ORL – Head and Neck Nursing Winter 2014 / Volume 32, Number 1 Feature Exploring Quality of Life in Critically Ill Tracheostomy Patients: A Pilot Study Vinciya Pandian, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC; Sonali Bose, MD; Christina Miller, MD; Adam Schiavi, PhD, MD; David Feller-Kopman, MD; Nasir Bhatti, MD; Marek Mirski, MD, PhD Background: Tracheostomies are performed to improve health-related quality of life (QOL) in patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. As the lengths of stay in intensive care units (ICU) increase and higher rates of tracheostomies are becoming more prevalent, issues regarding patient perceptions of their own prognosis and outcomes after tracheostomy can considerably impact QOL and in turn their care and recovery. Whether tracheostomy improves QOL, however, has not been studied adequately. Current studies investigating QOL have been limited to pre- and post-ICU admission, have relied on surrogate measures such as clinical outcomes and proxy reports, and have used inadequate instruments, failing to capture all domains of QOL. Studies using a robust instrument to investigate QOL in the ICU before and after tracheostomy are lacking. Clinical Consensus Statement: Tracheostomy Care-Putting Statements into Action! Cindy Dawson, MSN, RN, CORLN Michele Farrington, BSN, RN, CPHON Heat and Moisture Exchange Devices for Patients Undergoing Total Laryngectomy Pearl Icuspit, BSN, RN; Bharat Yarlagadda, MD; Shweta Garg, PA-C; Theresa Johnson, BSN, RN-BC; Daniel Deschler, MD, FACS Departments Guest Editorial Guest Editor Thoughts: Take the Lead Cindy Dawson, MSN, RN, CORLN Poetry Corner Shot Girls Editor: Maggie Kramper, MSN, FNP, CORLN Author: Dorothy Harsen, RN-BC, FNP Highlights From The Hill Why Is Government Relations Important To My Nursing Practice? Sharon Jamison, BSN, RN, CORLN Products Of Interest Otologic Products Editor & Author: Carolyn Waddington, MS, RN, FNP-C, CORLN High Level Disinfection of Scopes: Solution Temperature Update Cindy Dawson, MSN, RN, CORLN