Nurses touch the lives of every patient and are critical to the quality of care delivered. There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the influence of nurses—and the stability of nursing personnel—on patient outcomes, hospital costs, and the professional atmosphere in which care is provided. With the aging of the Baby Boom generation, hospitals will have to satisfy an exploding demand for nursing care with fewer resources than they have today. The perfect storm of declining reimbursement, a shrinking work force, clinical transparency and increasing demand will require hospitals to focus on excellence ... NOW! Taken together, these factors result in a situation that threatens the safety and quality of the U.S. healthcare system that require attention and action ... no excuses are allowable! To meet the challenge, we must address how to optimize nursing practice for peak performance by 2015. If not now, when?

      After this presentation you will be able to:

• Describe how the 100K Lives Campaign has created a laser beam focus on the importance of nursing to patient safety and clinical outcomes.
• Identify best practices in clinical operations and nursing care that are making a difference.
• Explain new and emerging threats to patient safety and how optimal nursing care can thwart them.
• Define Nursing Care 2015 and how to get there in less than 10 years!