Literature Review

Netsmart announces acquisition of HealthPivots to support value-based care transition for healthcare providersPress release; by Natalie Caruso; 9/4/24Netsmart announced it has acquired HealthPivots, an Oregon-based market intelligence company for the post-acute care continuum. The combination of the Netsmart CareFabric® with the HealthPivots DataLab will lead to consolidated, robust data and advanced analytics, providing an industry-leading platform that will help enhance post-acute care providers transition to value-based care.

A wave of change is coming for healthcare benefits — are hospitals ready? Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Jakob Emerson; 9/3/24Surveys of employers are making one thing clear: Healthcare costs are rising faster than they did before the pandemic, and those costs are being driven by inflation, the increasing use of weight loss medications, and higher overall medical expenses.  ... As financial pressures mount, many employers are exploring or expanding alternative payment and coverage models, a trend that could significantly alter hospital's revenue streams. ...  The average cost of employer-sponsored coverage is expected to jump 9% from 2024 to 2025, according to estimates from Aon published in August. Healthcare costs per employee are projected to surpass $16,000 per employee in 2025, driven by rising employment levels, inflation and rising pharmaceutical costs. In 2024, employers budgeted an average of $14,823 per employee for healthcare costs. These costs have risen by more than 20% over the past five years and by 43% over the past decade.

How to get people to do what you want and still like you in 3 steps, from a leadership expert CNBS - Make It - Leadership; by Tom Huddleston, Jr.; 9/2/24 One of the biggest challenges for any leader is figuring out how to hold people accountable for their mistakes without creating bad blood. In those situations, playing the blame game is always a losing strategy, according to leadership expert and bestselling author Michael Timms. The secret to calling out poor performance while maintaining a positive relationship with employees is to own up to your own mistakes first so you can inspire others to do the same, Timms said in a TED Talk in January. It’s a strategy called “modeling accountability.” Timms ... noted that he and other leaders often fall into the same trap: “blaming other people for a problem without considering my part in it.” ″[This is] something I teach management teams: You can’t inspire accountability in others until you model it yourself,” he said. 

A tale of two leaders: What leadership has taught meBaker Women Newsletter; 8/24Showcasing how leaders come in various shapes and sizes is the common thread throughout this issue. We interviewed two Baker Donelson women leaders – Martha Boyd, chair of the Firm's Labor & Employment Group, and Jennifer Dunlap, vice-chair for the Firm's Labor & Employment Group – to see how they approach leadership, empower others, and what they have learned about themselves within their leadership roles.

I discovered my calling in a cemetery. We talk about death but aren't preparedNewsweek; by Allyse Worland; 8/29/24My journey as a funeral director started early. My Catholic grade school shared a street with a cemetery in my small rural Indiana hometown. At recess, I'd often see funeral processions drive by, only at the time I thought it was a parade. It wasn't until my teachers explained it to me that I realized it was, in fact, a funeral procession. At that moment I knew I wanted to lead that parade... Death and grief are no different. A recent first-of-its-kind survey from the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) sought to uncover generational differences relating to end-of-life matters, especially as Gen Z comes of age and enters early adulthood. The survey found that while cremation is still a top preference for Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials, Gen Z stands alone with traditional burial as their top preference, bucking decades of preferences trending toward cremation... As a millennial who is fifteen years into my career as a funeral director, I am inspired by this next generation, not only by their willingness to approach death differently, but also as they redefine work and success. I think both these generational characteristics make many Gen Zs ideal candidates for a job path they may have never even considered: funeral director.

Majority of Mission nurses pledge support for strike vote The Biltmore Beacon, Asheville, NC; by Andrew R. Jones; 8/28/24 Nursing leaders at Asheville’s Mission Hospital said they have the pledges needed to call for a strike vote, increasing the likelihood of a significant labor action at the HCA Healthcare-owned facility if an agreement wasn’t reached this week. Local nursing representatives said that more than 800 of the approximately 1,600 registered nurses, including members of the Mission Hospital United union and non-union members, signed pledges agreeing to vote on a possible strike at the Asheville hospital, the only Level II trauma center in WNC. The vote will be held over four days, Aug. 25, 26, 28, and 29. Nurse union leaders told Asheville Watchdog that they anticipate most of the nurses covered by the union contract will authorize a strike that could last from one to three days. ... Several other unions at HCA hospitals across the nation — including those in Nevada, Florida, Texas and Kansas — are moving toward strike votes right now, nurses said. ...

Healthcare leaders navigate pushback to health equity programsModern Healthcare; by Mari Devereaux; 8/27/24Brewing opposition to health systems' programs on equitable care for patients of color could make health systems need to justify or reframe their efforts. A nonprofit conservative law firm earlier this month filed a federal civil rights complaint with the Health and Human Services Department against Cleveland Clinic, alleging its minority stroke program and minority men’s center discriminate against other patients. The center and program offer treatments, prevention services and specialist referrals tailored to meet the needs of Black and Latino patients... [Alternatively...] “There's a war on DEI and health equity right now, because people don't really understand what's happening in these programs,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Health equity programs aren’t giving more care to one patient versus another based on race or ethnicity, Benjamin said. Instead, they are identifying high-risk patients with a likelihood for poor outcomes, who are often people of color, and putting together resources to help those individuals get the same care as others, he said.

What is C-level (C-suite)? TechTarget - CIO; by Rahul Awati and Mary K. Pratt; 8/27/24... In recent years, positions like chief diversity officer (CDO), chief compliance officer (CCO), chief risk officer (CRO) and chief information security officer (CISO) have also emerged as part of the C-suite. Officers who hold C-level positions are typically considered the most powerful, influential members of an organization; consequently, they set the company's strategy, make high-stakes decisions, and ensure that daily operations align with fulfilling the company's strategic goals. ... Depending on the company type, size, country of operation and industry, the C-Suite might include some or all the following positions: [Explore this article for long-standing roles and new, emerging C-suite roles: CEO, COO, CFO, CMO, CIO, CTO, CHRO, CCO, CSO, CISO, CDO, CAO, CXO, CGO, CITA, CKI, CLO, CMIO, CPO, CPIO, CPO, CRO, CSS, CSO, CTO.]

TN church helps pay off $8M in medical debt WKRN.com, Johnson City, TN; by Kenzie Hagood and Jayonna Scurry; 8/22/24 A Tennessee church paid off around $8 million in community members’ medical debt in partnership with a national program. The Altar Fellowship Church is changing many lives across the Tri-Cities by helping people relieve medical debt. ... Senior Pastor Mattie Montgomery cast the vision to his church years after losing his father. “The story meant so much like to our senior pastor, Pastor Matty, because [he lost] his father to cancer at the young age of eight,” Morrison [another pastor] said. “And while he was on hospice care at home, a businessman from their town bought Christmas gifts for their entire family. And so that was an inspiration for him ..." The church raised about $50,000 in one day, unknowingly helping to pay off the debts of some of its own congregation.

West Penn Hospital union nurses vote to authorize strike WPXI.com news, Pittsburgh, PA; by Taylor Spirito; 8/22/24 Union nurses at West Penn Hospital have voted to authorize a strike. On Wednesday, union nurses votes 99.3% in favor of authorizing their negotiating committee to send a strike notice if necessary, rejecting contract proposals from the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) as inadequate to address the region’s nurse staffing crisis. The nurses are calling for resources to recruit new nurses and retain experienced ones. They said the hospital’s nursing staff must obtain 100 more registered nurses to meet the region’s growing patient care needs, a representative from SEIU Healthcare PA said. 

Mortuaries get a modern-day makeover The Hustle; by Sara Friedman; 8/20/24 When window shopping in a city, it’s often an aesthetic storefront that captures your attention and pulls you inside. But what if the handcrafted vase that caught your eye was actually an urn for human remains? That’s the business model for the crop of trendy, modernized mortuaries popping up around the world, per The New York Times. ... Pretty enough to be spas or nightclubs, these new mortuaries bring some levity to customers looking for something different. In a Co-Op Funeralcare study of 4k people in the UK, 68% said they see funerals as celebrations of life, not sad occasions. [Examples given] ... These new mortuary models are tapping into a lucrative industry: The average funeral costs ~$6.6k in London, while the median cost of a US funeral is $8.3k.

Reimagining end-of-life practices: Setas Eternal Living’s MyCoffin offers a sustainable legacy Franklin County Free Press; 8/13/24 In the heart of Pennsylvania’s countryside, a quiet revolution is taking place that promises to transform our end-of-life practices. At Setas Eternal Living, innovation and sustainability are at the forefront, offering an eco-friendly alternative to traditional burials through their unique MyCoffin. MyCoffin is designed to biodegrade the human body in under three years, and their pet coffin will biodegrade your pet in under two. This initiative aims to honor life while promoting environmental stewardship, reflecting a profound respect for nature’s cycles. ... The eco-friendly burial market is gaining momentum as more people become aware of the environmental impact of traditional burial practices. According to industry projections, the U.S. coffin and casket manufacturing industry is shifting towards greener alternative. ...