the level of concern expressed by the general public concerning the recent “grading” of our nations medical facilities may well expose the need to evaluate all opportunities to improve in my opinion!




The picture is the production of "neem cream" which is produced from neem tree leaves and other indigenous plants cooked to produce an affordable mosquito repellant in Africa. The area where this is being produced via the United States Peace corps, in a recent survey of over 6000 residents, over 1500 tested positive for malaria. Mosquito nets were also provided courtesy the U.S. Peace Corps. Neem cream is much easier and safer to produce than soap, both are in production, Dad's advice, always read the M.S.D.S. prior to cooking!

Have "fun", thank you for reading!

"hai-five"



                                                                                                    OHQ@hhs.gov

Sunday, July 22, 2012

California Department of Public Health, "support those who help others"!




July 15, 2012

Ron Chapman, MD, MHA

Director,

 California Department of Public Health

Re: Advocacy for the eradication of Hospital Associated Infections in our Veteran’s Hospitals

Dear Dr. Chapman,

 My advocacy for the eradication of Hospital Associated Infections (HAI) over the past year has directed me to the efforts of the professionals working under your leadership at the California Department of Public Health (C.D.P.H.). As you may be aware the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (D.H.H.S.) are funding and waiting for “best practices” to be developed at the State level concerning the reduction of H.A.I. and the U.S. Veteran’s Administration is following the efforts of the D.H.H.S. In addition, I was also directed to your efforts by Ms. Pam Kehaly, President, Anthem Blue Cross and her staff, the “hai-five”, concerning your work regarding the reduction of HAI in the Great State of California.

 At this time I would like to introduce my advocacy as “supporting those who help others”, my resources are limited but as a small business owner, a rate payer, a tax payer and a veteran I do have a vested interest supporting the efforts of the C.D.P.H. concerning HAI. My interest is deeply rooted in the “can do” attitude expressed in an article in the L.A. Times concerning the success of Anthem Blue Cross’s “Patient Safety First” program. The definition of my advocacy is still undefined other than “supporting those who help others” in a positive manner and will encompass both the public and private sector.  “Thank you” for the hard work you and your staff have committed to the safety of our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and veterans in our hospitals! Currently I am advocating support nationwide for the proposed 2013 fiscal year budget for the National Healthcare Safety Network under the C.D.C., certifying the first “V.A.P. free” medical facility in the United States and to categorize Anthem Blue Cross’s “Patient Safety First” as a “Best Practice”, our Veteran’s deserve nothing less in my opinion!! Please have your staff contact me if there is anything my advocacy can do to support the efforts of the C.D.P.H. concerning the eradication of HAI from our hospitals, the World Health Organization claims that “time is not on our side”!

Sincerely,

Michael H. Slavinski                              http://h-a-i-5.blogspot.com/

Continued on page 2





               Page 2 The eradication of Hospital Associated Infections (HAI)  in our Veteran’s hospitals!  July 15, 2012


Honorable United States President Barack Obama            


Honorable United Stated Senator Dianne Feinstein


Honorable United States Senator Barbara Boxer

Honorable Majority Whip United States Congressman Kevin McCarthy

Honorable Congresswoman  Lois Capps

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

Honorable California Senator Sam Blakeslee

Honorable California Senator Ed Hernandez ,                                Chair, Health Committee

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



Honorable California Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian



Honorable Supervisor Frank Mecham,                San Louis Obispo County



Secretary Kathleen Sebelius,                         United States Department of Health and Human Services



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



J. Eugene Grigsby, 111,   President, CEO,      National Health Foundation



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. Mary Stahl, RN, MSN, CCNS-CMC, CCRN, ACNS-BC        President, Association of Critical Care Nurses



Board of Directors,      WellPoint, Inc.



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”






                             


Monday, July 9, 2012

1 for the money+2 for the show="C" for a grade?


July 9, 2012

Hello, election time, this is the time when us advocates find something to keep us busy,  parades, trips to other parts of the earth! Rather than taking a spelling class I went to work expanding my body of knowledge on the web. To date I have avoided the technical aspects of Hospital Associated Infections, (HAI), that I wish to leave to the professionals, please “HELP ME”!

O.K. first movie, has it all, cool gadgets, sound plan, hey, “I’m in, here we go”!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrpm1kSSyYw&feature=related

(KPBS is owned by San Deigo State University)

Too good to be true, you be the judge, perhaps send me your comments!


Like I said, most of what I have read and seen over the past year in all forms of media concerning HAI seems to be “spin”, a reaction to a former action, in my opinion! What does not work does not interest me, I just do not have time for it, I would like to see my advocacy focous on supporting sustainable improvements.
 In all honesty, in this example there are more than likely time line issues, I do remember in boot camp being told that "your unit is only as strong as your weakest member" so perhaps this event is important for my advocacy to develop. If there were anything I could do to help the good people working at Grossmont Hospital I would and so wou the rest of you, I am pretty sure of that! 

Ok, as an advocate for the eradication of HAI in our Veteran’s hospitals I would like to hear what the debate is in the actual H.A.I. professional community. First action, punch in HAI on Linked In, zero, no problem, that was yesterday, take your pick:

H.A.I.-U.S.A.     (Locked, please, no headhunters)


H.A.I.-CANUK    (Locked, please, no headhunters)


HAI-PROFESSIONAL  (open to all)


My advocacy for the eradication of HAI in our Veteran’s Hospitals is deeply rooted in the following article, and the projection of the “can do” attitude from the top down, it inspired me to get out of my chair and do something, our Veterans deserve nothing less, in my opinion! The "low tech" improvement in efficiencies reminds me of 1980's Japan to Detroit's amazement, "kaizen", now a standard in Detroit as well!


One thing that I have learned is that my advocacy will be most effective by “supporting those who help others”, and that is you, the HAI professional, correct me if I am wrong, the HAI professional is all of you, all the way up to the “hai-five”!

“hai-five”

Michael Slavinski




ps: I did do some research early on, Paul Revere, that was about as cool as it gets, I am not ruling out building a prototype HAI free hospital, complete with copper lined heating, a.c., ventilation system, tables, beds, through in bunny suits and elevated pressure scrubed air, but right now, perhaps we just need to wash our hands and follow documented paths to a positive outcome! 
 For those of you who have not figured it out yet, send me your "HAI bucket list" or ideas that are too far out there to risk your income on or perhaps a project you could use some support on, I will check it out and send it to the Oval Office and the rest of my "observers" , that is the fun part of "pro-bono", the pay is guarenteed, I can't be fired or traded, I kind of like this "advocate" stuff! Here in our humble shop our suggestion system is called "kaizen".

Today I would like to see the first "V.A.P. Free" facility recognized and certified, just pick one, there are several canadates!





The hard drive in my laptop crashed about two weeks ago, since I have been procastanating for the past year getting my 50+ checkup (colonoscopy) it gave me the idea to go with Alienware, it is the new M18xR2. Our CAM system is not Mac friendly and through the use of baling wire and duct tape I kept my old HP going for six years! It is actually assembled in Florida and no, I have no time for games but since most of my "observers" are programmers I just thought I would give a plug for the home team! The box is heavy, I will bet the graphics card weighs more than my wife's I pad!
 Just having 'fun"!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Join the Parade, Tempelton, CA, July Fourth, 2012

Back to the basics, hopefully everyone had a relaxing Fourth of July, 2012. For those of you who do not live in a small town, well, here is why we do and it seems the parade was pretty much dedicated to our Veterans, as this advocacy for the eradication of Hospital Associated Infections (HAI) in our Veteran's Hospital is as well!
 O.K., "way off task", not so fast, half way through the parade the Honorable California State Assemblymember Bill Monning, Chair, Committee on Health Care, rolls by, "rewind", really!
 You will see Assemblymember Monning and the California Committee on Health Care addressed several times in my blog for what I have learned is that all efforts accross the nation are watching for "best practices" to be developed at the state level as in the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and our advocacy is just getting to know those people but for some reason all of those people know me, there is a "parade" of them on my Linked In site, "hello and we are all counting on your efforts"!
 Trust me, stranger things have happend in this project, the first time I saw the Honorable Assemblymember Kacho Achadjian was at a fundraiser put on by the Madonna family for a local women's shelter, the Honorable Assemblymember was walking down the catwalk in a dress, I did not have the courage to address Hospital Associated Infections (HAI) at that time but my efforts are improving somewhat, I did stop the parade today to introduce myself to the Honorable Assemblymember Monning!
 It all comes down to some profound knowledge I learned from Ms. Pam Kehaly, President, Anthem Blue Cross, "have fun", so, here it is:


(just double click on one of the photos and the gallery will open up, I think I got most of the bugs out of it that my limited communication skills could find but as usual, let me know if you see any "oppertunity for improvement")


On the way to find a seat, the horse says "Semper Fi" on it's neck with animal friendly hair spray!
The beginning!

Camp Roberts is just to the north of us and a lot of local kids are in Afganistan!

Lots of little ones out for the parade!
History!
Youth, male type
Youth, female type!

Farm kids!

Jackass x 2, really!



The end, Lynne at Castoro Cellars enjoyiung lunch!



People who care!



The farmer!

The Band!

                                       The Honorable Assemblymember  William W. Monning!

Bikers, female type!


Me stopping the parade for the photo opertunity, there is a first time for everything!


Ryan's crew!

Have a nice day and "thank you!"