Duke Health has started a new decontamination process for N95 masks using aerosolized hydrogen peroxide. Reusing these masks safely will help with equipment shortages due to the corononavirus (nCOVID-19) pandemic.
See the full story here
Social distancing during the COVID-19 Outbreak? Check out this list.
There are so many great articles, posts, and more about resources people can access while at home during the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve aggregated just a few of here to help you adjust to social distancing.
Facts about the coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a go-to source for reliable information on the virus, including tips for preparing your home and protecting your family.
Food safety
From the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Online entertainment and education
From virtual museum tours to online dance parties to free university classes, the internet has lots of ways for us to stay connected while social distancing.
Free (virtual) fitness sessions
From Peloton, Orangetheory, CorePower Yoga, and more.
Mindfulness and Well-Being
Text- or email-based research studies from our team that guide you through resilience exercises in minutes a day.
For those in the Durham, NC area
Bookmark this website for the latest community resources.
Healthcare Providers Get Free Access to Headspace App
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, meditation app Headspace is offering free access to their Plus subscription services through 2020 to all healthcare providers.
To help get you set up in the app, Dr. Suchita Shah Sata has put together this helpful how-to.
How Machine Learning Can Improve Clinical Decision-Making
New research from a collaborative team of Duke investigators, including Duke School of Medicine, Duke Institute for Health Innovation, and the Duke Center for Healthcare Safety and Quality, looks at the ability of machine learning to identify mortality risk among hospitalized patients.
Why is this important? From the abstract:
The ability to accurately predict in-hospital mortality for patients at the time of admission could improve clinical and operational decision-making and outcomes. Few of the machine learning models that have been developed to predict in-hospital death are both broadly applicable to all adult patients across a health system and readily implementable.
The results from this paper are promising and suggest that the model developed could be used at a system-wide level.
Free Bite-Size Team Training
Dr. Kyle Rehder, Center Medical Director and pediatric intensivist, recently developed a new educational program for those interested in enhancing their teamwork skills.
The Bite-Size Team Training program is a way for learners to engage with critical teamwork skills even when time is limited. The videos, which are approximately 5 minutes long, walk through a key concept, tool, and implementation suggestion. And the best news? They are free and publicly available.
Inside Duke Health article on Bite-Size Team Training (netID access)
Try the modules (free and publicly available)
Dr. Kyle Rehder Authors Joint Commission Blog Post on Disruptive Behaviors
Dr. Kyle Rehder authored a Jan. 30th blog post for The Joint Commission on the prevalence and impact of disruptive behaviors in the healthcare environment. The post highlights the recent research by Rehder and others from the Center team, which calls attention the routine exposure of healthcare workers to disruptive behaviors and the negative effects this can have on employee well-being and patient care.
Duke Health is committed to upholding professional behavior in the workplace. The Center hosts programs on professionalism, well-being, and teamwork to help team members from any organization, including Duke, become champions of a safe work environment.
Duke Regional Hospital Team Members Share Gratitude
This fall, Duke Regional Hospital team members came together to share letters of gratitude with each other. This well-being exercise is a powerful (and heartwarming!) tool for enhancing the resilience of caregivers. Check out the video to see the gratitude in action.
Patient Volunteer Supports Grief Awareness Week
Heart Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) Volunteer Co-chair and longtime Duke Health devotee Sue Ann Glower supports Grief Awareness Week, sponsored by Chaplain Services & Education.
This week staff, patients, visitors and families have the opportunity to share their thoughts, messages, poems and other expressions of grief and post them on the Grief Wall located on the first level concourse between Duke North and Duke South.
Thank you Sue Ann for all of your work and dedication to our patients, families and staff!
Learn more about the Duke Health Patient and Family Advisory Councils
Center Certified as Green Workplace
The Duke Center for Healthcare Safety and Quality has been certified as a Duke Green Workplace! The certification, which is coordinated by the Duke Office of Sustainability, evaluates workplaces on a variety of environmentally-conscious practices including recycling, energy usage, and communication of green practices.
The Center is committed to ensuring quality and safety for our patients, their caregivers, and each other, which means ensuring the environment we all live and work in is also safe and healthy. We take our responsibility to maintain the health of our environment seriously and are proud to be recognized for these efforts.
Duke Patient and Family Volunteer Wins Major Awards
In 2015, Kimberly Dixon underwent knee replacement surgeries at Duke Raleigh Hospital. However, bi-lateral artificial knees did not stop Kimberly from dedicating herself to her own personal health and the well-being of others.
Kimberly has participated in several volunteer organizations, including the Duke Raleigh Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC). She has even written a book about the experience of undergoing knee surgery, which she dedicated to her Duke Raleigh surgeon.
Whether I am serving on PFAC or providing care packages to the homeless, my mission is to let others know that they are not invisible and that someone truly cares for them and their well-being. – Kimberly Dixon
This year, Kimberly’s extraordinary work in her community has been recognized with major awards. She is the recipient of the 2019 ACHI Magazine Volunteer of the Year Award and the Health and Wellness Award. Congratulations to Kimberly for these well-deserved awards!
