NEWS BRIEFS
NEWS BRIEFS
Associations offer new business development conference
The National Association for Home Care (NAHC), the Proprietary Home Care Association of America, the Pediatric Homecare, and Hospice Association of America and the Home Care Aide Association of America are sponsoring the New Home Care Business Development Conference, "Expanding Services Beyond Medicare in a Cost-Conscious Environment." The conference, combining the National Private Pay Home and Community Services Conference, the National Home Care Aide Services Conference and the National Adult Day Care Symposium, will be held April 17-21 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA.
Established in response to home care providers’ need for in-depth information on expanding beyond Medicare, the conference addresses such topics as "From Ugly Stepchild to Cinderella: Strategies to Transform your Private Pay Home Care Program," and "Home Care Aides Specializing in Palliative Care." For more information or to register, contact the NAHC meetings department at (202) 547-5050.
New hospice award announced
The American Hospital Association (AHA) recently announced a new award that, starting in 2000, will be given each year to up to three exemplary hospice programs. The Circle of Life Award: Celebrating Innovation in End-Of-Life Care, will honor innovative hospital, hospice, nursing home, and home care programs aimed at improving the care for those in the last days of their lives. The $25,000 award will be funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and is co-sponsored by the American Medical Association, the National Hospice Organization and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.
"This award program will, we hope, serve as a beacon of inspiration for health care institutions nationwide. By telling the stories of good dying and letting other institutions know how this was achieved, we hope to help change professional and societal attitudes that often equate death with a failure of science," says Victoria Weisfeld, RWJF project officer for the award.
The award will be given to patient care programs that respect patient goals and preferences, provide comprehensive care, acknowledge and address family or caregivers’ concerns and needs, offer a communitywide approach to care and build support systems to maintain the program.
More information on the award is available on the AHA Web site: www.aha.org.
Survey shows first signs of impending nurse shortage
A recently conducted survey of 388 hospital nursing executives and recruiters indicates another nursing shortage is looming on the horizon. Unlike past shortages that generally involved too few nurses, this impending one is apparently caused by increased demand for experienced RNs in specialized areas, such as neonatal, operating room, and intensive care services.
Other factors include increased competition from other health care providers for RN labor, declining enrollment in four-year nursing programs and the increasing age of nurses. (The average age of nurses is now 44 years old, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Nursing.)
One third of those surveyed last November said it took longer to recruit qualified nurses than it did six months ago. Those located in the Midwest experienced the greatest overall increase in recruitment time. Urban hospitals reported significantly more difficulty in filling vacancies, while larger and urban facilities reported an increased use of agency and contract nurses. Respondents also indicated managing flexible and temporary staffing to accommodate fluctuating patient census is a critical nurse staffing priority.
The HSM Group conducted the survey on behalf of the American Organization of Nurse Executives in cooperation with the American Nurses Association, the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Nursing. In the future, it will be repeated and expanded to cover other practice areas, according to spokeswoman Alicia Mitchell.
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