A Passion for Patients

I am often on planes – seems to be the blessing and curse of success - I have to admit, after working and being away from my family for several days, I usually just want to slip on my head phones and look out the window, but sometimes my seat mate just wants to chat. 

It was a Thursday, I missed #2’s baseball game the night before so I was a little grouchy, and I was eager to get home to spend time with my boys.  I had splurged $50 to upgrade to Airtran “1^st class” which generally translates to a comfortable quiet trip home.  As I was praying the plane wouldn’t break, in walked my seat buddy – a 6’5  55+year old woman carrying a 10 month old baby.  There went quiet….though the conversation that followed was much more than I ever imagined.

We talked about the airplane – we talked about raising children – we talked about travel abroad - we talked about the Lord and then we talked about her adorable baby.   Soon I learned her name was “Mary” and it was her grandson who was only 4 months old when his mother, her youngest daughter, had passed away.  The story struck me, but more than that - staring into the face of the little boy on her lap - it broke my heart to imagine my boys growing up without me. 

Her daughter was a vibrant healthy young woman who became ill and deteriorated over several months.  She had several visits to the emergency room of their rural hospital with little answers.   Eventually, she was admitted to that hospital, Mary kept her children and her husband stayed with her as her advocate.  The baby became ill and Mary had to bring him to ER, when she arrived her son-in-law left his wife alone and met her to check in and see his son.  While he was gone, his wife pressed her call light – with no response she went to the bathroom alone then returned to her bed.  When he returned to the floor, he saw the call light on in the hallway outside her room.  He found his wife unresponsive.  In his confusion, he pressed the call button and began yelling for help – with no answer he ran to the nurses’ station.  The unit secretary ran to another patient’s room to find the nurse.   A few moments later – Mary heard a Code Blue call to her daughter’s room.  Leaving the baby with the ER nurse she flew to the floor, but nothing could be done.  Her daughter had died.

My mind immediately went to Regina and the E-patient movement. I shared about the Walking Gallery and my dear friend’s story of the loss of her husband.  How she had inspired me, and how the people in the gallery inspire me. 

She asked me what I did in healthcare – so I shared about Noah, and what we do at Sphere3.  She asked if I could get the data about her daughter’s incident. “I am not sure” I responded – seeing disappointment flush her face – I tried to explain that some technology does not support historical records – some technology does not save any records at all especially in small rural hospitals.  There are ways for me to get to data on a go forward basis, but many times it's a challenge to get to the retrospective data if it was not planned for when the initial technology was installed.  However, I would take a look if she ever wanted me too.

I wrote a while back about the drive to do more, to make a greater impact, to intercept the incidents, to save lives…..when patients are your driver – when people are your purpose - you do more.  You find yourself listening on an airplane - when you just wanted to look out the window.  You connect with people who inspire you and will drive you to go further.   

Are you doing this for the sake of profits?
Are you doing this for the sake of the patients? 
Are you inspiring a conversation in the HIT community or are you riding on the wave of government funded HIT? 

Don't ride the wave - find your inspiration and drive for change that matters.  

HIMSS Day #2

Shameless Plug -  I present today at  Booth #8310 at 11:00am – you can see a demo of Aperum and get some insights into how we work with hospitals to reveal data to improve HCAHPS #4. 

The only word I can use to describe day two….busy….running from meeting to meeting and trying to squeeze in seeing some new and cool technology.    It seems this year that everyone is saying the word “Data” and how much they care about it much more than years past.   As I listened to different people describe their products it was all about the analytics and improvement and their ability to provide more data.  It’s pretty mind blowing…however I was given the best quote of the conference at dinner last night from the CIO of North Shore LIJ Health System.  (If you stop by the booth #8310 – I will tell you)

So, instead of telling you about every booth I went to yesterday – I want to highlight the one that impressed me the most.  I have to admit, I was reluctant to go to the Versus booth, but a very persistent marketing person from their organization emailed several times.  RTLS is a competitive space with a lot of technology differences – while I am not 100% sold on the hardware side of Versus – their software blew me away.      The roundtable presenter was a hospital person talking about her experience – talking about actual documented savings.   Then their Sales team spent time one on one with me presenting the software and new analytics tool.  Loved it – drill down reports – well laid out – very impressive.  Versus # 5852 – ask for Susan.  Other vendors should take note of this professional group. 

I ended my day at The Walking Gallery - the best part of my day.  I was able to see my friend Regina Holiday.  She is so impressive - she just wants to make things better - she is not looking to gain anything for herself execpt the opportunity to share her story.  She is so focused on the patient - so focused on finding ways to encourage people like me.  If you haven't met her - don't have a jacket - contact her @reginaholiday 

I will challenge you all - the data is not yours.  I get it rules, HIPPA, proprietary......but the data is not yours to hold. It's not my data. Your technology is a tool to enable the care of an individual.  What is your motivation? 

Short and Sweet today – If you have a chance I present today –  Booth #8310 – you can see a demo of Aperum and get some insights into how we work with hospitals to reveal data to improve HCAHPS #4.

The Walking Gallery

I always wanted to be one of those creative artsy people when I was younger – something about their free spirit draws you into their earthy lifestyle. As my friend Carrie can attest – I did attempt to be “cool like that” but I have settled for just enjoying art and music. So, when I started following @ReginaHolliday I was enamored with her artistic ability, and something about her draws you into her world of colors and words.

I will admit – I didn’t know what to expect traveling to the Walking Gallery. Let’s face it I met her on the internet….squares just don’t do this type of thing….I had no idea what I was in for, and let me say the experience was incredible.

When I arrived at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health – I encountered fellow Walkers @MatthewBrowning and @FairCareMD we were all lost but soon we found our way to the “Gallery”. There were jackets all ready walking…I was challenged to find my own as I began to lose myself in the art. Soon I found myself standing at a table receiving my jacket, but strangely it wasn’t the jacket I sent – the jacket had become a window into my life for all to see. As I stared into the face of my sick baby it was incredible how she captured him – my Noah. I put on my jacket and found @ReginaHolliday. She recognized me immediately and threw her arms around me. It was like seeing an old friend.

As I wandered through the room I met @technicaljones and learned about his mothers fight for life. His jacket with a “SuperMom” who fought through illness to be there for her children. Across the room I spotted @epatientDave, he moved through the room like a rockstar with people reaching out and talking. David Hale incredible Matrix inspired jacket with a red pill representing all data and a blue pill representing us accepting what we are told to be truth from doctors. We marched together walked sharing the challenges of weeding through data with limited budgets. @MatthewBrownings jacket (one of my favorite paintings) showed the harrowing experience he had with his wife and their first child. @tmit beautiful jacket in support of the #caremom movement. The evening went on and my story repeated itself over and over sometimes without my mouth even opening – to people who understood. I didn’t have to prove myself as an expert in my field – I didn’t have to justify how I knew anything since I am not a clinician or doctor. I just got to be a mom with a story about healthcare.

My story – we were in the hospital and Noah vomited – I pressed my button and no one came….my company installed the button years ago – I thought it was broken……it wasn’t…..the difference between my story and most is when I went to the hospital they acted. They didn’t just act – they talked to me and made me part of the solution. I was able to meet other patients they call “frequent fliers” and their parents. I was able to work deeply with the technology team. I took my story and I created because that’s what I do. Talking only will get us so far – words are meaningless without action.

Look at Regina – she is a preschool teacher – she is an artist – who would listen to her? Most artist are seen by business people as creatives who can’t work so they paint….I laugh at the thought when I think of Regina. She uses her powerful medium as a tool to reach the masses – as a method to spread her gospel – as a leader to those of us who don’t know how to define our voice. Let me tell you, some of the most powerful people in healthcare listen to her. If you are in healthcare and you don’t – you are missing the boat.

I have shared with very few people recently how tired I am – fighting to build a startup, being challenged by healthcare to prove it, traveling every week, and night time kisses through video phone – after this event…..I am inspired…..I am energized…..and I know it’s all worth it.

If what I do impacts one life – it’s worth it. Let that be your thought today. Be inspired by the stories – not by your technology.

When Our Use becomes "Meaningless"

I recently read a blog post by Regina Holiday that was both incredibly moving and really thought provoking. Regina lost her husband to cancer and has recounted the experience throguh art and speaking. She has gained national attention because of her patient’s rights movement her voice emphasized through murals. Sometimes words are not enough.
She along with other noted leaders like E-patient Dave are paving the way for more information - better information- to let patients make informed decisions. The point that stuck out to me was the concept that the medical information could be presented to the family in a format as easy to read as the Nutrition Facts label. While I don't want to discount the difficulties to do this nationwide with consistent standards - it just makes sense. People didn't understand what everything on the nutrition label meant initially, but now most of us know sodium # high = bad. (I could soap box for days on the unhealthiness of the US and our unwillingness to read the label and make good choices but that's a different post for a different blog)
All of the “bring it to basics” mentality brought me to reflect on the creation of Sphere3. It came out of frusteration that all the creatvivity in the world associated with integration was thwarted due to the difficulties associated with trying to communicate the functional process. (that was a mouthful) In other words most geeks want to tell people "how" it's done instead of "what" will occur.

The "what" to me is like writing a book or a movie - there are characters, there are scenes, ther are props, and if all is done correctly there are great reviews. It makes what we do in integration design look really simple, which is good. My theory (which is shared by many) is a Nurse needs to be concerned with the patient and things that cannot be replaced by technology. There is nothing more frustrating then being handed additional technology to “make life better” which just complicates life more. Nurses should spend a majority of their time helping people – not fiddling with unnecessary technology.
This is a scene from my own life – and I encourage you to remember a scene from yours that will help you focus on the clinician and the patient. Remembering that the technology should be complimentary – the people should be the main focus.

One night, when BFB (Big Fat Baby - see our story) was in the hospital, he was having difficulty breathing. The Oxygen reader (aka 02 Sat) began it ring. I was "sleeping" in the chair next to his bed, my head propped against the side of the crib my hand holding the fat fingers. I turned my head to see the machine (which I had learned to read a few days prior) and the numbers where dropping. At first, I thought his toe thing is loose, so I unwrapped him to find it firmly attached. I began to follow the cable to the machine to make sure it wasn't unattached. As I did the door opened and in came the RN, followed by the Respiratory Therapist. "Please step back Kourtney" she said stepping between me and my bundle.


In my head all I could hear was a warning announcement saying "Warning! This is not a drill...".My heart stopped and everything around me seemed to be in slow-motion as the night nurse and Respiratory Therapist (among others) began poking ,prodding , and suctioning (to this day I can hardly look at that suction when I walk into a patient room for work). His skin looked gray, his fat arms barely fought the team as they suctioned, and worst of all - he wasn't crying. So, I took on the role for him. Crying dosen't really describe what I was doing - sobbing unconctrollably - the kind of experience where you know at the end of it you will look like a prize fighter. David had emerged from the bed in the back of the room and tried to comfort me. We didn’t want to watch but it was like a train wreck that we couldn't help but watch. As it ended and it seemed as though someone gave the "all clear" signal - the nurse turned to me and I said "is he going to make it through this?” She was experienced, had as many gray hairs as my mom, and had kept her cool the entire time. The kind of person you want in a foxhole with you - bullets wouldn't faze her. "The worst is almost over" she said as she touched my arm and smiled. Though she didn't say it I knew she was saying "he's going to be fine". After the group left the room - I returned to my watch post at the side of the bed, reached in, and my fingers were met by the firm grip of BFB.

A Nurse’s primary role is to care for the patient - do things that we can't do ourselves. Her secondary role is to assure you - in a way that few can - that all will be ok. Neither of those things can be replaced by technology.

Our job as "technologists" - "integrators" - "geeks" is to enable these people to do what they do best - help with people. If what we do gets in the way of those roles our use is meaningless.