The college is hosting a training workshop Oct. 24 for members or prospective members of health service agency boards of directors.
The workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Seminole Campus, 9200 113th St. N. Registration of $125 includes lunch and continental breakfast.
SPC’s Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions is partnering with the Citizen Advocacy Center of Washington, D.C., and the Florida Department of Health’s Medical Quality Assurance Division to present the workshop for members of health professional licensing boards and for individuals who may be interested in seeking appointment to one of these boards. Facility regulators and the directors and staff of healthcare facilities are also encouraged to attend to learn more about how the two regulatory systems can work together to advance patient safety.
The workshop comes as frightening headlines draw attention to outbreaks of deadly disease traced to viruses contracted in hospitals and to an epidemic of prescription medication abuse, sometimes resulting in death. Hospital-based infections are often attributed to a widespread failure to follow hygiene protocols. Abuse of controlled substances is made possible when licensed health care professionals prescribe improperly or lend their credentials to “pill mills.”
Preventing or fixing problems like these is the job of regulators, some of whom are responsible for ensuring the safety of healthcare delivery systems and others for enforcing standards of practice for the individual professionals who deliver care.
The training is offered in recognition of the fact that appointees to licensing boards often have little understanding of what is expected of them in their role as board members. Little in the average appointee’s background prepares him or her for such service. This is especially true for public members, who are told to bring a consumer perspective to their board’s deliberations. What exactly does this mean, they ask, and how can we do it effectively? Facility leadership and facility regulators may also be unfamiliar with professional licensing and how it impacts their day-to-day operations.
The training will cover:
- The basics of boardsmanship – how boards work, their structure and powers, roles and responsibilities of public members
- How board actions affect the quality, safety, cost and availability of services
- Their relationship to other agencies: How do boards that regulate persons interact with agencies that regulate health delivery facilities?
- Rulemaking
- Relations with state Legislatures
- Outreach to the public
- And the responsibilities and pitfalls of discipline
To register, go to spcollege.edu/solutions and click on Upcoming Programs for a link to the Citizen Advocacy Center, or phone 727-394-6933
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