Registered Nurse Management

Deborah Jacobson, RN, MHA, NE-BC, CHL

Is a Registered Nurse, with more than 35 years experience as a board

certified nursing administrator over surgical (perioperative) services and

invasive procedural clinical operation areas for large acute care

facilities. Deb Jacobson has utilized her extensive experience and

expertise to fulfill a key role in the leadership, development and

implementation of a variety of operational applications. Her areas of

strength run through the surgical services division of practice including

operating room administration, sterile processing management, inventory

control, budgeting, scheduling procedures, personnel, facility design and

redesign, and managing manual and automated resources. Working with the

dedicated professionals in the clinical arena, Deborah focuses on the

Perioperative experience transforming what sometimes can be described as

silos of care into a true continuum of care. Serving in the Management

roles in the Operating Room and in Central Sterile, Ms. Jacobson expedites

the efficiencies of both departments through her deep operational

experience. Ms. Jacobson's operational experience within the SPD also makes

her uniquely qualified to guide her clients through operational

improvements, and multiple aspects of facilitating an Instrument Asset

Management strategy.

Most recently, Ms. Jacobson has served in a leadership role in the surgical

services arena for the Capital Health System located in Trenton, New

Jersey. As part of this engagement, Ms. Jacobson was part of the team that

aided this organization in the redesign of their operations within the

operating room, endoscopy, and central sterile processing departments. The

system was undergoing a facility relocation which demanded a reorganization

of work processes within patient provider units a part of and in support of

the surgical service division. Capital Health System called upon PwC, LLP

in a trusted advisor role to help them achieve milestones which: enhanced

optimal utilization, promoted efficient workflows, provided cost savings

opportunities, provided education and training to the staff, as well as to

improve perioperative supply chain management for these new departments.

Ms. Jacobson and the PwC team, working with both leadership and the staff

to redesign current workflows within the centralized area for both surgical

materials management and sterile processing. Part of the overall assessment

and evaluation of the daily operations included reviewing current

operational expectations, staffing and workflows matching it to current

needs, also looking towards future growth. This resulted in cost savings by

recommending appropriate staffing, promoting bundling of supplies utilized

on surgical cases and realignment of work responsibilities. In the

previous model OR nurses had been responsible for case picking. By

centralizing SPD, setting up the par system in the OR, and revamping the OR

Supply Chain, SPD staff took over all functions and nurses were freed up

from the picking process to concentrate on patient care.

Additionally, the ISH team performed an assessment at Riverside Medical

Center, Newport News, Virginia in preparation and planning for a relocation

into a new facility. The set up of a par system in the OR, redesigning the

OR supply chain processes, implementing a new case cart system, cleansing

data files, matching items between the Materials Management system and the

ORIS, and supervised preference card clean up. An Instrument Asset

Management system is being utilized and the staff trained on the

optimization of this technology. These initiatives will result in greater

efficiency in case picking, instrument tracking and in inventory reduction.

Prior to this, Ms. Jacobson was the Assistant Vice President over

Perioperative Surgical Services at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, a

part of the St Barnabas Health Care System in Northern New Jersey. She

developed an assignment and staffing schedule based on the needs of a new

and flexible surgery schedule. Utilizing her superior leadership skills,

she was able to motivate staff to rotate and excel in all phases of

staffing development and redesign to promote unit as well as organizational

efficiency.

Ms. Jacobson served in a leadership role at Greater Baltimore Medical

Center, in the role of Administrative Director of Surgical Services and

Invasive Procedures. Under her leadership, she aided the organization in

developing Operational Improvements and a Blueprint for Operational

Efficiency within multiple departments. Her responsibilities included:

. Mentoring and Educating Managers/Supervisors

. Reviewing and Revising organizational structure

. Developing a Career Path for Clinical Team Leaders and Staff

. Developing and implementing an Orientation Program for cross training

staff

. Reviewing and revising current policies and procedures

. Enhance Staff Competency

. Reviewing and developing education competency programs based on

departmental needs and outcomes

. Establishing accurate Quality and Productivity benchmarks

. Promoting KPI

. Developing the facility's "Best Use of Space and Equipment Plan"

. Developing a plan for the optimization of a case cart system

. Reviewing equipment RFP responses

. Evaluating facility design and workflow plans

. Evaluating and updating job descriptions

. Providing examples of dashboard data and making recommendations for

useful data

. Working with managers to develop a plan for instrumentation tray

standardization/utilization

. Promoting and implementing an efficient staffing schedule

. Developing a plan for no interruption of service during renovation

As Administrative Director at Greater Baltimore Medical Center for 2 1/2

years, Ms. Jacobson was supervising multiple units of practice. This

included oversight of over 280 FTEs in a non-union environment. Ms.

Jacobson assisted in implementing a process to promote workplace and

operational efficiency She improved the reporting methods used to quantify

'work-units', GBMC;s base for determining required FTE's. Her people

skills decreased staff turnover, improved staff morale increased surgical

volume which resulted in a strong team spirit and working relationship

within the department.

Since joining PwC, Ms. Jacobson has also specialized in Instrumentation

prepardiness and Case Cart Management. She has coordinated Case Cart

activities to support the system for the Operating Room, and designed, set

up and determined PARS for the Supply area in CPD designated for Operating

Room Case Cart pick. Deb has been responsible for coordinating Operating

Room relocations from old storage/case-pick areas to the new physical

location, and instituted methodology for CQI/TQM data collection as

required. Additionally, she has made key contributions in implementations

of systems to standardize workflow and processes. She has successfully

leveraged her insight into efficiencies within the OR into improved

operational and financial performance for her clients.

She improved communication lines between the OR and Sterile Processing and

both departments are now functioning with a strong commitment for a common

goal.

Many projects were started to quantify the workload as well as showing

Continuous Quality Improvement in their practice. The communication process

with the operating room has been rejuvenated and the level of cooperation

has improved greatly.

Her understanding of Operating Room processes and workflows contributed to

improved efficiencies for this client.

Deb has integrated OR/PACU activities with other hospital departments

including Finance, Materials Management, Management Information Systems,

Infection Control, Risk Management and Admitting. . Under her direction,

Deb has expanded Materials Management programs, providing for significant

expansion of Operating Room services, initiated Exchange Cart/Par Stock

Systems with Central Distribution,

Deb has a strong background with the initial design of a variety of

Operating Room information systems, and has recently worked with ORSOS and

PICIS. During the implementation of some systems, Ms. Jacobson has worked

hands-on with the OR nurses, physicians, and staff to bring the preference

lists/procedure cards current and functional for use with the Perioperative

and materials management systems. These efforts resulted in increased

efficiencies in patient care, inventory control, business intelligence, and

financial control. She also has developed procedures for the ongoing

maintenance of the preference list/procedure card area. Deb has also been

responsible for staffing, development of policies and procedures, personnel

matters, scheduling and budget reporting.

Deb earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from Upsala College (NJ), a

Masters in Healthcare Administration from Montclair University (NJ) is a

licensed Registered Nurse; a Nurse Executive board certified; an active

CNOR a member of the Association of Operating Room Nurses, and a certified

health leader in Central Sterile Supply thru the International Association

of Central Sterile and Materials Management.

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