'Though much about COVID-19 remains a mystery, one thing is certain: It can turn deadly in a heartbeat, and the smart beds turned out to be a lifesaver in many cases where the hospital was able to identify deteriorating cases faster using the beds.' – Nancy Riffel, MSA, BSN, RN, patient services manager for Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw, Michigan. Did you know 2020 was designated as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife by The World Health Organization? Yet, at the rate things are going, 2020 is more likely to be remembered as the year of COVID-19. And for this reason, it's more necessary than ever to celebrate the work nurses do, particularly the innovative solutions they have created to provide safe patient care during the pandemic. In this week's feature story, Nancy Riffel, MSA, BSN, RN, patient services manager for Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw, Michigan talks about how nurses are creatively working to prevent patient deterioration with tools like smart beds with continuous monitoring I'd also like to announce a big change for me this year. After five years, as a senior editor here at HealthLeaders, I will be moving on to a new opportunity. I've been accepted into an elementary teacher residency program and will begin working with students and a mentor teacher (in a remote classroom at first) this week. I've really enjoyed connecting with all of you in the nursing community over the years and am proud of what nurses do. I'm happy to continue to connect with all of you through LinkedIn, so don't be strangers. Also, in this issue: |