SEMINOLE – St. Petersburg College is hosting a training workshop Wednesday, Oct. 24 for members or prospective members of health service agency boards of directors.
SPC’s Institute for Strategic Police Solutions is partnering with the Citizens 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 also are encouraged to attend to learn more about how the two regulatory systems can work together to advance patient safety.
The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Seminole campus of SPC, 9200 113th St. N. Registration of $125 includes lunch and continental breakfast. To register, go to spcollege.edu/solutions, and click on Upcoming Programs for a link to the Citizen Advocacy Center.
The workshop comes as headlines draw attention to outbreaks of a 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.
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?
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