>	CMS Publishes New Hospital Requirements
>	New Referral Bonuses
>	Travel to North Carolina
>	Valentine's Day Recipe
>	Favorite Trivia

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Read about the charms of North Carolina in today's newsletter and then call us at 800-755-1411 for details on the amazing opportunities that await you!
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Feb. 23-24 - ENA Leadership, Boston, MA

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April 13-15 - AONE, Washington DC

May 22-24 - AACN,
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Hello, Favorite Employee!

CMS Publishes New Hospital Requirements

Become familiar with your assigned facility's current and revised policies.

New requirements in CMS’ (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services) hospital “Conditions of Participation” went into effect on 1-26-07. These guidelines were developed to be consistent with current standards of practice and to allow greater flexibility for practitioners.

Favorite’s hospital clients may be revising policies and procedures in accordance with these new requirements. As a Favorite employee, these regulations may not affect you directly, but it is still your responsibility to become familiar with your assigned facility’s current and revised policies.

Below are the areas affected by the new CMS requirements.

Security of Medications:
This regulation requires that all drugs and biologicals be kept in secure areas and locked “when appropriate”. Changes to this regulation allow more flexibility for hospitals in determining control of nonscheduled drugs and biologicals.

Post-anesthesia evaluation:
This requirement permits the post-anesthesia evaluation for inpatients to be completed and documented by any individual qualified to administer anesthesia (instead of only the individual who administered the anesthesia).

Authentication of verbal orders:
In the absence of state law, this regulation requires that all orders, including verbal orders, must be dated, timed and authenticated by the prescribing practitioner or another practitioner responsible for the care of the patient, within 48 hours.

History and Physical (H&P) examination:
This requirement expands the timeframe for completion of the H&P and expands the number of permissible professional categories of individuals who may perform the H&P.

For more information log onto: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/

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New Referral Bonuses

Get rewarded sooner with our new referral bonus program.

Referral bonuses are in the spotlight and are designed with you in mind! A new and improved process helps you earn extra cash for sending your friends and colleagues to Favorite!

• Refer an RN or certain allied personnel, get $100 for every 50 hours your referral works, up to $500
• Refer an LPN or certain allied personnel, get $50 for every 50 hours your referral works, up to $250
• Refer an CNA, MHT or HHA or certain allied personnel, get $20 for every 50 hours your referral works, up to $100

It’s easy - no application necessary! Just tell your friends and colleagues about Favorite and when they complete an application with us, we will ask them for their referral source. If they give us your name*, we will track their hours and pay you a bonus for every 50 hours they work, up to 250 hours within 180 days (6 months).
* Make sure your referral knows your full name.

See our website for program rules and call your local Favorite office if you have questions.

Travel to North Carolina

Written by Kerry Pitt-Hart, a member of the Favorite Newsletter Staff and a Travel Nurse Services coordinator.

North Carolina is one place I haven’t been, and after writing this article, I plan to put in a vacation request... sometime before July. You’ll see why below. There is so much to see and do here that I feel I just skimmed the surface.

Sadly, we missed the Polar Plunge at Chetola Lake, held in late January. It is reportedly one of the Top 20 Southeastern Tourism events. In year's past, plungers have hopped into 30 degree water wearing everything from Speedos to costumes in a race to win the coveted Golden Plunger Award. Some years the water is so frigid, volunteers have had to use chainsaws and heavy equipment to cut holes in the ice-covered lake.

ASHEVILLE will be my first stop when I go. It is described as eclectic, outdoorsy, and low-key. Kristi Brooks, our travel recruiter in Charlotte, tells me I’d fit right in. This year, Asheville joined the likes of Tokyo and Zurich when Frommer's named it one of a dozen must-see travel destinations. It’s also home to Biltmore Estate - America’s largest home.

Many of you may be interested in knowing that Ladies’ Home Journal chose CHARLOTTE as one of the top 20 cities for women. Charlotte is also the largest and most accessible city between Washington, D.C. and Dallas, TX. In fact, more than 55 percent of the country's population lives within a two hour flight and 6 million people live within a 100-mile radius. Since I love Top Lists, here’s another one for nightlife. Charlotte was named one of the "Top 50 Cities that Sizzle" by Nation's Restaurant News.

Further north across the Piedmont region, CHAPEL HILL, DURHAM and RALEIGH make up the three corners of the Research Triangle, so named in 1959 with the creation of the Research Triangle Park, the largest research park in the world. It is one of the most prominent high-tech research and development centers in the United States and is often compared to Silicon Valley. Additionally, the area boasts some of the best college basketball in the country. The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill has won four NCAA championships, Duke University in Durham has won three, and nearby N.C. State has won two.

RALEIGH is halfway between Florida and New York City. Trendy restaurants, tree-lined streets, and cutting-edge culture mix with Southern charm. The reason I plan to visit the area before July is because I cannot miss Temples and Tombs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from The British Museum at North Carolina Museum of Art. Not only do I love Egyptian art, I also don’t anticipate getting to London any time soon, so here is my chance to see a small part of their world class collection.

Before we head back north, I must mention WILMINGTON, part of the Cape Fear Coast. Cobblestone streets and a renovated 19th-century pier along the Cape Fear River are part of the intrigue of this shopping and dining complex that anchor downtown.

All heliolaters (I enjoy seeing this word in print) should visit JACKSONVILLE with its 30 miles of breathtaking beaches - acclaimed as some of the best.

I must also mention NEW BERN - the birthplace of "Brad's drink" – now better known as Pepsi-Cola. Bradham was a pharmacist whose aim was to create a fountain drink that was both delicious and free of the impurities found in many bottled health tonics. Also visit Tryon Palace – an elegant Georgian-style mansion known in colonial times as one of the most beautiful public buildings in America.

The last stop is GREENVILLE - gateway to Eastern North Carolina. Here you will find life to be simpler and more relaxed. That may be why it’s the “Hammock Making Capital of the World”.

If this has tempted you…and I hope it has, email gotravel@favoritestaffing.com or call Travel Nurses Services at 800-755-1411 for details on contract assignments we have available all over the state.

Be on the lookout for the next issue when I write about the other Carolina.

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Valentine's Day Recipe

Entice your loved one with this delectable dessert.

This is purportedly the original recipe for chocolate fondue created in the 1950s at New York's Chalet Suisse Restaurant by Chef Konrad Egli.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces of Toblerone
• 1/4 cup light or heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon Kirsch brandy or Cointreau

Instructions

Break the Toblerone into separate triangular pieces. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan or small chafing dish. Stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Serve in a chafing dish over low heat.

For dunkables or dippables…whatever you prefer to call it, serve with one or a combination of the following:

• Angel food cake or ladyfingers, cut in chunks
• Orange or tangerine sections
• Sliced strawberries or bananas
• Walnuts, Almonds and/or Cashews
• Profiteroles

Yield: 2 servings

Source: The Swiss Cookbook by Nika Standen Hazelton

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