Oakbrook Terrace, IL -- Hospitals are up in arms again after The Joint Commission (TJC) on Monday started requiring all patients with too many armbands to be flagged with an armband for having too many armbands. Mark Chassin, President and Chief Executive Officer of TJC, applauded his organization for taking action against his organization's failed policies.
"I'm proud The Joint Commission is finally taking a stand against The Joint Commission for continuing to ignore all the unintended consequences of their regulations," said Dr. Chassin.
Doctors and nurses have been telling authorities for years that too many patient armbands are a safety hazard, but those complaints had fallen on deaf ears until last week when 87 year old ICU patient Pat Swanson of Denver, Colorado underwent emergent bilateral upper extremity amputations at Great Scotts Medical Center shortly after 52 armbands cut off circulation during an anasarca storm.
"After a root cause analysis, we determined the PROBABLY A PALLIATIVE CARE CANDIDATE armband placed an hour before the event finally took her arms over the edge," said Dr. Steven Johnson, the Hospitalist on duty when this tragic but totally foreseeable event occurred.
"When she was admitted 24 days ago, she only had three arm bands, but if you do the math, she gained just over 2 armbands per day in the ICU that nobody noticed. In retrospect, the patient telling us 'My arms are too heavy with armbands to lift a spoon and eat' should have clued us into an emerging problem, but we were too busy filling out FMLA papers for multiple family members everyday to head her cry for help," said Dr. Johnson.
In the last four years, The Joint Commission says the average number of patient armbands has skyrocketed from 3 to over 17, as more and more patient characteristics demand armband worthy status, adversely affecting everyone in the hospital. Nursing students are constantly pulling the code blue cord in an abundance of caution after being unable to palpate a radial pulse. Medical students have no idea what pronator drift is anymore. Phlebotomists are being retrained to perform bedside carotid cut-downs for routine blood draws. Even administrators are overwhelmed with committees trying to solve the excessive armband problem.
"At one point we had 17 committees - all working independently and without communication - each trying to come up with a solution that nobody else liked, resulting in 17 other committees to sort it all out," said Dr Johnson.
What came out of these painful meetings was nothing short of genius at Great Scotts Medical Center. "We hired a hospital seamstress to convert all those armbands into one giant sash for the women and a handsome fashion belt for the men. Patients love it and it's a great conversation piece for family. Plus, as an added bonus, we have the highest satisfaction scores in the universe! Thank you Joint Commission for being so helpful," said Dr Johnson.
Complete list of 52 armbands removed from Pat Swanson.
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"I'm proud The Joint Commission is finally taking a stand against The Joint Commission for continuing to ignore all the unintended consequences of their regulations," said Dr. Chassin.
Doctors and nurses have been telling authorities for years that too many patient armbands are a safety hazard, but those complaints had fallen on deaf ears until last week when 87 year old ICU patient Pat Swanson of Denver, Colorado underwent emergent bilateral upper extremity amputations at Great Scotts Medical Center shortly after 52 armbands cut off circulation during an anasarca storm.
"After a root cause analysis, we determined the PROBABLY A PALLIATIVE CARE CANDIDATE armband placed an hour before the event finally took her arms over the edge," said Dr. Steven Johnson, the Hospitalist on duty when this tragic but totally foreseeable event occurred.
"When she was admitted 24 days ago, she only had three arm bands, but if you do the math, she gained just over 2 armbands per day in the ICU that nobody noticed. In retrospect, the patient telling us 'My arms are too heavy with armbands to lift a spoon and eat' should have clued us into an emerging problem, but we were too busy filling out FMLA papers for multiple family members everyday to head her cry for help," said Dr. Johnson.
In the last four years, The Joint Commission says the average number of patient armbands has skyrocketed from 3 to over 17, as more and more patient characteristics demand armband worthy status, adversely affecting everyone in the hospital. Nursing students are constantly pulling the code blue cord in an abundance of caution after being unable to palpate a radial pulse. Medical students have no idea what pronator drift is anymore. Phlebotomists are being retrained to perform bedside carotid cut-downs for routine blood draws. Even administrators are overwhelmed with committees trying to solve the excessive armband problem.
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| Too many armbands? There's an armband for that! |
"At one point we had 17 committees - all working independently and without communication - each trying to come up with a solution that nobody else liked, resulting in 17 other committees to sort it all out," said Dr Johnson.
What came out of these painful meetings was nothing short of genius at Great Scotts Medical Center. "We hired a hospital seamstress to convert all those armbands into one giant sash for the women and a handsome fashion belt for the men. Patients love it and it's a great conversation piece for family. Plus, as an added bonus, we have the highest satisfaction scores in the universe! Thank you Joint Commission for being so helpful," said Dr Johnson.
Complete list of 52 armbands removed from Pat Swanson.
- Swanson With an O
- Already Outlived Life Expectancy
- Don't Code Her, She Won't Know The Difference
- Allow Natural Life Support
- Risk of Talking Alot
- Risk of Family Filling Out Poor Patient Satisfaction Survey
- Looks Older Than Her Stated Age
- Ambiguous Name Alert
- Suspected Female
- Hard of Understanding
- Hits On Young Male Doctors
- Likes To Talks About Her Bowels
- POA Is A Physician
- Doesn't Believe In Flu Shots
- Family Googles Everything
- Thinks Most Doctors and Nurses Are Too Young
- Risk of Asking Lots of Questions
- Reads Every Consent Word-For-Word
- Family Wants Lawyer To Review All Documents
- Wants a Comfortable Death With Everything Done
- No Known Drug Allergies
- Allergic to All Antibiotics - Anaphylaxis
- Allergic To Wasps, But Not Bumble Bees
- Has Two Daughters Who Never Leave The Room
- Thinks She's The Only Patient In the Hospital
- OK To Go Outside and Smoke
- Has Lots of Great Stories If You Have a Free Moment
- Wants Everything Taken Care Of While She's Here
- Found Cheating at Crossword Puzzles
- Should Be In a Nursing Home
- Can't Remember If She Has Dementia Or Not
- When She Yells 'Bill', Just Say 'Yes,'
- Doesn't Like To Be Called Honey
- It's Fakeasia, Not a Stroke
- Frail like a Babby Bunny
- That's Not a Wig You See
- Was Perfectly Healthy Until A Week Before Getting Sick
- Has Appointment at Mayo Clinic After Discharge To Figure This Out
- Disappoints Easily
- Not Really a Fighter
- Loves a Good Foley
- QHS = 4 PM
- Rides Call Light Like a Rodeo Champ
- 12/10 On The Pain In My Ass Scale
- Direct Eye Contact Should Be Avoided
- OK To Incubate
- Gown and Glove Encouraged
- On Family Meal Plan
- Dilaudid 2 MG IV Push Preferred
- Dysphagia 7 Diet
- Probably a Palliative Care Candidate
- Too Many Armbands
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