Surgery Checklist - Reducing death, complications and infections

 

In December of 2013, Democracy for NYC is submitting a Transition Memo to Mayor-elect Bill De Blasio, presenting some specific policy ideas for the new administration. Here is Item #4 from that memo:

Surgery Checklist - Reducing death, complications & infections

The Safe Surgery Checklist is a common sense approach to healthcare that could help save lives and reduce surgical complications for New Yorkers and their loved ones.  Proper use of the checklist, developed by the WHO in 2008, was found to reduce major complications from surgery by 36%, reduce infection rates by nearly 50%, and reduce deaths by 47%. (New England Journal of Medicine, 1/29/09.)  Unfortunately, this checklist is often not used, or used inconsistently, due to medical culture and other factors. (Harvard School of Public Health, 2/7/13.) NYC’s DOHMH could improve healthcare by increasing use of the checklist by surgery teams at local hospitals. In fact, many NYC hospitals could also benefit financially, as there are incentives for healthcare quality improvements under Obamacare.  

Feasibility:  We believe this would not require a change in existing law, but coordination with the state DOH is advisable. Dr. Atul Gawande, who developed the checklist as discussed in his 2010 book The Checklist Manifesto, has set up a non-profit to help hospitals with implementation. 

Additional Information: (Not in the hard copy version of the Transition Memo)

We have been in touch with Safe Surgery 2015, the non-profit set up to implement the safe surgery checklist.  

The good news is that there are great resources, available without cost, to help hospitals increase the use of the checklist for surgical teams, including a video clip from an episode of ER where doctors went over the list, and simple surveys for hospital staff.

The bad news is that this is not simply a matter of calling up a hospital and asking if they are using the checklist. They will likely respond in the affirmative.  The experts at Safe Surgery 2015 have found that use - and proper use - of the checklist increases by changing the culture. People need to talk to people about why this is important. There are many people in hospitals that are advocates of the checklist, and it is possible, that with focus from city government, we can empower checklist supporters to persuade entire surgical teams. 

~ In Progress: Check back soon or contact us at info-at-dfnyc.org ~

Hot Race: Congressional District 13 - Rangel Ahead After Handcount

CD 13 - Upper Manhattan and Bronx - Rangel/Espaillat Race in Overtime:

 

Update: Rangel ahead after hand count - click here for Marc Santora's article in the NY Times.

The June 26th primary for the new 13th Congressional District (the old 15th) in upper Manhattan, currently held by Rep. Charlie Rangel, went into overtime:  Click here for NY Times article by David W. Chen & Vivian Yee.  (Click here for earlier article by Azi Paybarah in Capital New York.)

This affects State Senate District 31:

If Espaillat wins the election, his state senate seat will be vacant. Two candidates that have been petitioning for that State Senate seat are Mark Levine and Guillermo Linares.  But it is possible that if Espaillat does not win the Congressional seat, he will remain in the Senate seat, and Linares may be his only challenger in the September primary.

Assembly District 57: Hakeem Jeffries moves out of this seat to run for Congress

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (57th District) won the June 26th Democratic primary (DFNYC did not endorse in that race) and several candidates have been mentioned for his soon-to-be-vacant seat in the New York State Assembly:

~ Olanike Alabi, District Leader, administrator with 1199 

~ Martine Guerrier, the former "Chief Family Engagement Officer" for  the Department of Education

~ Jelani Mashariki, co-founder of the Global Block Foundation, and part of the Occupy Wall Street movement   

~ Walter Mosley, District Leader

Links to articles about the race:

http://politicker.com/2012/03/former-chief-mom-files-for-hakeem-jeffries-assembly-seat/

http://politicker.com/2012/02/walter-mosley-files-for-hakeem-jeffries-assembly-seat/

http://politicker.com/2012/01/candidate-emerges-for-jeffries-seat/

New York Congressional Delegation, including competitive races

2012 is a confusing year  of redistricting and primaries on both June 26th & September 13th.  Here's a list of New York State's Congressional delegation, organized by old district numbers, and providing new district numbers and hot races.  Thomas Kaplan of the NY Times has a good explanation of NY redistricting here.

To find your Congressional district  click here, then scroll down to your district number to see the name of your rep, and if there's a competitive race. Click here to find your City Council District, Community District, and Election District.

2012 re-matches of 2010 races:   Click here for an AP article on libn.com about some of the hot NY races.

Congressional Candidates - NYC Districts

Congressional District 5
Queens and Nassau
Current Representative Gary Ackerman (D)

~Election in 2012:  Ackerman is retiring. This is the new 6th district, and DFNYC-endorsed candidate Grace Meng faces Republican Dan Halloranin the general election on Nov. 6th. For more info, click here for our Hot Races page.

Congressional District 6
Queens
Current Representative Gregory Meeks (D) (running for new district 5)

Congressional District 7
Bronx and Queens
Current Representative Joe Crowley (D) (running in the new 14th)

Congressional District 8
Manhattan and Brooklyn
Current Representative Jerry Nadler (D) (running in the new 10th)

Congressional District 9
Brooklyn and Queens
Current Representative Robert Turner (R)

~Election in 2012:  Incumbent Republican Bob Turner is not running for re-election to this seat.  Click here for the NYT article by Thomas Kaplan. He won the special election after former Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned.  This is new District 5, a generally safe Democratic district, and incumbent Congressman Gregory Meeks (old 6th district) is running for this seat.

Congressional District 10
Brooklyn
Current Representative Edolophus Towns (D)

~Election in 2012:  Towns is retiring. Hakeem Jeffries, currently in the Assembly,  won the June 26th Democratic primary for this district, the new 8th.  He likely has no significant competition in the general election, but check back here for updates. (Or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you know something!)

Congressional District 11
Brooklyn
Current Representative Yvette Clarke (D)

~Election 2012: This is the new 9th district. Yvette Clark won the Democratic primary on June 26th, and this is a safe Democratic district.

Congressional District 12
Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan
Current Representative Nydia Velazquez (D)

~ Election 2012:  This is the new 7th district. Nydia Velazquez had some Democratic challengers, but won the primary on June 26th. This is a safe Democratic district.

Congressional District 13
Staten Island and Brooklyn
Current Representative Michael Grimm (R)

~Election 2012: This is the new 11th District. Democrat Mark Murphy is challenging Grimm - click here for our DFNYC page on this race.

Congressional District 14
Manhattan and Queens
Current Representative Carolyn Maloney (D) (running for re-election in the new 12th)

Congressional District 15
Manhattan
Current Representative Charlie Rangel(D)

~Election 2012:  This is the new 13th. The Rangel-Espaillat primary on June 26 went into overtime. Incumbent Charlie Rangel has now won and Espaillat is running again for his State Senate seat. 

Congressional District 16
Bronx
Current Representative José Serrano (D) (running for re-election in the new 15th)

Congressional District 17
Bronx, Westchester, Rockland
Current Representative Eliot Engel (D) (running for re-election in the new 16th)

Congressional Candidates - NY Districts (outside of NYC) 

1 - 4 are on Long Island: