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Wellington Regional Institutes

A
New Opioid Policy CHIEF NURSE OF MENT AL HEA THTAL
Y Y
AND SPINAL CORD INJURY
BY LOIS THOMSON nate medications. Now, Miami V A Healthcar e Systems is seeking an e xperieenced, passionate
A
the medical staff has
Wellington Regional been working with and inno v ative Chief Nurse of Mental Health and Spinal Cor d Injur . y
Medical Center formed non-addictive medi-
an opioid task force in cines such as acetamin-
the hospital last fall "for ophen, ibuprofen, and
obvious reasons," accord - muscle relaxers. Position Description:
ing to Dr. Richard Hays, "We found that it's
Chief Medical Officer. amazing how many • Provides direct leadership and administrative oversighht to a complex
Leading those obvious people can get through spinal cord injury unit as well as inpatient and outpatiient mental health
reasons is the fact that the joint replacement sur- units
opioid problem is "a gery – knee replace-

national crisis, and every- ment, hip replacement • Provides executive input in the strategic planning, bud dget, operational
one is looking for ways to – without needing opi- planning and policy development
deal with it." oids. We can do nerve • Participates in the development of programs for expansion of nursing and
Dr. Hays says, “Our ER, Dr. Richard Hays blocks after surgery, patient care services that influences the practice of nursing throughout
like most around the use local anesthetic the medical center and affiliated community based ou utpatient clinics the medical center and affiliated community-based ou
country, has been dealing with patients pads. We even started exploring non-

seeking IV narcotics, as well as an pharmacological alternatives like recent- • Develops strategies to achieve quality outcomes, pati ent and employee
hrough evaluation of
increasing number of overdoses and ly approved pet therapy with a contract- satisfaction. Integrates quality assurance programs th
overdose deaths.” ed pet therapy group. We have also been services rendered and compliance with standards
As a result, several implementations exploring distraction therapy, such as art
Service (ADPCS)
are being made to decrease the opioid projects, puzzles, and music to keep peo- • Directly reports to Associate Director of Patient Care S
usage in the hospital, and ironically, ple busy so they're not thinking of their • Provides leadership coverage in the absence of the AD
DPCS and other

Hurricane Irma, which did so much pain." Chief Nurses
damage to such a widespread area, The hospital policy also changed in
helped to bring some of them about. Dr. advance of the new state law that went Requirements:
Hays said, "The silver lining, so to speak, into effect July 1, 2018, so that dis-
was that (because of the hurricane) there charged patients are given a prescription • Must be a U.S. citizen and a current, full, active and u
unrestricted RN with
was an impact on the availability of legal for just a three-day supply of pills when licensure in a state, territory or commonwealth (i.e., P
Puerto Rico) of the
narcotics." they leave the hospital – realizing, how- United States, or the District of Columbia
He explained that last November, the ever, that some people truly do need
pharmacy department at Wellington more. "Every patient is taken into con- • Must be a graduate of a school of professional nursin g approved by
Regional reported it was running sideration. However, some people have a the appropriate state-accrediting agency and accredit ted by one of the
extremely low on several different kinds lot of pain medications sitting in their following accrediting bodies at the time the program w
was completed by
of IV narcotics; Dilaudid in particular medicine cabinet. They might be given a the applicant: The Accreditation Commission for Educ
cation in Nursing
was the one in shortest supply, and the prescription for a three-week supply, take (ACEN) or The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Educ cation (CCNE)
hospital appeared to only have a two- two pills, and have a supply left over, and
four week supply on hand of most of its sometimes that medication then falls • Current BLS/ ACLS certification
intravenous narcotics. "We seized upon into the hands of a person who will
that opportunity to say we needed these abuse the pills." Minimum Qualifications:
medications for the seriously ill, for Dr. Hays said the hospital is looking
patients having major surgeries, or oth- more closely at the strength of narcotics • Master’s degree in nursing or related field with BSN a and approximately
ers with absolute needs for that type of being administered as well: "Rather than 4–5 years of progressive clinical and leadership expe rience with
pain control. So with the cooperation of starting with a sledgehammer, we want demonstrated knowledge and expertise in administra tion; or
our ER physicians, we made a decision to to start with a fly swatter, if it is appropri- • Doctoral degree in nursing, or related field, and 3–4 y years of progressive

post a sign that because of the shortage, ate. We want to be able to control peo-
d knowledge
Dilaudid would no longer be available in ple's pain, but we don't want to give clinical and leadership experience with demonstrated
c or advanced
our ER." stronger medicine that is more likely to and expertise in administration, and appropriate basic
The ER started formulating a plan to be addictive. We're trying to work with certification desired
parse out other medications, to make this problem (of pain) but not create big- • The most recent 3 of the last 4 years of leadership mu ust have been

sure the stronger ones would be available ger issues down the road. in a direct leadership role in a hospital setting or direc
ct patient care
only to those patients who required them "In our desire to alleviate pain, medi-
for acute pain. The plan had an almost- cine has become too willing to use opi- environment
immediate effect. "When we completely oids as a first choice. The last thing we
stopped using Dilaudid in the wanted to do was have someone suffer;
on Program (EDRP)
Emergency Room, our usage went from we wanted to be able to control the pain, Recruitment incentive and Education Debt Reductio
the equivalent of 90 to 100 doses a week, so we just prescribed the medication. We may be authorized to highly qualified candid
dates. EOE.
to maybe 1 to 2." needed to take that back and remember
Another part of the plan was to expand that our first pledge is to 'do no harm.'"
ext. 4398 or 3546.
the use of different types of medications. T Too apply visit USAJOBS.GOV or call 305-575-7000 e
Dr. Hays said that many patients who For more information, call
had been receiving opioids in the past (561) 798-8500 or visit
probably could have gotten by on alter- www.wellingtonregional.com.

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