Publications by authors named "Virginia G Cruz-Cody"
Objectives: To describe and evaluate a laboratory-based nursing education activity on transfusion to improve patient safety, an often-neglected opportunity.
Methods: Our transfusion service developed a day-long "Blood School" to provide knowledge, skills, and behaviors to nurses in four aspects of transfusion: blood ordering, sample collection, transfusion procedures, and recognition and reporting of transfusion reactions. We collected survey data on methods and effects of training and hard data on the number of reported patient safety events.
Background: Massive transfusion is a response to massive uncontrolled hemorrhage. To be effective, it must be timely and address the patient's needs for blood volume, oxygen transport, and hemostasis.
Study Design And Methods: A review was performed on all activations of the massive transfusion protocol (MTP) in a hospital with large emergency medicine, trauma, and vascular surgery programs.
Objectives: For over 60 years, Harborview Medical Center (HMC) in Seattle has received its blood components and pretransfusion testing from a centralized transfusion service operated by the regional blood supplier. In 2011, a hospital-based transfusion service (HBTS) was activated.
Methods: After 5 years of operation, we evaluated the effects of the HBTS by reviewing records of hospital blood use, quality system events, blood product delivery times, and costs.