Being A Nurse During COVID-19
Nurses protect the health and well-being of patients every day and play an integral role in our nation’s health care system. In the latest USF Health Brief, Usha Menon, PhD, RN, interim dean of the USF Health College of Nursing, discusses the challenges and changes nurses and nurse training face during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Video By Allison Long
USF Health’s Culture Initiative
September 05, 2019
USF Health’s mission is to Make Life Better in the communities we serve by providing excellence in the areas of patient care, education and research. Together, we will be the most trusted and best academic health system in Florida. The foundation of USF Health is built upon interprofessionalism, compassion and passion, accountability, respect and inclusion, and excellence. “We are building a culture initiative to operationalize these core values,” says Terri Ashmeade, MD, chief quality officer for USF Health and associate professor of pediatrics for USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. From the lobby receptionist to the neonatologist, our faculty and staff are at the heart of making life better for our patients. A part of the Be USF Health culture initiative is the culture coin, rewarded to our culture champions who exemplify the values of USF Health and for their outstanding dedication to our mission of Making Life Better through education, research and patient care. Learn more about the USF Health culture coin and join the initiative. Be USF Health.
Academic Medicine with Dr. Mark Moseley
May 20, 2019
What separates USF Health from other multi-specialty practices in the Tampa Bay area is that it is part of an academic medical center, a connection that benefits both patients and the community it serves. Academic medicine means better health care. As the only academic medical center on the west coast of Florida, USF Health is bringing The Power of Academic Medicine to Tampa Bay in a way that is having a profound impact on the community. “We have three missions – providing high quality care, training people in that high quality care, and the discovery of new knowledge through research and innovation,” says Mark Moseley, MD, MHA, chief clinical officer, USF Health, associate dean for clinical affairs, Morsani College of Medicine. Having medical students and residents training alongside health care professionals, keeps everyone sharp, up to date, and practicing evidence-based medicine. As part of an academic medical center, USF Health can give patients the most current medicine, treatment and cure available, an advantage few other physician groups can offer.
Combating Medical Errors with Dr. Haru Okuda
January 10, 2019
In November 1999, the Quality of Health Care in America Committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report called To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System that stated as many as 98,000 hospital deaths occur each year due to medical error. Communication error is described as the cause of 60% to 70% of those preventable hospital deaths. “We’ve done a lot of amazing things in technology and medical knowledge and science, but I think one thing that we haven’t done in health care well is really learning to work together in teams,” says Yasuharu “Haru” Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, executive director of the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) and executive director of interprofessional education simulation programming. Twenty years after the IOM’s report, the statistics are still alarming. In an effort to make life better and combat medical errors, USF Health incorporates interprofessional education as a primary part of its curriculum.
Value-Based Care with Dr. Mark Moseley
August 15, 2018
The health care system is shifting from volume to value-based care to improve the patient experience. “Currently, in the health care system, we’re incentivized to take care of you when you’re sick. The idea of value-based care is we’re actually incentivized to keep you well,” says Mark Moseley, MD, MHA, chief clinical officer, USF Health, associate dean for clinical affairs, Morsani College of Medicine. Physicians will strive to prevent chronic diseases, like high blood pressure or diabetes, from developing or, if the chronic disease is already an issue, properly manage it to avoid complications. Ultimately, this model is not only beneficial to the patient, but it also drives down cost.
Precision Medicine and the Pharmacist’s Changing Role With Dr. Kevin Sneed
May 18, 2018
As the importance of interprofessionalism in health care continues to grow, so does the role of the pharmacist. “The role of the pharmacist is changing from one that has been focused on medication dispensing and now moving into direct patient care,” says Kevin Sneed, PharmD, senior associate vice president of USF Health and dean of the College of Pharmacy. Precision medicine plays a big part in this direct patient care. By looking at the patient’s clinical test results, as well as lifestyle and diet, a pharmacist can hone in on precisely what the patient needs.
The importance of genetic diversity in pharmacogenomics with Dr. Kevin Sneed
Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs. The idea is that everyone’s genetic makeup is different, so everyone’s treatment for a disease should be different. The hurdle comes in the lack of genetic diversity in clinical trials. “We don’t truly understand how to treat people of different ethnic backgrounds, if we’ve never done the testing,” says Kevin Sneed, PharmD, senior associate vice president of USF Health and dean of the College of Pharmacy.
Health Systems of the future require clinically integrated networks with Dan Vukmer
Historically, academic institutions have not integrated with other providers or shared information directly, but that dynamic of health care is changing. “If we can work together, we can provide better, more efficient care at a better price,” says Daniel Vukmer, JD, USF Health’s senior associate vice president of network integration. Successful health systems of the future will require clinically integrated networks (CIN) to change the culture of health care.
Better Care Through Clinically Integrated Networks with Dan Vukmer
January 13, 2018
Clinical Integrated Networks (CINs) help keep patients away from the hospital. Vukmer says physician-led CINs try to keep the patients out hospital beds unless they absolutely need to be there. But, when patients need care, the physicians group of USF Health, the only academic health center in southwest Florida, can deliver the best possible specialty care – provided by health professionals on the cutting edge.
Current State of USF Health with Dr. Edmund F. Funai
June 30, 2017
USF Health is transforming clinical care to help improve patient experience and satisfaction. Dr. Funai says recent infrastructure investments will help measure quality improvements. Through these efforts, our goal is to help deliver the safest, most timely and effective care for patients.
Investments in USF Health with Dr. Edmund F. Funai
June 15, 2017
USF Health is providing the necessary resources to give patients the best visit experience. Edmund Funai, MD, chief operating officer at USF Health, vice dean for administrational at the Morsani College of Medicine and senior vice president for strategic development at the USF System, says USF Health values patients and their wants and needs. Each step of the patients’ visits and each person they interact with, from beginning to end, is an opportunity for us to satisfy them and ensure that their care is perfectly coordinated – to ease the frustrations that are typical with the health care system.