By Laura Lesley
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing alumni Jody White, DNP, RN, NE-BC, and Becky Langner, MSN, RN, are on first and second-place winning teams, respectively, at InnoHack 2018, which challenges health care professionals and students across disciplines to work together to solve a critical health care issue – with this year’s biggest health care issue currently facing Alabama being the opioid epidemic.
Jody White
For the competition, 80 participants are randomly divided into 16 teams, to “hack” the crisis for 24 hours. After a preliminary round of judging, the top teams face off in the finals.
White’s first-place team earned a $2,500 prize to share, and Langner’s second-place team earned $1,500 to share.
“Our winning idea was the adoption of an ‘Opioid Safe Rescue Process,’” said White. “Much like we have a universal sign for choking, it was noted that we do not have anything in place that brings a rescue process to the top of our minds when we see a drug overdose.
“A symbol for ‘Opioid Safe Rescue’ could also be adopted in key communities where opioid deaths are occurring. The sign would indicate that Narcan, a reversal drug, is available there for immediate use.”
White notes that, in addition, this sign could be used by hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, and other locations that are equipped to offer the reversal medication to anyone who needs it.
Two of the best parts, White said, is that the winning ideas from InnoHack 2018 are now being considered for implementation by health care organizations across Jefferson County, and that nurses made a significant impact on those ideas.
“Becky and I celebrated that nurses were on both winning teams, illustrating the important role nurses play in real-world problem-solving scenarios,” said White.
Becky LangnerThe Innohack annual event is sponsored by the UAB Schools of Nursing, Public Health, Medicine and Health Professions and Brookwood Baptist Health.
White earned his Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees from the UAB School of Nursing in 2006 and 2011, respectively.
Langner earned her MSN degrees from the UAB School of Nursing in 1979 and 2013, respectively. She is Publicity Chair for the School’s Nu Chapter of Sigma.
