By Angela Totora,MBA/HA, RN, CHP, LBBP 2020 is not like any other year. For most of us, 2020 is a year we are looking forward to seeing end. When 2020 was announced as the year of the nurse, it was not what any of us could have had in mind. Healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced overwhelming surges of COVID-19, PPE shortages, along with understaffing. This year began with us recognizing

A Louisiana nurse is being hailed as a hero after saving a 7-year-old student’s life. Althea Collins, a registered nurse with Advantage Medical Professionals (AMP), was working as a school nurse at a rural elementary school the morning of December 2nd, when she was notified of a Code Blue, unresponsive child. Upon arriving to the classroom, she immediately leapt into action and performed CPR on the child, who had suffered an unresponsive episode. While she

By Angela Totora,MBA/HA, RN, CHP, LBBP Being a nurse of over 35 years in Southeast Louisiana, I have been faced with multiple situations that questioned standards of care. I’m not talking about being sure your patients are getting their medication within 30 minutes of the time it is ordered, or completing that admit assessment within 24 hours of his admission. I am talking about the hard, heartbreaking decisions of events that revolve around saving one

As we continue to battle with the unknown of the COVID-19 pandemic, the inevitable hurricane season is upon us. The Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and runs through November 30. An above-average 2020 Hurricane season is predicted according to forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. Planning for hurricane season and other potential disasters can be stressful, and because the 2020 hurricane season comes during the COVID-19

While thinking about what to talk to you guys about, I was throwing around many ideas.  The holidays are coming – so what about recipes or craft ideas to make gift-giving easier.  The New Year is right around the corner – so what about recommendations on a good self-improvement book.   While tolling through my thoughts, one of our team members heard a nurse say something about a unit “eating their Young” – so what about

Clinician’s Corner Angela Totora, MBA/HA, RN Director of Nursing Marijuana for Therapeutic Use There is a lot of talk about medical marijuana.  Do you know what that means to you as a nurse?  Here are a few topics that might help you understand this complex issue.  Obtaining and using medical marijuana is a complex and somewhat uncertain environment that is created due to the conflict between state and federal laws.  Marijuana is considered a Schedule