Literature Review

Health system C-suites expanding Becker's Hospital Review - Leadership & Management; by Laura Dyrda; 6/18/24 Health system C-suites are evolving to meet the changing needs and priorities of the organization. Roles focused on the patient experience, sustainability and health equity are on the rise. Large and small health systems are revamping their C-suites to tackle new projects and oversee emerging areas of growth. Others are elevating clinical and IT leaders as their core accountabilities become an essential aspect of hospital strategy moving forward. Here are five emerging roles at health systems across the country.

'We may not ever be fully staffed': Health system C-suites plan for the future Becker's Hospital Review - Leadership & Management; by Laura Dyrda; 6/24/24 After the pandemic, most healthcare leaders experienced a "great resignation" as workers left for other service industries and ever since health systems have been dealing with a lack of skilled labor to backfill the vacancies. "As we have realized we may not ever be fully staffed to the degree we were pre-COVID, we now must augment our existing workforce with technology that extends their capabilities," said Mark Moseley, MD, president of USF Tampa General Physicians and executive vice president of Tampa General Hospital. "This is a two-part challenge. First, we need to deploy technology thoughtfully with sound blocking and tackling, which is expensive in both time and capital. Second, we must train our workforce to use these new technologies to aid them in their daily responsibilities in a manner that does not diminish the ethos of why many of us went into healthcare: the interactions with patients and members of the healthcare team." Physicians and nurses can fall on a wide spectrum of excitement or distaste for incorporating technology into their practice. Some may find it impersonal and challenging to understand while others see it as a tool boosting their capacity. ... [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

36 hospitals, health systems cutting jobs Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Kelly Gooch; updated 6/21/24 A number of hospitals and health systems are reducing their workforces or jobs due to financial and operational challenges. Below are workforce reduction efforts or job eliminations announced this year.  June:

AFT launches new union physicians’ organizing effort: Doctors across the country are joining together for rights and respect American Federation of Teachers; by Alexis Lopez; 6/18/24  AFT President Randi Weingarten announced the launch of a brand-new doctors’ organizing initiative and division: Union Physicians of AFT. Doctors across the country are faced with crippling burnout from administrative overload, frustration over financial barriers affecting their patients’ capacity to pay, and lack of respect from corporate owners who put profits over patients—and now they’re organizing with the AFT to fight back. ... These challenges are apparent across the healthcare sector, but less than 10 percent of all U.S. doctors have formed unions. The tide is rapidly turning. ... The ranks of AFT’s physicians have already grown at an unprecedented rate—with over 3,200 new members, from New York to Oregon, joining the union over the last year. The AFT is the fastest growing healthcare union and the second-largest nurses union in the U.S.

NIH: Hot weather safety for older adults OSHA: Heat - Working in outdoor and indoor heat environmentsOSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration; retrieved from their website 6/18/24 

Interim HealthCare Inc. recognized on Forbes list: America’s Best Employers for New Grads 2024 Morningstar; by Business Wire; 6/13/24 Interim HealthCare Inc. ... is recognized as one of the best places to work for recent college graduates on the Forbes America’s Best Employers For New Grads 2024 list. ... For the America’s Best Employers For New Grads list, more than 100,000 professionals with 10 or fewer years of work experience were surveyed at companies with 1,000 or more employees in the United States. The young professionals responded to questions about compensation, benefits, advancement opportunities, working conditions, flexibility, company image, and inclusion, along with whether they would recommend the employer to others. This award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc.

The value of a DNP degree: Translating your knowledge into nursing practice Delaware State Nurses Association; by Karen L. Pickard, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC; 6/13/24The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree has gained traction in the United States over the last twenty-two years. Nurses who specialized in clinical practice and held an advanced practice license supported the development of the DNP degree as an alternative to a terminal degree specialized in research science and academia, the Ph.D. ... Having a broader perspective related to the business of healthcare while understanding the clinical challenges nurses face at the bedside gives a DNP-prepared nurse opportunities to present information and solutions through a different lens. Opportunities on boards, advisory committees, and professional organizations have become vast, ...Editorial Note: Does your organization have DNP professionals whose skills you are under-utilizing? Do you have talented, motivated nurses who would benefit from a DNP career ladder plan? Share this article. What career ladder options and support do your Human Resources systems provide?

Union ratifies RN contract with Ascension Genesys WNEM-TV5, Genessee Co., Mich; by Hannah Mose; 6/5/24 The union representing the registered nurses (RNs) at Ascension Genesys Hospital announced the tentative agreement between the union and the hospital has been ratified. On May 20, Teamsters Local 322 president Dan Glass said there had been months of failed negotiations between the union and the hospital, and if there wasn’t an agreement made by May 24, the union would strike. However, on May 22, Teamsters Local 322 said a tentative agreement had been reached between the union and the hospital.

Man killed elderly parents, partner and himself in murder-suicide at SW Miami-Dade home NBC 6 South Florida; by Laura Rodriguez; 6/3/24A man shot and killed his elderly parents and partner before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide at a home in southwest Miami-Dade Sunday, police and family members said. According to police, [Jesus] Regueira [Jr.] shot and killed his parents, 83-year-old Jesus Regueira Sr. and 84-year-old Mercedes Morato, 61-year-old Kyrsten Stahre, who police identified as his girlfriend but family members said was his wife, before turning the gun on himself. ... The bodies were first discovered by family friend Joanna Cruz, whose mother was bringing food to Morato, who was under hospice care. ... “I think the problem was his mom had a severe stroke and she was in hospice and his mom was his life. Because someone had said that he wasn’t handling it well. The mom was there, but she had hospice coming in. His mom was his favorite person in the world. I don't know about the dad but I just know that’s probably what happened," Carol Miloch said. Editor's Note: Workplace violence in healthcare settings continues to rise, and to be a leading cause for nurse unionization and strikes.

LeadingAge: CMS on right track with high-acuity hospice RFIHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/31/24 The senior care advocacy group LeadingAge has praised the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) inquiries into high-acuity palliative care, but expressed concern over reimbursement and staffing issues. The agency’s 2025 proposed hospice rule featured a series of requests for information (RFI) on issues like health equity, social determinants of health and future quality measures. The RFIs contain further questions about the utilization of higher-cost palliative treatments under the Medicare Hospice Benefit. The agency posed similar queries in its proposed rule for 2024. The new proposal seeks greater clarity on the financial risks and costs that providers say represent barriers to providing those services, such as palliative chemotherapy, radiation blood transfusions or dialysis, among others.

St. Vincent Hospital nurses and the MNA file fifth in series of complaints with state and federal agencies about dangerous patient care conditions that continue to compromise the care and safety of patients admitted to the Worcester-based facility Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA); 5/29/24 As patient care conditions continue to deteriorate at St. Vincent Hospital, the registered nurses and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) have filed yet another round of complaints to state and federal agencies seeking immediate intervention to protect patients and staff, a situation so dire the complaints include a direct appeal to the Department of Public Health to assign onsite inspectors on a daily basis to ensure hospital administration is providing the resources needed to ensure the safety of all concerned. In fact, the nurses report that DPH has recently been at the hospital investigating yet another serious patient safety incident. Editor's Note: As reported in numerous articles in our newsletter, patient safety and workplace violence/safety issues continue to be key causes for healthcare professional resignations, unionizations, and strikes (ie., nurses and/or physicians). It's time to review your organization's patient safety and workplace violence Policies and Procedures, staff and volunteer trainings, caregiver resources to ensure patient safety in the home, topics like "Abuse and Neglect," and your community's data on workplace safety concerns and community response resources.

22 top hospitals and systems, 15K+ open jobs Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 5/24/24 Hospitals and health systems continue to grapple with workforce challenges, including recruiting top talent in a competitive environment. Below are the number of job openings at hospitals and health systems that are among those named to the U.S. News & World Report's 2023-24 Best Hospitals Honor Roll.  ... The numbers are from job boards as of May 24. [Click on the title's link for this list.]