Literature Review

63 Hispanic and Latino leaders to know | 2024 Becker's Hospital Review; by Anna Falvey; 9/20/24 Becker's is thrilled to honor these Hispanic and Latino healthcare leaders. Diverse leadership in healthcare culminates in a more comprehensive, seamless experience for both patients and providers alike. The leaders honored in this list are transforming the patient journey, ushering in the new wave of healthcare providers and promoting DEI. ... Becker's Healthcare developed this list based on nominations and editorial research. Leaders do not pay and cannot pay for inclusion on this list. This list is not exhaustive, nor is it an endorsement of the leaders or organizations mentioned. Editor's note: Reminder that the National Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 to October 15. Are you recognizing your Hispanic employees and volunteers? Click here for CMS resources. 

Mirror, mirror 2024: A portrait of the failing U.S. health system - comparing performance in 10 nations The Commonwealth Fund; by David Blumenthal, Evan D. Gumas, Arnav Shah, Munira Z. Gunja, and Reginald D. Williams II Goal: Compare health system performance in 10 countries, including the United States, to glean insights for U.S. improvement. Methods: Analysis of 70 health system performance measures in five areas: access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and health outcomes. Key Findings: The top three countries are Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, although differences in overall performance between most countries are relatively small. The only clear outlier is the U.S., where health system performance is dramatically lower. Conclusion: The U.S. continues to be in a class by itself in the underperformance of its health care sector. While the other nine countries differ in the details of their systems and in their performance on domains, unlike the U.S., they all have found a way to meet their residents’ most basic health care needs, including universal coverage.

Trends in mortality after incident hospitalization for heart failure among Medicare beneficiariesJAMA Network Open; Adam S. Vohra, MD, MBA; Ali Moghtaderi, PhD; Qian Luo, PhD; David J. Magid, MD, MPH; Bernard Black, JD, MA; Frederick A. Masoudi, MD, MSPH; Vinay Kini, MD, MSHP; 8/24In this study of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, there was a substantial decrease in in-hospital mortality for patients hospitalized with incident HF [heart failure] from 2008 to 2018, but little to no reduction in mortality for subsequent periods up to 3 years after hospitalization. These results suggest opportunities to improve longitudinal outpatient care for patients with HF after hospital discharge.

Survey: Older adults unsatisfied with current healthcare system McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Kristen Fischer; 9/17/24 Older adults aren’t too happy with the healthcare system and many think it doesn’t meet their needs and preferences, according to a new survey. The results of the survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, were published Tuesday, and were released by Age Wave and The John A. Hartford Foundation.  Four in five adults aged 65 and older said that the system isn’t prepared to handle the changing needs of Americans in their age group. In total, only 11% said the US healthcare system deserved a grade of “A.” Results show that older adults want solutions such as affordable care interventions, developments to prevent or reduce cognitive decline, and healthcare professionals who understand what matters to them when they discuss care options.

[OR] Samaritan Health Services lowers executive pay, reduces workforceModern Healthcare; by Alex Kacik; 9/16/24Corvallis, Oregon-based Samaritan laid off 80 employees in response to inflation, cyber incidents, inclement weather, volume reduction and declining reimbursement rates, a spokesperson said Monday. Most of the layoffs were not patient-facing positions, the spokesperson said.

AI 'early warning' system shows promise in preventing hospital deaths, study says Pique NewsMagazine, Toronto, Canada; by Nicole Ireland; 9/16/24 An AI early-warning system that predicts which patients are at risk of deteriorating while in hospital was associated with a decrease in unexpected deaths, a new study says. The study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found a 26 per cent reduction in non-palliative deaths among patients in St. Michael's Hospital's general internal medicine unit when the AI tool was used. "We've seen that there is a lot of hype and excitement around artificial intelligence in medicine. We've also seen not as much actual deployment of these tools in real clinical environments," said lead author Dr. Amol Verma, a general internal medicine specialist and scientist at the hospital in Toronto. "This is an early example of a tool that's deployed that was rigorously tested and evaluated and where it's showing promise for actually helping improve patient care." ... The technology called CHARTwatch continuously analyzed more than 100 different pieces of information about each patient in the unit, Verma said. When the AI tool predicted that a patient was deteriorating, it sent an alert to physicians and nurses, prompting them to quickly intervene.

‘We did it!’: West Penn nurses celebrate their new contract Pittsburgh Union Press, Pittsburgh, PA; by Steve Mellon; 9/12/24 Before Joanne Germanos had a chance to approach a podium to make her announcement, someone in the crowd called out, “We did it!” ... What Germanos and her fellow union nurses at West Penn did was win a new contract that raises pay and addresses staffing and burnout issues that the nurses say have been pushing experienced nurses out of the profession. Ninety percent of the hospital’s union nurses voted to approve the contract Wednesday. Under the three-year deal, pay for nurses will rise an average of 24%, with some seeing increases as high as 35%. By contract’s end, all nurses will make at least $40 an hour; nurses with 20 years of experience will make at least $50 an hour. ... Pay, however, isn’t the only issue. At rallies, union nurses have called on hospital administrators to address staffing and scheduling problems that can affect patient care and cause nurse burnout. They took those concerns to the bargaining table and, on Thursday, said they were thrilled with the outcome.

Judge approves $439M sale of 3 Steward hospitalsModern Healthcare; by Hayley DeSilva; 9/11/24Steward Health Care received approval from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to sell three of its Florida hospitals to Orlando Health in a $439 million deal. Orlando Health, the highest bidder for the facilities, is acquiring Melbourne Regional Medical Center, Rockledge Regional Medical Center and Sebastian River Medical Center, all in Florida, according to a Tuesday court filing.

Kaiser Permanente enters deal with CommonSpirit to expand Colorado presence GlobalData; 9/11/24 Kaiser Permanente and CommonSpirit Health have expanded their alliance with a new long-term agreement, aimed at providing Kaiser Permanente's members with enhanced access to healthcare services in Colorado, US. This agreement will integrate Kaiser Permanente physicians into CommonSpirit's hospitals, offering members, including Metro Denver residents, more convenient healthcare services and options close to home. CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system, has a significant presence in Colorado, operating nearly 20 hospitals and over 240 care sites with a workforce of more than 16,000 and 5,300 healthcare professionals, including physicians and practice clinicians. Meanwhile, Kaiser Permanente, also a nonprofit, is known for its integrated care and coverage model, which includes care from its own providers, as well as a broad external network. 

Mercy acquires Ascension hospital Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon; 9/10/24 St. Louis-based Mercy has acquired Ascension's Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, Kan. The acquisition includes the hospital, its locations and related physician practices, but excludes Ascension Living Via Christi Village facilities and operations. The deal officially closed Sept. 1. Mercy, a 45-hospital system, now has three hospitals in Kansas: Mercy Hospital Pittsburg, Mercy Hospital Columbus and Mercy Specialty Hospital-Southeast Kansas in Galena. It also operates two primary care clinics in Pittsburg. "Whenever Mercy joins a new community, we want to hear from that community about what we can do to improve care and access for patients," Jeremy Drinkwitz, president of Mercy Joplin communities, said in a news release. "We want to ensure we are providing the right care where it's needed so patients can stay close to home. We'll be looking for the best ways to grow the already great services in place." 

When rounding sparked improvements, per 4 chief nursing officers Becker's Hospital Review; by Erica Carbajal; 9/5/24 Rounding the floor with front-line nurses and staff is more than just a management practice for leaders to show face — it is a vital tool for connecting with employees and driving meaningful change. In conversations with hospital leaders, they often echo the sentiment of how routinely spending time with front-line staff uncovers opportunities to address pain points in their daily workflow. With nurses often pointing to lack of resources and support as drivers of job dissatisfaction and burnout, rounding represents a key strategy to positively affect staff engagement and retention, and thus, patient care. Becker's recently asked four chief nursing officers to share a recent example of a time when rounding sparked a process change or improvement at their hospital. Here are their responses: ... Editor's note: "Rounding" best practices and outcomes apply to hospice and palliative care multidisciplinary teams. 

Henry Ford Health to take over 8 Ascension hospitalsModern Healthcare; by Dustin Walsh; 9/4/24A joint venture between Henry Ford Health and Ascension Michigan will launch on Oct. 1, a spokesperson for Henry Ford Health confirmed to Crain’s. Under the no-cash deal, eight Ascension and Genesys hospitals and an addiction treatment center will be rebranded under Henry Ford Health.

Bargaining, contract fights heat up across health systemsModern Healthcare; by Mari Devereaux; 9/3/24Thousands of healthcare workers nationwide are negotiating for new contracts, and staff at some facilities are preparing for the possibility of strikes in the coming months. Nurses at HCA Healthcare’s MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas voted last week to authorize a strike if no progress is made in negotiating for a contract that ensures higher pay, meal breaks for nurses and better retention strategies. National Nurses United members at the health system’s Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, are conducting a strike authorization vote. These moves, combined with dozens of pickets, protests and contract fights across the country, exemplify the ongoing tension between healthcare employers and staff.Discussion includes: HCA Healthcare, Albany Medical Center, Sharp HealthCare, Kaiser Permanente, Keck Medicine of USC, and University of Michigan Health-Sparrow.