Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1475102
34 NURSING SPOTLIGHT Nurse leader at hospital where 7 gallons of fentanyl went missing has license reinstated By Erica Carbajal T he New Hampshire Board of Nursing has reinstated the license of Amy Matthews, DNP, RN, chief nursing officer at Keene, N.H.-based Cheshire Med- ical Center, aer it was suspended amid an investigation into how more than 7 gallons of fentanyl went missing, the New Hamp- shire Union Leader reported June 28. Dr. Matthews had her license suspended May 26 "due to concerns regarding super- vision over the nurses over at Cheshire Medical Center," a spokesperson for New Hampshire's Office of Professional Licen- sure and Certification told ABC affiliate WMUR in a June 6 report. e suspension came as regulators investigated how 583 bags of fentanyl solution went unaccount- ed for at the hospital from September to January. At least 200 bags were allegedly stolen by a former nurse at the hospital who died unex- pectedly March 3. According to pharmacy documents cited by the Union Leader, the former nurse allegedly admitted to taking the solution and used it "as a way of coping with the stress of working during the pan- demic." Dr. Matthews was not accused of involvement in the thes. e emergency order to suspend Dr. Matthews' license was vacated aer a June 23 hearing. e state's board of nursing in the order said a full investigation is ongoing and could lead to "final disciplinary action." Cheshire Medical Center is "pleased by the board of nursing action," a spokesperson for the hospital told the Union Leader. e spokesperson did not comment on Dr. Matthews' status at the hospital. n Is nursing recession-proof? By Kelly Gooch A mid a growing risk of recession for the U.S., there is at least one healthcare occupation that appears in solid position to withstand an economic downturn: nursing, a registered nurse from Louisiana argues in a June 20 article on nurse.org. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal on April 1-5 put the odds of recession in the next 12 months at 28 percent, which is more than double what the probability was a year ago. The nurse.org article is written by Christy Book, BSN, RN, who makes her case using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data is based on how healthcare professions fared during the Great Re- cession — the sharp decline in economic activity from 2007 to 2009. Among the statistics cited in the article: • From 2007 to 2010, which encompasses the Great Recession, the U.S. economy lost 7,257,090 jobs — an employment decline of 5.4 percent. • By contrast, registered nurse employment climbed by 7.6 per- cent, or 186,680 jobs, during the same period. • The average wage for nursing increased 8.4 percent from 2007 ($30.04 hourly, $62,483 annually) to 2010 ($32.56 hourly, $67,725 annually). Ms. Book also points to hospitals offering internal travel programs. She said this allows hospitals to become more competitive with third-party agencies and attract nurses who may have left their hos- pital jobs during the pandemic to join an outside agency. "Even if there is a large decline in agency nursing with the next recession, there is a new emerging market for agency nurses to fall back on," she wrote. n Memorial Healthcare's longest- serving nurse to retire after 53 years By Mackenzie Bean M emorial Healthcare System's lon- gest-serving employee and first nurse leader of color is planning to retire after 53 years with the Hollywood, Fla.-based system, CBS News reported June 15. Barbara Williams, RN, has worked at Memorial Hospital Miramar (Fla.) since 1969 and made history as the first Black person to hold a nurse leadership position in the hospital's emergency room, according to local Florida station WSVN. "When I first went to the emergency depart- ment there were not a lot of people that looked like me, but the people there treated me very well," she told CBS News. Over the last five decades, Ms. Williams has served in various capacities in the ER, including assistant head nurse, trauma center manager and interim director. She currently oversees emergency room quality control. Ms. Williams will retire from Memorial Hospital Miramar early next year and said she'd like to create a foundation to help young women develop leadership skills. n