Mitigating the Labor Crisis in Post-Acute Care
Strategies for improving nurse efficiency and retention through adoption of the Macy Catheter®
Industry Challenges
Today’s retention and recruitment landscape begs the question: What strategies can healthcare entities utilize to put nurses in the best condition to deliver quality care and to prevent exacerbation of existing staffing challenges?
Nurses don’t struggle or consider leaving their profession due to patient care; they struggle when tasked with excessive workloads and when administrative support proves inadequate. Healthcare entities can make efforts toward combating RN staffing challenges, such as providing equipment that aids delivery of more effective, more efficient care. Better equipment and care delivery options result in more manageable workloads and improved patient outcomes. Empowered nurses and comfortable patients inherently result in greater career fulfillment.
The Macy Catheter®
IV, SubQ, and suppository alternatives must be ordered, delivered, and set up, processes that can encumber patients, families, and clinicians with symptom control delays that may span hours or even days. Symptom control delays yield higher transfer rates to in-patient units, which can be a costly, arduous process.
Patented and FDA-cleared, the Macy Catheter® provides access to the clinically proven rectal route of delivery. It is designed to render the rectal route a practical, painless, and discreet alternative for medications that can be prescribed per rectum.
The Nursing Staffing Crisis
Nursing Frustrations and Fatigue
Nurses don’t struggle or consider leaving their profession due to patient care; they struggle when tasked with excessive workloads and when administrative support proves inadequate. Healthcare entities can make efforts toward combating RN staffing challenges, such as providing equipment that aids delivery of more effective, more efficient care. Better equipment and care delivery options result in more manageable workloads and improved patient outcomes. Empowered nurses and comfortable patients inherently result in greater career fulfillment.
Using the Macy Catheter® to Mitigate Challenges
Key Benefit: Easier Placement
The Macy Catheter’s non-sterile placement requires roughly three minutes and remains viable for up nto 28 days. Once inserted, a caregiver inflates a small, soft balloon with 15ml of tap water to secure the catheter in place. The catheter is removed or easily expelled with a bowel movement and, depending on agency policy, the same or new catheter may be reinserted after the bowel movement. The device is designed to be as minimally invasive as possible and as easy as possible for caregivers to use.
Key Benefit: Effective Delivery
Use of the Macy Catheter® for medication administration is considered a “micro enema” (i.e., a volume under 20ml of rectally delivered medication best absorbed in the distal third of the rectum). Highly effective, micro enemas provide rapid care because:
- The rectal mucosa is highly vascularized.
- There is a high percentage of absorptive cells present.
- Liquid medications are absorbed and enter circulation quickly.
- Increased bioavailability (distal 1/3 of rectum venous return bypasses liver).
Key Benefit: Versatility
Most medications may be discreetly delivered via the single port placed on the patient’s leg. Caregivers may use Hospi’s LiquiPill to effortlessly grind tablet medication, add water, and create solutions (as directed by the prescriber).
Macy Catheter® for Severe Symptom Management
— Dr. Wendy Schmitz, MD, Vice President of Medical Services, Ohio’s Hospice
Nurse and Caregiver Testimonials
Hospice/palliative care nurses share their experiences with the Macy Catheter®
Cheri Hartman
Gail Simburger
Kevin Moore
Cheri Hartman
Gail Simburger
Kevin Moore
Robert Parker
Deana Chitambar
Robert Parker
Deana Chitambar
2013 Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse of the Year
Citations
- ANA Enterprise. Nurse Staffing Crisis.
https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nurse-staffing/nurse-staffing-crisis/ - Sean P. Clarke and Nancy E. Donaldson. Nurse Staffing and Patient Care Quality and Safety.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2676/ - American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Fact Sheet: Nursing Shortage.
https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/News/Factsheets/Nursing-Shortage-Factsheet.pdf - Journal of Nursing Regulation. The 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey.
https://www.journalofnursingregulation.com/article/S2155-8256(21)00027-2/fulltext#secst0550 - Whelan, Robbie. “High Pay for Covid-19 Nurses Leads to Shortages at Some Hospitals.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 29 Aug. 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/high-pay-for-covid-19-nurses-leads-to-shortages-at-some-hospitals-11630253483
- Quinlin, L., Schmitz, W., & Jefferson, M. (2020). Macy Catheter: Integration and Evaluation in a Hospice Setting to Provide Symptom Relief During End-of-Life Care. Clinical journal of oncology nursing, 24(6), 689-693.