Hospital
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Nurses report bullying, disrespectful behavior by other nurses similar to ‘hazing’
A common perception is that a lot of the bullying and disrespect that can create a toxic work culture in health care settings is directed by physicians toward nurses. Surprisingly, nurses appear to observe a hierarchy within their own ranks that may be just as mean-spirited, says Elaine Larson, PhD, RN, FAAN, CIC, associate dean for research at the Columbia School of Nursing in New York.
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Clusters of worker illness may be unrelated, but investigation needed to make the call
Many hospital employee health directors have encountered the occasional report that a number of employees have gotten sick and there might be something in the work environment causing it. With media reports over the years of sick building syndrome and cancer clusters, people are alert to anecdotal reports that suggest such a trend.
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A cautionary tale: Why you should ‘think TB’
An employee health nightmare unfolded in El Paso, TX, last year when a patient care technician with active tuberculosis spent months bathing and caring for newborns before she discovered the source of her cough and fatigue. Some 853 babies needed to be tested. At least two developed latent TB infection related to the exposure.
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Flu Shot Mandate: It Wasn’t Easy Being First
More than a decade ago, problems with flu vaccination were commonplace. Even in a good year, only about 50% of health care workers received the vaccine.
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CMS now publicly reporting hospital flu vaccination rates
Public reporting is raising the stakes for flu vaccination. For the first time, potential patients can compare health care worker influenza immunization rates as part of the online hospital quality data provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.
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C-Suite Executives: The Final Frontier for Hospital Case Management
Hospital case management is finally coming into its own. Administrators are beginning to understand and recognize the value that case managers can add to the interdisciplinary care team. Unfortunately these are often middle managers such as directors and assistant and associate vice presidents. Many “C-suite” executives are still struggling with understanding and appreciating the value that case managers and social workers bring. So, who are the residents of the C-suite? They include the “chiefs”: the chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, chief nursing officer, or the chief medical officer, among others. They are the most senior members of the hospital staff and they control the final decisions made across the hospital’s systems and patient care areas. They control the purse strings and the long-range vision of the organization.
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Hospital’s wellness program cuts health care costs by more than $5 million in five years
At the place where employee health and hospital benefits and wellness programs intersect, some striking results can be achieved. For JFK Health in Edison, NJ, an employee wellness program, fueled by individual and group biometric data, has resulted in these encouraging outcomes:
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An extra day in the hospital may prevent readmissions, reduce mortality
With penalties rising for hospitals with high readmission rates, the solution may be to keep patients a day longer, researchers at Columbia Business School concluded.
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CM-physician alignment cuts length of stay
The average length of stay for patients with pneumonia, sepsis, and heart failure dropped by one day when a care coordinator was assigned to a hospitalist group and followed its patients throughout the hospital stay during a pilot project at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach, VA.
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CM extenders can free up licensed staff to do what they do best
At a time when hiring RN case managers and social workers is a challenge, it may be time to look at hiring case management extenders.