I am a supervisor of a long term unit and I am interested in finding out how many others are there, Staffing ratio(rt to pt, nursing to pt) how billing is done , etc. We are also getting ready to switch from LP10 due to impending phase out to another type. any recommendations?

Ventchick,

Are you a weaning facility?

look at the Servo-S. Also you should review the ECRI report.

ventchick,
Do a needs assessment of your facility and patients.
Look into service contracts and warranty as well as education to meet competencies and P&P ease of use.
If your facility has piped in gases, then your choices are plentiful. If you will be using O2 taks and compressors, then that limits your search.
Lastly set up clinicaql trials with the vendors, include your staff and physicians for better input.
For staffing ratios check with your state licensing boards to see if they have any for RNs and RTs. For RTs check the AARCs Clinical Reporting manual for staffing by acuity guidelines.
Best way to get a handle on billing is to learn your DRG and ICD9 codes.
Good luck.

Ventchick,
thanks for joining the forum. In answer to how many other LT vent units there are I don't know of any truly exhastive resource. Here is a link to a list on the International Ventilator Users Web Site http://www.post-polio.org/ivun/d-ltvu.html I do know there is no where near enough and of those that there are good ones are as rare as 10 carat diamonds. Sounds like you are part of a quality set up. Bill C's advice is all good. I strongly recomend the purchasing decision tool on this site. Register yourself and use one of the pre set templates or build your own decision tool. This can be a great help at arriving at the best answer on a decision like this. Keep us posted how it goes.

Are your patients vent dependent, or weanable? Do you use HME's or heated humidity.

Thanks for all the input. It will help. To answer the questions posted, we have a mixed case ratio. Most of our vent patients are chronic long term, but we get an occasional weaning patient.
At this time we are using concha heaters, due to the pressure alarms on the LP10's. The HME's are a risk for plugging and creating a false pressure. We are currently using concentrators, so our ventilator sources are more limited. The primary 2 we have looked at are the LTV950 and the Viasis . I will check out the Servo -s. also. Thanks again.

Ventchick,
First of all I been doing Long term care vent management for the last 8 years and you surely don't need a Servo to do the job. First cost is a major issue in Long term care. The T-Bird and the HT-50 work well with concentrators. We run about 16 units and been very successful. You can contact me by sending your # to discuss. Ook