Hospital readmissions that occur within 30 days of discharge due to medication adherence are largely preventable. CMS, the largest insurance payer, does not cover hospital admissions that occur within 30 days of discharge. Our rural area lacks critical access to pharmacies. Frequent hospitalizations and medication non-adherence increase patient mortality and reduce the quality of life for the patients and their families. Providing patients with a 30-day supply of their medications prior to leaving the hospital, along with patient education and a nurse follow-up phone call 48 hours later, can reduce ER visits and 30-day hospital readmissions.

Patient readmissions within 30 days of discharge not only cost hospitals around 15,000 dollars per incident but also indicate increased mortality rates and worse patient outcomes. Readmissions occur for multiple reasons such as, lack of clear discharge instruction, delayed primary care follow-up, medication issues, or worsening symptoms. Hospitals must take a multidisciplinary approach to addressing this issue. Interventions can be implemented to improve readmission rates, like discharge calls within 48 hours, creation of hospital policy to guide the call, and primary care follow-up within 10 days. With better transition from hospital to primary care, patient readmissions will decrease.

Terminal delirium is a common condition seen in the hospice setting. Unlike delirium, terminal delirium is usually not reversible. It manifests in the final days or weeks of life and typically causes distress and safety issues for caregivers and patients. Caregivers depend on nurses to educate them on what to expect as their loved one declines. Since terminal delirium is a common occurrence, preparing these caregivers ahead of time is essential. Since terminal agitation can be difficult to assess, organizations may adopt an assessment tool, training nurses on its use. Organizations may also create a nurse-driven protocol that utilizes evidence-based interventions.

Evidence shows that patients who receive oral care two to four times daily, have their chances of acquiring non-ventilator hospital acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) decreased by thirty-seven percent. To make this a successful program at our hospital, it would be prudent to create a policy for oral care, train nursing staff and patients of proper oral care and be sure to document in the electronic medical records that oral care has been done. Pneumonia is the number one hospital acquired infection. This information points to a greater need for nurses to perform oral care with patients.

Cesarean section rates have increased 7-fold from 1965 (4.5%) and are now the nation’s most common operating – room procedure. One in five deliveries is by C – section according to the World Health Organization. A Healthy People 2030 goal, is to reduce this number to 23.6% or less, in low risk, first - time mothers. On my local unit, C - sections hit an all time high and a change is needed to better maternal child outcomes. This projects examines causes for the increase and strategies aimed at reducing the rate, using evidence based practice interventions. The proposed interventions will be targeted at the patient, nursing, and policy level.

The prevalence of developmental disabilities (DD) is about 17% in the United States, with rates higher in rural communities (Robinson et al., 2017). Children with DD (also known as "neurodiverse") have individual strengths and face unique challenges. Due to adversity in accessing specific and much-needed support, parent caregivers often experience clinical levels of parenting stress (Davis & Carter, 2008, as cited in Roberts et al., 2019). Parents in rural communities are particularly affected. Chronic, unaddressed stress can lead to worsened mental and physical health including depression, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease (Robinson et al., 2017). The goal is clear: to incr

There are many barriers to reporting symptoms after a head injury, especially among adolescents. This research study aims to help identify and implement a more detailed approach that will raise awareness of the clinical vigilance and maintenance of Sports-Related Concussions (SRC) that assist in return play decision-making for athletes. The primary purpose of this presentation is to identify non-predictive incidences of sub-concussions among participating subjects using neurocognitive assessments SCAT-5 and TRAZER. Neurocognitive assessments like SCAT-5 and TRAZER can help with the early recognition of sub-concussive impacts and is most beneficial in tracking concussion recovery.

When was your last adventure? How did you know it was an “adventure”? If you felt like it was an “adventure” that’s a good start and likely means that it was! That is because the meaning of the term adventure is fairly personal and based on what you personally perceive as unique, unusual and exciting. It may also include a certain level of risk, potentially some dangerous risk, such as swimming with sharks in Australia or riding a motorcycle on a mountainous road in Italy. But risks don’t need to be life threatening or thousands of miles away.

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer and typically caused by human papillomaviruses (HPV). The American Cancer Society’s preferred screening method is HPV testing, which is detectable in the vagina. The FDA has not approved this test, but some private labs offer this screening with patients collecting their own vaginal swab. The goal is to increase participation in CC screening in patients who decline traditional testing. Most CC cases are in patients who are not up to date on screening frequency or never received screening before. If positive on self-swab, patients are more likely to follow up, receiving the care they would never have received if not given this option.

Chest/breast engorgement is a common source of pain in the postpartum period. According to Huda et al. (2021) breast engorgement and pain are the leading cause of early discontinuation of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is life-saving, cost-effective, sustainable for the planet, and keeps parents, and babies healthier. A high-touch, low-tech approach to the management of engorgement can be utilized through gentle breast massage and hand expression. The implementation of supportive patient-centered care can increase in-hospital breastfeeding rates. Human milk is the optimal first food to support overall health and provide food security for infants in any situation.