Rebekah Price, MSN, APRN, FNP-C Nurse Practitioner & Health Care Expert

Professional Experience

Provide technical investigations, analysis, reports, and testimony as it relates to issues involving the standard of care in nursing, regulatory compliance, patient care, risk management, policy development, program operations, and training and supervision of personnel in the health care field.

Special Emphasis On:

• Pain Management / Narcotic Administration / Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
• Protocols (weaning, titrating, and drug diversion guidelines)
• Palliative / Hospice / Complex Terminal Illness Management and End of Life Protocols
• Complex Symptom Management
• Mental Capacity and Competency Screening
• Advanced Medical / Medical Durable Power of Attorney (MDPOA) Directives
• Facility Fall Precautionary Standards of Care Electronic Medical Record Systems.
• Veterans Disability Exams

• Consulting for advanced directive solutions
• Assistance with Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST) Forms / Physicians Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form discussions and decisions
• Consulting with MDPOA / PROXY discussions and decisions
• Specialized medical directive discussions

• Performs in-home veteran disability and service connection exams
• Conducts annual physical exams: fitness-for-duty, regulatory and compliance
• Performs other fit for duty/occupational health exams
• Orders and interprets / ancillary medical and laboratory testing
• Conducts radiology intervention and interpretation
• Performs sleep apnea assessment and order diagnostic interventions
• Conducts dermatologic / otolaryngology disease assessment exams
• Performs musculoskeletal injury exams
• Orders and interprets pulmonary chronic disease / pulmonary function testing / sleep apnea diagnostics
• Orders cardiovascular disease and stroke assessments / echocardiogram / EKG diagnostics
• Conducts neurologic disorders and EEG diagnostics / capacity screening
• Assesses and treats behavioral health disorders
• Performs traumatic brain injury assessments / ordered diagnostics
• Screens for suicide risk / domestic abuse risk/ intimate partner abuse risk / vulnerable adult abuse
• Concludes medical opinions and research for military service connection

• Conducts in-home annual Medicare / Medicaid health assessments
• Performs case management & social care coordination
• Completes complex medication review and reconciliation
• Complies clinical measurements and reports to supporting physicians
• Performs various diagnostic screening, fasting blood sugars, A1C, fecal occult blood sampling, clean-catch urinary diagnostics, retinal scanning and diagnostics, cognitive decline and mental capacity screening, peripheral arterial disease screening
• Identifies patient risks: unintentional weight loss, fall precautions and mobility / balance risks, repeat falls, repeat hospitalizations, complex health decline
• assess and refers to additional supportive services: grief counseling, social services, mental health supportive care, transportation services, palliative / hospice services
• Conducts patient performance improvement initiatives, drug administration documentation and assessment for drug adverse reactions and drug-drug interactions / complex medication management and education
• Provides social and environment support: Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) assessment and social care coordination
• Assists with minimization in gaps of care: HEDIS and STAR quality measures with home-based lab services, comprehensive medication reviews
• Assesses for holistic health needs: chronic conditions, medication adherence, social determinants, and care management support

• Provides complex symptom management for chronically / terminally ill patients
• Counsels for treatment goal clarification and advanced directives / MDPOA
• Projects prognostication for terminally ill patients
• Screens for dementia decline and cognitive changes / mental capacity
• Provides complex pain management for chronically ill / terminal patients (oncology, pulmonology, cardiology, neurology, dermatology, gynecology, and urology disorders)
• Performs complex behavioral health management (depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, eating disorders, addiction)
• Conducts palliative consults with hospital privileges at Penrose / St. Francis Hospital (inpatient rounding, critical care for actively dying, complex medication management)
• Performs hospice & palliative consults to 50+ local rehabilitation centers, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, memory care units and retirement facilities and outpatient environments all over El Paso County
• Performs complex pain and symptom management of the chronically ill / terminal patients
• Provides community education on hospice and palliative services
• Manages 125 palliative patients and helped grow the palliative program – doubled in size, funneling profit for our hospice side.
• Partners with CAPC (Center to Advance Palliative Care), assist in restructuring palliative program / electronic charting formatting / implemented new standards of practice for outpatient / inpatient / facilities / rehab care
• Assists in telemedicine safety / HIPAA compliance and privacy regulations
• Assists in developing new behavioral safety contracts and narcotic agreements between families, patients, and provider
• Provides care for patients in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
• Completed level 5 training in “We Honor Veterans Program,” a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) – spiritual and mental support services, staff education, and specialized care for Vietnam-era and combat veterans

• Performed in-home health assessments
• Conducted in-facility health assessments
• Provided social care coordination
• Completed active medication review / reconciliation and education
• Captured and reported clinical measurements
• Performed diagnostic screening, fasting blood sugars, A1C, fecal occult blood sampling, clean-catch urinary diagnostics, retinal scanning and diagnostics, cognitive decline, and mental capacity screening
• Identified and reported patient risks: unintentional weight loss, fall precautions and mobility / balance risks, repeat falls, repeat hospitalizations, complex health decline
• Referred to additional supportive services: grief counseling, social services, mental health supportive care, transportation services, palliative / hospice services
• Performed patient performance improvement initiatives, drug administration documentation and assessment for drug adverse reactions and drug-drug interactions / complex medication management and education

• Practiced advanced nursing care for the patient and family: assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating care
• Provided care & consultation regarding diagnosis, treatment, and management of acute and chronic health conditions related to symptom management and quality of life issues
• Initiated case management and optimal care and resource management
• Performed complex symptom and pain management for chronically ill / terminal patients
• Consulted with goal clarification and advanced directives
• Performed prognostication for terminally ill patients
• Applied complex pain management for chronically ill / terminal patient
• Performed complex symptom and medication management, titration, and education
• Provided hospice & palliative consults to local rehabilitation centers, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, memory care units and retirement facilities all over Columbus County (NC) and Polk County (SC)
• Provided training and continuing education for staff, medical community, and community at large
• Led weekly IDG (interdisciplinary group) meetings / case conferences in collaboration with social workers, counselors, bereavement specialists, CNAs, and chaplains for holistic approach to complex terminal care synergy
• Performed palliative consults and hospital privileges at St. Luke’s Medical Hospital
• Provided complex end of life medical management at HOCF Hospice House

• Performed pre-operative support (pre-anesthetic evaluation, application of a consent form for the procedure, preparation of the anesthesia plan in any type of procedure, insertion of invasive devices for hemodynamic monitoring, administration of drugs for induction and maintenance of anesthesia education, surgical prepping, family and patient education, medication reconciliation, cardiac / pulmonary preoperative clearance)
• Provided intraoperative support (surgical assistance to the surgeon and anesthesiologist, assistance with intubation insertion, scrubbing for surgery, sterile field setup, prepping sutures and special equipment, instrument / supply counts, equipment safety checking)
• Performed post-anesthesia care unit (assistance with anesthesia nerve blocks, extubation management, complex symptom management of the surgical patient, wound care, advanced cardiac and respiratory support)
• Provided nursing care within level 1 trauma center

• Provided care for complex case management for LTAC (Long-term Care Facilities)
• Provided care for post-anesthesia care unit (assistance with anesthesia nerve blocks, extubation management, complex symptom management of the surgical patient, wound care, advanced cardiac and respiratory support)
• Assisted in fertility and genetic clinics: in-vitro fertilization training (fertility preservation, genetic disorders, unexplained infertility, impaired sperm production, uterine fibroids, ovulation disorders, fallopian tube damage and blockage and endometriosis)

• Trained, performed, and interpreted in-hospital cardiac dysrhythmias and 12-lead EKG electrocardiogram diagnostics
• Treated patients experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault
• Triaged emergency patients based on acuity and critical assessment
• Provided physician assistance with intubations, tracheostomies, chest tubes, and central lines
• Provided complex wound care
• Assisted with trauma coordination and care
• Assisted with massive blood transfusion protocol in trauma
• Provided nursing care within level 2 trauma center
• Collaborated with various ER professionals to ensure effective patient care
• Applied expertise in prompt patient condition assessment on patient arrival at the ER during initial phases of acute illness or trauma
• Monitored ER patients, including alerting physicians or charge nurses to changes in patient status, communicating with patients and their family members in a variety of traumatic situations
• Performed medical procedures (EKG procedures, venipuncture, cardiac monitoring, taking vital signs, urinalysis, UCG testing, administering medications, assisting in conscious sedation & local procedures and prepping patients for emergency surgical procedures)

• Provided pre-operative support (pre-anesthetic evaluation, application of a consent form for the procedure, preparation of the anesthesia plan in any type of procedure, insertion of invasive devices for hemodynamic monitoring, administration of drugs for induction and maintenance of anesthesia education, surgical prepping, family and patient education, medication reconciliation, cardiac / pulmonary preoperative clearance)
• Provided intraoperative support (surgical assistance to the surgeon and anesthesiologist, assistance with intubation insertion, scrubbing for surgery, sterile field setup, prepping sutures and special equipment, instrument / supply counts, equipment safety checking)
• Provided post-anesthesia care unit (assistance with anesthesia nerve blocks, extubation management, complex symptom management of the surgical patient, wound care, advanced cardiac and respiratory support)

• Trained, performed, and interpreted in-hospital cardiac dysrhythmias and 12-lead EKG electrocardiogram diagnostics
• Treated patients with domestic violence and sexual assault
• Triaged emergency patients based on acuity and critical assessment
• Provided physician assistance with intubations, tracheostomies, chest tubes, and central lines
• Provided complex wound care
• Assisted with trauma coordination and care
• Assisted with massive blood transfusion protocol in trauma
• Provided nursing care within level 2 trauma center
• Collaborated with various ER professionals to ensure effective patient care
• Applied expertise in prompt patient condition assessment on patient arrival at the ER during initial phases of acute illness or trauma
• Monitored ER patients, including alerting physicians or charge nurses to changes in patient status, communicating with patients and their family members in a variety of traumatic situations
• Performed medical procedures (EKG procedures, venipuncture, cardiac monitoring, taking vital signs, urinalysis, UCG testing, administering medications, assisting in conscious sedation and local procedures and prepping patients for emergency surgical procedures)

Professional Credentials

• Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) License: Colorado
• American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Board-Certified (AANP)
• Family Nurse Practitioner, Board-Certified (FNP-C)
• National Provider Identifier Database (NPI)
• Basic Life Support (BLS)
• Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Registration

Education

• M.S., Family Nurse Practitioner, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana
• B.S., Nursing, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia

Continuing Education

• VCEHP 111: Bed Bugs - Identification, Biology, and Control, 2022
• VCEHP 101: Vector-Borne Diseases of Public Health Importance, 2022
• Cultural Awareness and the Older Adult, 2022
• Depression in Older Adults: The Basics, 2022
• Effective Communication Skills, 2022
• Harassment in the Workplace, 2022
• Active Shooter 2/0, 2021
• Body Mechanics and Ergonomics, 2021
• Care Synergy-Ethics and Boundaries, 2021
• Customer Service, 2021
• Employee Wellness-Work-Life Balance, 2021
• HIPAA Do’s and Don’ts: Electronic Communication and Social Media Self-Paced, 2021
• Home Health Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, 2021
• Occurrence Reporting, 2021
• Personal Protective Equipment, 2021
• Taking Care of You, 2021
• A Discussion About Aid in Dying & End of Life Care, 2021
• Access to Care: Barriers of Geography, Culture, Language, and Poverty, 2021
• Addressing Isolation: The Impact of Loneliness, Hopelessness, and Boredom on Pain, Endurance and Suffering, 2021
• Advanced Care Planning: Communication Skills for Success, 2021
• Alternatives to Restraints in Elder Care, 2021
• Bag Technique for Home Healthcare, 2021
• Cultural Diversity in Home Health, 2021 Exercise as Medicine, 2021
• Importance of Self-Care for Frontline Professionals, 2021
• Hospice & Palliative Care: Managing Challenging Symptoms at the End of Life, 2021
• Hospice Care: Managing Symptoms at the End of Life, 2021
• Importance of Self-Care for Frontline Professionals, 2021
• Outcomes of the EMPOWER Study: A Multi-State Funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), 2021 Treating Head & Neck Pain, 2021
• The Five Wishes Framework, 2021
• Safety in Interventional Spine Procedures, 2021
• Treating Head & Neck Pain, 2021
• Understanding Abuse and Neglect, 2021
• Adverse Incidents & Medical Device Events: Recognizing and Reporting, 2020
• Avoiding Iatrogenic Harms of Forced Opioid Tapering, 2020
• Bloodborne Pathogens & Standard Precautions, 2020 Body Mechanics and Ergonomics, 2020
• Charity Care, 2020
• COVID-19 Screening Documentation, 2020
• Corporate Compliance: The Basics, 2020
• Intricacies of Intrathecal Drug Delivery, 2020
• Dementia Care: Helping Families and Friends, 2020
• Managing the Impacts of Chronic Pain Upon Sexual Health, 2020
• Personalizing Pain Medicine, 2020
• PPH COVID-19 Protocols, 2020
• Preventing Harassment in the Workplace for Home Health Staff, 2020
• The Impacts of Lifestyle Habits on Chronic Pain: Sleep, Fatigue, & Catastrophizing, 2020
• Targeted Pain Treatment Tools for the Team: How to Treat the Source Instead of the Pain Score, 2020
• The Importance and Effectiveness of Nutrition Interventions for Persons with Chronic Pain, 2020
• The Progression of Pain Medicine: Observations, Trends & Lessons Learned from 7 Years as Editor-in-Chief of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, 2020
• Transcutaneous & Spinal Cord Stimulation for the Treatment of Lower Back Pain, 2020
• We Honor Veterans Training, 2020 What Really Matters in the Treatment of Chronic Pain: Significant Signals Revealed through the CHOIR Registry of Real World Veterans, 2020
• About End of Life: Communication, 2019
• Advanced Directives, 2019 Creating a Restraint-Free Environment, 2019
• Patient Rights: Home Care and Hospice, 2019
• Personal Protective Equipment, 2019
• Taking Care of You, 2019
• The Interdisciplinary Group, the Care Planning Process and Coordination of Services in Hospice, 2019
• Ultipro Training for All Staff, 2019
• Workplace Emergencies and Natural Disasters: An Overview, 2019
• Abuse and Neglect, 2018
• CAHPS: Influencing our Patient / Primary Care Giver’s Perception of Home Hospice, 2018
• Combating Medicare Parts C and D: Fraud, Waste and Abuse, 2018
• Communication in Pediatric Palliative Care, 2018
• Corporate Compliance: The Basics, 2018
• Cultural Considerations in Palliative Care, 2018
• Driving Safely, Slips, Trips Falls & Ergonomics, 2018
• Infection Control, 2018
• Issues the Veterans Face at the End-of-Life, 2018
• Medical Management of Pain, 2018
• Occurrence Reporting, 2018
• Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders: Behavior Management, 2017
• Anger Management, 2017
• Bloodborne Pathogens, 2017
• Creating a Restraint-Free Environment, 2017
• Disaster Preparedness Essentials, 2017
• HIPAA Essentials, 2017
• Preventing, Recognizing and Reporting Abuse, 2017
• Professional Boundaries and Stress Management, 2017
• Protecting Patient Rights in Hospice, 2017
• Siderails: A Hidden Danger, 2017
• Palliative Symposiums at The Carolinas Center: Managing Challenging Behaviors, 2017
• Hospice Medicare Jurisdiction Workshop, 2017
• Opioid Safety and Efficacy, 2017
• Herbal Medications, 2017
• Palliative Care Pain Management at the End of Life, 2017
• Chronic Pain Syndromes: Current Concepts & Treatment Strategies, 2017
• Creating a Restraint-Free Environment, 2017
• Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Emboli, 2017
• Disaster Preparedness Essentials, 2017
• Herbal Medications: An Evidence-Based Review, 2017
• HIPAA Essentials, 2017
• JNC-8 Hypertension Guidelines: Protecting Your Patient Population from Stroke, MI & CHF Exacerbations, 2017
• Opioid-Induced Constipation: The Science, Patient Burden, and a Prescription Treatment Approach, 2017
• Optimizing Opioid Safety and Efficacy, 2017
• Palliative Care and Pain Management at the End of Life, 2017
• Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management of Overactive Bladder, 2017
• Preventing, Recognizing and Reporting Abuse, 2017
• Professional Boundaries and Stress Management, 2017
• Protecting Patient Rights in Hospice, 2017
• Pulmonary Medicine & CXR Interpretation, 2017
• Siderails: A Hidden Danger, 2017
• STI Update: New CDC Guidelines, 2017
• Take the Pain Out of Pain Management, 2017
• Vascular Imaging: How to Choose What & When, 2017
• Hospice Medicare Workshop Series: Protecting Your Dollars, Making Cents Out of Medicare, 2016
• Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs): How They Fit in Palliative Medicine, 2017
• Assessing Fall Risk in the Elderly, 2016
• Back Safety, Ergonomics, and WMSDs, 2016
• Boundaries: The Invisible Walls, 2016
• Communication and the Hospice Worker, 2016
• Communication Skills: Empathic Listening, 2016
• Concepts of Death and Dying: Hospice Interaction with the Family, 2016
• Cultural Diversity and End of Life Care, 2016
• Cultural Humility and Compassionate Presence at the End of Life, 2016
• Customer Service Training, 2016 Defensive Driving Basics, 2016
• Hospice Conditions of Participation, 2016
• Informed Consent Education, 2016
• Fire and Disaster Preparedness, 2016
• Fire Safety for Home Care, 2016
• Hazardous Chemicals, 2016
• Helping Children Cope with Grief, 2016 Hospice 202, 2016
• Hospice 201, 2016 Infection and Exposure Plan, 2016
• Infection Prevention and Control in Home Care and Hospice, 2016
• Managing Challenging Behaviors, 2016
• Palliative Care Symposium: Body, Mind & Spirit, 2016
• Pain Management in the Cognitively Elderly Patient, 2016
• Pain Management: The Basics and Beyond, 2016
• Patient Safety for Home Care, 2016
• Pediatric Palliative Care, 2016
• Psychological and Spiritual Issues Related to Death and Dying: Spiritual Care and Guidelines, 2016
• Talking About Death is Talking About Life: Helping Families Through The Use of Affirmational Conversation, 2016
• The Joint Commission Process in Home Care, 2016
• The Journey Through Grief, 2016
• The Palliative Care Crystal Ball: Where We Are & Where We Are Going, 2016
• We Honor Veterans: Service-Related Diseases, Illnesses and Conditions, 2016
• Workplace Violence, 2016 Wound Care Basics, 2016

Professional Memberships

• American Academy of Nurse Practitioner (AAANP)
• American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM)
• The Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
• Colorado Springs Chorale and Philharmonic

Speaking Engagements

• Association of Perioperative Nurses (AORN) Conference, “Mercy Ships Foundations,” October 2014
• ABC News Ebola, “Local Nurse Gives Perspective on Ebola,” October 2014
• Indiana State University Pre-Med Students, “Choosing a Career with Purpose,” 2014
• Indiana State University Nursing Student, “Serving with Heart,” 2014

Publications

• Indiana State University “Mercy Mission” News Headline, 2014
• Indiana State University “Student Travels the Globe to Care for Others”, 2014
• TribStar News Story “Hope Awakened”, 2014
• Mercer University Alumni Spotlight, 2014
• Fox News Pikes Peak Hospice, 2013

v. 10/7/22