Students at F. D. Moon Academy in Oklahoma City were already excited about Christmas break when a special surprise came to their elementary school on Tuesday thanks to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF).
A cold December morning was filled with joyful squeals of delight as the giant Clydesdale horse from Express Ranches, Blazer, stomped out of his trailer and lifted his huge head to the sky. Doug Sauter talked softly around Blazer and two miniature horses as Sauter told the children about how to approach a horse safely and pet its nose.
Before the outside activities, students and teachers warmed up and enjoyed a breakfast snack donated by ODAFF directors, the State Board of Agriculture and the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. Sticky fingers eagerly grabbed donuts and washed them down with hot chocolate to get fueled for the last day of school.
Oklahoma State Board of Agriculture members assisted ODAFF’s Ag in the Classroom coordinators as they taught agriculture lessons from the award-winning preK-12 curriculum. Students tried their hands at milking Betsie the Cow, a large wooden cow-shaped cutout with a balloon udder. Coordinators also talked about milk and all the good things made from milk.
Best of all was the sound of reindeer hooves on the school playground. Two of Santa’s reindeer found their way to Oklahoma and amazed the children with giant antlers and thick, soft fur. Prancer posed for photos with Santa and students from each class. Although the reindeer didn’t fly around the school they delighted the students as part of the special happy holiday wishes from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.

A former Tulsa insurance agent was charged Thursday with embezzling more than $64,000. The charges are the result of a joint investigation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. The Oklahoma Department of Securities also assisted with the case.
“I have zero tolerance for agents who break the law,” said Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak. “Insurance-related crimes often lead to higher premiums for everyone. I commend the excellent work done by our Anti-Fraud Unit and the Attorney General’s Office on this case. These charges send a message that crimes like this will be discovered and the perpetrators will be prosecuted.”
Michael W. Hefner, 47, is accused of transferring money from a company bank account to a second bank account only he controlled. The company bank account was only supposed to be used to deposit premium payments Hefner collected before the funds were remitted to the insurer. Investigators found more than a dozen illegal transactions between January 2012 and May 2015. Hefner spent the money at casinos, grocery stores and gas stations. He also used it to pay bills for personal loans, utilities, child care, a storage unit and auto insurance.
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office will serve as lead prosecutors in this case. Hefner has been charged with 15 counts of embezzlement. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
About the Oklahoma Insurance Department
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.

LeadingAge Oklahoma Executive Director Mary Brinkley recently announced that 45 nursing homes throughout the state have received national certification in the MUSIC & MEMORY program and will take part in this new program that uses personalized music to assist residents with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias.
In an effort to improve the quality of life for people suffering from dementia, a personalized music program is now available to 2,000 nursing home residents in 100 skilled nursing homes in Oklahoma. The two and half year project will use iPods to re-introduce nursing home residents to their favorite, personalized music to improve their day-to-day life and assist in reducing medication usage. Phase 2 of the program will begin next Spring for the remaining 55 nursing homes. The LeadingAge Oklahoma Music for the Ages initiative is part of the national MUSIC AND MEMORY program developed to train nursing home staff to create personalized music. The grant through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Oklahoma State Department of Health will enable residents to listen to their favorite music and be able to recall memories that haven’t been lost to their disease. This has an uplifting affect that improves their spirits, and allows them to be responsive, cooperative, and engaged with family, friends, staff and other community members. “Increasing a person’s ability to positively interact with others through the power of music is really priceless,” said Brinkley. “We’re pulling from their past – music that made them feel happy or made them joyful and triggers good memories.” “The music has a connection to the emotion system. It’s sort of a back door to the mind, and that’s why people come alive.” Program Director, Denise Clemonds said, “LeadingAge Oklahoma will host monthly support sessions for nursing homes to discuss successes, solve challenges and receive additional training.” Nursing homes will receive start up equipment, certification and also participate in a research study to measure the effectiveness of the program. The results of the study will be used for future planning. “We are gratified that so many of the nursing homes across the state will participate in what we believe is a landmark program in the treatment of people with dementia”, said Brinkley.
“Music has long been known as a powerful tool for stimulating memory, and this new program in Oklahoma nursing homes is harnessing that power to improve the lives of residents with advanced dementia,” said Brinkley. “Our brains are hard-wired to connect music with long-term memory. People with dementia, Parkinson’s disease and other diseases that damage brain chemistry can reconnect to the world and gain improved quality of life from listening to personal music favorites.” MUSIC & MEMORY founder Dan Cohen used thorough neuroscience research to create the program which has been shown to enhance the lives of residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias by: „* Reducing the reliance on anti-psychotic and anti-anxiety medication „* Reducing agitation and “sun-downing” „* Enhancing engagement and socialization, in turn fostering a calmer social environment * Increasing pleasure to persons with dementia „* Increasing cooperation and attention of patients „* Boosting staff morale by reducing resident resistance to care „* Increasing fulfilling engagements among the residents, staff, family, friends, and their community.
“LeadingAge Oklahoma is the first long-term care provider association in the country to develop its own program based on Cohen’s program,” said Brinkley.
LeadingAge Oklahoma plans to expand Music for the Ages initiative this spring to include a total of 100 nursing homes in the project.
For additional information about the Music for the Ages, go to: LeadingAge Oklahoma For the list of Oklahoma nursing homes participating in the program, go to: http://leadingageok.org/music-for-the-ages

Several members of the Edmond Senior Center’s “Tap For Fun” class kicked off this year’s holiday season with their 10th Annual Holiday Tap Dance Performance, held at the senior center on December 14, 2016.
The fun-loving senior tappers performed six very lively tap dances and – by popular demand from their delighted audience – an encore tap dance to “Let It Snow”.
Men and women, ages 55+, are welcome to participate in the “Tap For Fun” class. For more information about the class, call the Edmond Senior Center, 216-7600.

You’ve heard of a two-for-one sale, but what about a two-for-one eye surgery?
It takes critical coordination and two skilled surgeons, but doctors at Dean McGee Eye Institute are combining cataract and retina surgeries into one combined procedure. It’s an approach that is easier on the patient, more cost effective and can improve outcomes, too. In the end, it is helping restore patients’ vision so that they can more quickly get back to the things in life they love most. For Ed Brandt III, that was reading to his grandkids.
“My four-year-old granddaughter was over, and we were sitting in the back. She brought a book over, sat in my lap and said, ‘Grampy, can you read this for me?’ I opened the book and I just couldn’t read it,” Brandt said.
A trip to the Dean McGee Eye Institute revealed why. Brandt had a detached retina.
“If you think of the eye like a camera, your lens is the lens of the camera and the retina is kind of like the film,” said Dr. Vinay Shah, a retina specialist with Dean McGee. “When you have a retinal detachment that means the film of the camera has come loose and we have to put it back in place surgically.”
For Brandt, who had undergone procedures on his eyes before, that might have meant another three surgeries; the first to re-attach the retina and place a tiny oil bubble to hold the retina in place while it heals; a second surgery to remove the oil bubble; and then, since it is common for a cataract to form after retina surgery, he would need a third surgery to address that issue. Brandt was pleased to learn that two of those surgeries could be combined into one. Not only was it more convenient for him, but he also learned that the procedure could enhance his overall outcome.
“A large percentage of patients who have retina surgery will develop a cataract. So six months later, they are looking at surgery again. So if we can go ahead and take out the natural lens, replacing it with an implant lens and do the retina surgery at the same time, it is much easier on the patient and his or her family,” said Dr. Ralph Hester, a cataract surgeon with Dean McGee. “More importantly, though, the retina surgeon wants the clearest possible view to visualize the finer details of the retina.”
“The retina is a less-than-one-millimeter-thin membrane in the back of your eye. So to work on that, you want optimal visibility,” Shah explained.
Accomplishing the combined cataract-retina surgery requires a lot of coordination. Two surgeons and their teams as well as two sets of surgical equipment must all be in place.
“The patient does not move. We move,” Shah said. “So it has to be carefully orchestrated. At the Dean McGee Eye Institute, we have set aside particular times of the week just for these types of combination procedures.”
With one trip to the operating room, patient safety is improved and there also are cost savings with the added bonus of less time away from work.
“It’s not about the money, though. It’s about the patient,” Hester explained. “For the patient, this is a big deal. If you can package this into one operation, they are not scheduling time off work multiple times and getting their loved ones to transport them to and from the surgery center multiple times. It makes a big difference.”
Ultimately, Hester and Shah added, it is about changing somebody’s life, restoring their vision and helping them get back to the things they love doing most, like reading to grandchildren.
“There are Braille books and audio books, but there is no way that I could ever replace having a grandchild sitting in my lap and being able to read to him or her. I can do that now. I can see, and I can read. It makes a world of difference to me,” Brandt said.
To learn more about the combination cataract-retina surgery, visit www.DMEI.org

story and photos by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Norman has and always will be a college town.
Today more than 31,000 students come to Norman each year to further their education.
As a result, Norman’s population has grown more than 50 percent to nearly 120,000 residents since 1990.
For the past 50 years seniors like Jim Jinkins have paid for that growth, supporting and paying for municipal bonds, school bonds and keeping dollars local and paying city sales tax.
And it was senior voters like Jinkins who threw their support behind the Norman Forward initiative that in October 2015 resulted in a half-percent sales tax increase intended to fund a number of quality of life issues.
One of those items listed on the ballot was a new, standalone senior center that would replace Norman’s current facility, housed in the city’s original 8,000-square-foot public library built in 1929.
But now Norman seniors feel they’re the ones standing alone and are accusing some city officials of trying to do an end-around with funds that should be used to build a new facility.
NORMAN FORWARD
“Seniors worked their butts off to get that initiative passed,” said Jinkins, who spent four hours on election day holding a sign on a street corner campaigning for the measure. “It passes and a couple months later they start talking about the budget again so we start going to the study sessions of the council meetings and they start saying ‘We don’t have any money. It’s going to take the entire $159 million to fund these Norman Forward projects.’”
“We said ‘Wait a minute. We’re a Norman Forward project.’”
City leaders indicated they had been considering using bond funds from a previous bond issue to fund renovating the existing Norman Public Library for use as a senior center.
That would be done after the library moved into a new building paid for through the sales tax increase.
Voters like Jinkins felt they secured a standalone senior center by passing the Norman Forward initiative.
“There’s not an asterisk next to it, there’s not any language that says if there’s money available,” Jinkins said about building a senior center. “Everybody I know that voted on it (thought they were voting) for a senior center.”
In March 2016, an Oklahoma not-for-profit corporation by the name 21st Century Norman Seniors Association was formed and Jinkins was elected president.
He says there are now more than 400 active members.
With seniors encompassing nearly 20 percent of Norman’s total population the group feels a significant segment of Norman residents are supporting the call for a free-standing senior center.
For now, Jinkins says the city is only offering yet another renovated former library to serve seniors’ needs or trying to float yet another bond issue to voters specifically for a new senior center.
Jinkins worries about voter fatigue and the fact voters have already voted twice to fund a new senior center.
The senior group says the plan of moving into the existing library does a disservice to seniors on multiple fronts.
Seniors and City of Norman staff would share the building and end up competing for space and facilities. Neither could expand as their programs grow.
Problems with parking and traffic flow cannot be resolved.
A shared parking lot with City offices plus the Municipal Court would create a bottleneck and there would also not be enough covered parking spaces that a senior center requires.
Senior centers in Edmond, Shawnee, and Midwest City have this.
The existing library lacks space for kitchen facilities. The staff of the kitchen at the present senior center would like to move to the new senior center, and most people agree that the new center should house the kitchen as the center is the only source for many seniors’ meals.
The option Jinkins’ group favors is building a new facility – which would cost in the neighborhood of $8-9 million – at the nearby city-owned Andrews Park.
The site would provide plenty of adequate parking plus be located across the street from the new library – benefitting from library programming and public resources located on site.
Association Associate Vice President Nadine Jewell penned a letter to the editor of The Norman Transcript that read, in part:
“Norman Forward is certainly needed in our community, and seniors do not think they are being greedy asking for a standalone center. While many projects, like Westwood, can only be used for 3 months of the year, a senior center can be used the year around. Surely, Norman cares enough for its seniors to find enough excess Norman Forward funds to build one standalone.”
With already a fair measure of support from existing council members, one thing working in the group’s favor is the fact City Council seats in the odd-numbered wards will be up for election this coming February.
Norman Seniors will host a candidates forum before the election so that you can meet the candidates, ask your questions, and hear their positions.
In the meantime, Jinkins is urging all interested Norman seniors to call their City Council representative and voice their opinions.
You can find out more information online at www.normanseniors.org as well as the group’s Facebook page listed as Friends for a 21st Century Senior Citizen’s Center.
“I think they just really wanted us to go away and they didn’t think we would get this far,” Jinkins said. “It is our hope that the Council will identify a funding source for a standalone center that does not involve yet another vote of the people.”

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

It was the mid-1970s and Oklahoma State Students Bob Busby and Brent McMurry found themselves in need of a job.
As luck would have it, the geology major and sociology major wound up in the same Stillwater classroom.
Little did they know they would be working side-by-side helping building what would become a cult following in Stillwater and eventually all of Oklahoma in Hideaway Pizza.
“It feels like the guests take ownership in Hideaway, like they’ve worked there before, or like they’ve owned part of it when they’re introducing it to people,” said Busby, now Hideaway senior vice president. “They feel like it’s part of their own experience or their own story.”
Both are former owners (along with Gary Gabrel) of the Hideaway Pizza expansion restaurants that started on Cherry Street in Tulsa. Brett Murphy and Darren Lister are the current owners.
Busby now serves as the senior vice president while McMurry is the district manager for South Tulsa.
BACK IN THE DAY
Richard Dermer and his wife, Marti, bought the business back in 1957.
In the 60’s and 70’s, with happy customers filling the 12 tables in the tiny restaurant, Richard and Marti had a fleet of VW delivery Bugs racing over the streets of Stillwater.
Originally decorated with the Hideaway pizza man logo (Big Kahuna), they evolved into colorful, eclectic designs with zebra stripes, polka dots, flowers and ladybugs, and became synonymous with Hideaway Pizza.
The way to work at the original Hideaway Pizza early on was word of mouth. You had to be a friend of a friend or know someone who had worked there.
“My first shift was nine in the evening to two in the morning driving a Volkswagen,” Busby said. “I didn’t even know how to drive a standard. First thing I did was ask for someone to show me how to do this because I’ve got a load of pizzas.”
Pizza was delivered on campus through the via one of the largest fleets of Volkswagen Beetles in the U.S. Creatively painted by the employees, the VW bugs became an iconic symbol for the company along with vintage kites (Dermer was President of the American Kitefliers Association), collage art and the board game Pente.
In 1993, Dermer allowed the trio of trusted employees including Busby, McMurry and Gabrel (Pente creator) to form a development company to expand the concept into new markets outside of Stillwater while the Dermer family retains ownership of the flagship location.
The first Hideaway Pizza expansion restaurant opened in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Cherry Street District.
“It was just from the get-go lines out the door,” McMurry said.
Hideaway Pizza had successfully grown its footprint to include six restaurants in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metro areas when Lister and Murphy purchased the company in Feb. 2006.
Under their leadership, the company has grown into one of America’s favorite pizza companies, employing approximately 1,000 in two states.
The newest restaurant location (#17) opened on Oct. 10, 2016 at 5103 Warden Rd. in North Little Rock, Arkansas. It was the first Hideaway Pizza to open outside of Oklahoma.
Hideaway Pizza plans to open its next restaurant in 2017 in Conway, Arkansas.
RISING SUCCESS
There are approximately 61,269 pizzerias in the United States and Hideaway Pizza was ranked No. 66 in Pizza Today magazine’s 2016 ranking of the nation’s most successful pizza companies.
That’s a six-spot jump from 2015. Two other Oklahoma-based pizza companies were included in the 2016 report. Tulsa-based Mazzio’s Italian Eatery was ranked No. 29 (No. 27 in 2015) and Simple Simon’s Pizza, headquartered in Glenpool was ranked No. 49 (No. 45 in 2015).
It’s still fun for McMurry and Busby, who admit they still regularly eat the pizza.
Both agree it’s never been about how many stores Hideaway has but the quality of the people and product inside of each.
They enjoy pouring into the staff as much as pouring into customers. The mantra has always been happy employees equal happy customers.
Maybe that’s why Hideaway has become an Oklahoma favorite. It’s not just a place to stop and pick up a pizza – although Busby admits the takeaway business is phenomenal – Hideaway is a place where friends and family come for an evening meal.
“Pizza is such a social food because you share it. You can feed a lot of people from one thing. It’s a unique niche of the restaurant business we’ve got here,” Busby says.
And you’ll still see both of them back in the kitchen making sure Hideaway Pizza stays an Oklahoma tradition.

The Fountains at Canterbury’s Watermark University spring semester will commence in January, providing free continued learning classes for area seniors. Nearly 30 courses are available to the public with topics including “Geology in Oklahoma,” “Creative Writing,” “Stitches in Time” and “Great Decisions Discussion!”
“Research shows that continued learning supports cognitive function and well-being,” said Scott Steinmetz, executive director of The Fountains at Canterbury. “Watermark University facilitates educational opportunities for our residents and local seniors, fueling their current interests and sparking new ones across a variety of subject areas and topics.”
“Geology in Oklahoma” will explore Oklahoma’s physical structure and the dynamics of geological formations. “Creative Writing” is for writers of all levels and will focus on sharing and discussion to foster improved techniques. “Stiches in Time” is a hands-on needlework class exploring simple crochet and knitting stiches. “Great Decisions Discussion” will review the newest Foreign Policy Association DVDs, followed by in-depth discussions.
Other course topics include health and tai chi, crafting, history, religious studies, culinary arts and wine, games, reading and music. The spring semester continues through April. All classes are taught by The Fountains at Canterbury associates, volunteers and residents.
Most classes are free of charge and open to the general public. All interested seniors who would like a full course catalog or are interested in signing up, call (405) 381-8165. Class space is limited, so course reservations are encouraged.
The Fountains at Canterbury is dedicated to being the first choice in senior living, providing a continuum of care including independent living, assisted living, memory care, innovative rehabilitation therapies and skilled care. The Fountains at Canterbury is managed by Watermark Retirement Communities and is committed to creating an extraordinary community where people thrive. To learn more, please call (405) 381-8165 or go online to www.watermarkcommunities.com.

Betty Hatcher, a resident at The Fountains at Canterbury in Oklahoma City, earned an honorable mention spot in a national art calendar competition hosted by Watermark Retirement Communities.
The national calendar, created by Watermark Retirement Communities which manages The Fountains of Canterbury, is designed to be a source of inspiration for all those who receive it. Pieces of art submitted for the competition included sculpture, needlepoint, oil and watercolor paintings and mixed-media work. The Expressions art calendar is distributed nationwide and celebrates active aging and the arts.
Hatcher’s cross-stitching was selected as one of 24 honorable mentions for the 2017 Watermark Expressions art calendar out of entries from 39 Watermark communities across the United States.
Hatcher began learning needlework from her mother at a young age. She went on to use her skills as a member of the Oklahoma City Embroiderers Guild for more than 20 years. Her favorite thing about cross-stitching is the multitude of colors and watching a piece transform into artwork. Today, Hatcher is 98-years-old and continues her love of cross-stitching by creating knitted caps for adults and babies as well as baby blankets.
“The Fountains at Canterbury is home to many talented individuals who thrive each day through continuing their life’s passions and discovering new ones,” said Becky Strong, director of community life at The Fountains at Canterbury. “Betty is an incredible artist and we are proud to see her receive national recognition for her talent and hard work.”
The piece was first judged as part of a local competition among residents at The Fountains at Canterbury. Three local experts narrowed down the pieces and sent the five best on to the national competition. Final selections to be featured in the calendar were made at the Watermark Retirement Communities’ national resource center in Tucson, Arizona.
The calendar is available to the public at no charge while supplies last. If you would like a calendar, please call (405) 381-8165.
The Fountains at Canterbury is dedicated to being the first choice in senior living, providing a continuum of care including independent living, assisted living, memory care, innovative rehabilitation therapies and skilled care. The Fountains at Canterbury is managed by Watermark Retirement Communities and is committed to creating an extraordinary community where people thrive. To learn more, please call (405) 381-8165 or go online to www.watermarkcommunities.com.

by Jason Chandler
Staff Writer

Most of the people don’t ask to be sick or plan a hospital admission. But when there is a health crisis, they find help at OU Medical Center Oklahoma City.
Dedicated nurses serving in the cardiac program, or Cardiovascular Institute at OU Medical Center are part of a continuum of care navigating the hospitals with opportunities.
“Our nurses have the opportunity every day to work in CVT and still have mobility in different areas,” said Scott Coppenbarger, hospital spokesman.
This continuum of care is a high priority for the patients’ experience as nurses are specialized in certain areas.
Examples include the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, step down, in house telemetry, cardiac floor, cardiac rehab, cardiac trauma, cardiac service line management, ability to impact STEMI times and outcomes, cath lab, adult congenital program, thoracic program, perioperative services, and the heart, lung and valve clinic.
Corinna Reed, RN, has been a nurse for 21 years. She works in the cath lab where diagnostic and interventional procedures are performed.
“For blockages in the heart, we stop heart attacks. We put pacemakers in and help eliminate blood clots,” Reed said. “There’s so many procedures we do. It’s becoming more and more encompassing.”
She said some procedures have been transferred from surgery to the cath lab setting where it is less evasive. Patients can be in and out of the cath lab in an afternoon versus surgery where they may stay overnight. So comprehensive care is becoming much easier for patients and families, Reed explained.
All of the cath lab nurses are critical care nurses. Reed has always circled back to focusing on the heart.
“I like to see people walk out of here,” Reed said. “One of my biggest rewards when I recovered open hearts was getting to take the ventilator off, and then the next day walking them down the hall to the cardiac nursing floor.”
A few days later, Reed would watch her patients wave goodbye as they were wheeled out of the hospital.
During Shawn Penington’s nine years at OU Medical Center he has worked in intensive care and cardiac intensive care units. The RN currently serves patients in the cath lab. OU Medical Center has been good to him by providing vital experience.
Patients who have had open heart surgeries will sometimes come to the cath lab for stents. The RN is familiar with all the medications they take.
“Some of those people come in. They are not scared. Some of them have a lot of anxiety,” he said. “So I like to identify with those kind of people.”
Understanding their emotions by acknowledging they are scared helps to ease their mind.
“Usually I tell them I would be scared, too, ‘if I was where you’re at,’” Penington said. “Even though I know there’s good outcomes of what we do and nothing’s going to go wrong I would still be afraid myself. That’s usually where I can meet them on level ground to help calm their fear.”
Nurses are attracted to cardiovascular ICU care because of the complexity of the work, said Bertha Nunez, RN, nurse manager for cardiovascular intensive care. It’s the hard work, she added.
“The critical thinking aspect, the busyness, because if your heart’s not working right then other things won’t work right either,” Nunez said. “And you have to have the anatomy, physiology knowledge behind it. Know your medications and how it impacts one organ and the rest of the body as well.”
Some nurses have been in different roles with OU Medical Center for more than 20 years, she said. There are also younger nurses the hospital works hard to keep on staff.
Nunez commends the nursing staff for their dedication, she said. They take the extra effort to help patients feel better, she said.
They also incorporate the family and feel gratified that for the 12 hours of work, they made a difference in a patient’s condition.
“That’s what attracted me to nursing was the ability to help somebody who may be anxious like Shawn said, or somebody that doesn’t know what’s going on and taking the time to explain,” Nunez said.
Teamwork and support through all aspects of the organization makes OU Medical Center’s stellar reputation thrive.
Ashley Milam, RN, works in the cardiothoracic ICU. She aids in heart recovery after open heart surgery and other dealings with the lungs and esophagus.
“We get them after surgery. They see us after the procedure is done and throughout their stay in the recovery process,” Nunez said.
Patients going to the hospital are trusting their lives with someone else.
“I admire their fight and their drive,” she continued. “And how they can be in an area that is very scary and they remain calm a lot of times. I admire they put so much trust in us.”
The staff remains updated with the flow of state-of-the-art technology be means of a computer system, said Chandra Ross, RN, manager of the cardiovascular progressive care floor unit.
“To update we use evidence based practice articles,” Ross said. We have a couple nurses that do that often, pull that up for us and spread it through the units.”
Information is shared during huddles and weekly updates.
“I was always drawn to the seriousness of different heart diseases,” Ross said. “I’ve loved every aspect of it from the floor nurse, supervisor and now the manager,” she said.
Nurses stick with cardiac nursing because of its energy and complexity of different procedures, Ross said.
“They get to see a whole variety of things because how the heart impacts stroke, vascularization and different things. They love new challenges,” Ross said.