/ en Sun, 15 Jun 2025 02:45:21 -0500 Thu, 12 Jun 25 15:16:09 -0500 /role-hospitals-new-program-texas-health-harris-methodist-alliance-supports-laboring-mothers-throughout-delivery <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-5"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-06/ths-teambirth-alliance-shannonm-700x532.png" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance team member Shannon Manchesi" width="700" height="532"></p><p><em>Shannon Manchesi. </em></p><p><em>Photo Credit: Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance</em></p></div><p>When Crystal arrived at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance to deliver her third child, she was met with a new approach to childbirth that immediately put her at ease. As the first patient to experience the newly launched TeamBirth program, Crystal noticed a significant shift in how her care team communicated. The shared decision-making model centered around a planning board and regular “huddles” that included her, her support person and the entire care team. These collaborative discussions helped Crystal feel seen and heard, especially after past experiences with postpartum hemorrhage and postpartum depression left her anxious about giving birth again. “I felt like we were all on the same page. They did a good job at explaining what was happening throughout the entire process,” Crystal said. “My transition to the mother-baby unit once Gunner arrived was also smooth.”</p><p>“Talking with detail and communicating every step helped decrease her anxiety,” said Shannon Manchesi, the labor and delivery nurse who cared for Crystal. “We want every woman giving birth to feel empowered to participate in decisions made during labor and delivery,” added Tina Gist, M.S.N., R.N., director of nursing, women and children and critical care. With TeamBirth, Crystal felt in control and supported throughout the process, transforming what could have been a stressful experience into one of comfort and trust.</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.texashealth.org/newsroom/News-Releases/2025/TeamBirth-Helps-Mom-Feel-in-Control"><strong>LEARN MORE</strong></a></p></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:16:09 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story /role-hospitals-saint-francis-hospital-health-systems-community-investing-program-fosters-positive-changes <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-5"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-06/ths-st-francis-hartford-chna-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="St. Francis Hospital. A health worker holding a tablet speaks with a patient at an outdoors community event" width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>A recent <a href="https://www.trinityhealthofne.org/sites/default/files/hg_features/mercury_standard_layout/7e52445bbeb2d965c884391a63839d9f.pdf">community health needs assessment</a> conducted by Saint Francis Hospital and local organizations in Hartford, Conn., indicated that 26% of Hartford residents have difficulty paying for food and 17% have difficulty paying for housing. Those percentages are much higher than statewide numbers, which are 11% and 9%, respectively. The CHNA also revealed that obesity affects about a third of adults in Greater Hartford, and diabetes rates are elevated among older adults, Black adults and low-income adults in the region.</p><p>Saint Francis, part of Trinity Health of New England and Trinity Health, participates in the health system’s Community Investing Program. This program supports local initiatives that build infrastructure to address issues such as food and housing insecurity and foster positive change.</p><p>The Community Investing Program has committed $5 million in Hartford to improve health and quality-of-life outcomes. Trinity Health’s community investments serve priority communities, which are areas that have faced severe economic challenges, received significant Medicaid or financial assistance support, or experienced past divestment.</p><p>Carolyn Alessi, regional director, community health and well-being, at Trintiy Health of New England, said, “Because of the support of Trinity Health and our community partners, we are able to provide not just clinical medical care, but transformative, life-changing opportunities that address food insecurity, workforce development, housing, education and more. We are so grateful for the support and collaboration in providing impactful support to our neighbors in need.”</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.trinityhealthofne.org/newsroom/press-releases/saint-francis-hospital-collaborates-local-partners-lead-positive-change">LEARN MORE</a></p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/community-benefit">Benefiting Communities</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:57:14 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story /role-hospitals-jefferson-health-program-aims-fast-track-philly-high-school-students-demand-entry-level-health-care-jobs <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-7"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-06/ths-jefferson-teen-workforce-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Jefferson Health program aims to fast-track Philly high school students into in-demand, entry-level health care jobs. Female health worker instructs young female trainee on using IV bags" width="700" height="532" class="align-left"></div><p>After graduating from high school last June, Antoinette Smith-Bethea began working as a patient care technician at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, where she learned to check vitals, draw blood, and perform EKGs. Her ready-for-market skills were earned courtesy of the Jefferson Workforce Development Program, a collaboration between Jefferson Health, the School District of Philadelphia, and Esperanza College that aims to address the high turnover in entry-level health care positions by providing students with 1,000 hours of classroom instruction and hands-on training at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital.</p><p>The program also includes a specialized skill boot camp to help students interested in health care careers with résumé building, job applications, and understanding Jefferson's orientation and onboarding practices. Smith-Bethea is one of 18 students who completed the program. She is scheduled to earn an associate’s degree in health sciences in May and then plans to apply for a position as an ultrasound technician.</p><p>Health care is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S., driven by rising life expectancy and advances in medical technology. By next year, the industry expects a nationwide shortage of 3.2 million health care workers, including medical assistants, patient care technicians, and surgery technicians. The Jefferson Workforce Development Program serves as an on-ramp into health care, helping students secure good-paying jobs and fill workforce needs.</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://whyy.org/articles/entry-level-health-care-jobs-philadelphia-high-schools-jefferson/">LEARN MORE</a></p><p> </p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/workforce-home">Workforce</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:44:49 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story /role-hospitals-uva-health-aims-reduce-carbon-footprint-paper-pill-bottles <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-5"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-06/ths-uva-paper-pill-bottles-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="UVA Health. An orange plastic pill bottle is shown on the left, next to one of UVA's new paper pill bottles " width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>At UVA Health, the iconic orange plastic pill bottle is getting a makeover. Some prescriptions are now being filled in a new, recyclable paper bottle. Made with 100% recyclable materials and a compostable paper core, the bottles, called Tully Tubes, debuted at some UVA Health pharmacies in April. They will eventually be available in all UVA Health pharmacy locations. The bottles are still child- and moisture-resistant.</p><p>“Traditional plastic vials can be difficult to recycle, but sustainable alternatives that maintain safety, quality and usability have been limited,” said (https://newsroom.uvahealth.com/2025/04/22/uva-health-pharmacy-paper-pill-bottles/) Carrie Kovacik, PharmD, manager of UVA Health’s ambulatory pharmacy supply chain. “These paper-based bottles offer a step forward in reducing our introduction of single-use plastics into our community.”</p><p>The paper bottles cost about the same to produce as traditional plastic bottles while generating about 30% less carbon. The reduction of UVA Health’s carbon footprint by switching entirely to paper bottles would be the equivalent of not driving more than 24,000 miles in a gas-powered vehicle.</p></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:50:32 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story /advancing-health-podcast/2025-06-11-ecosystem-approach-health-across-michigan-communities <p>To celebrate Community Health Improvement (CHI) Week, June 9 – June 13, two experts from Corewell Health share how an impactful health care ecosystem model is supporting local Michigan communities, and why creating region-specific programs, from school-based clinics to school nursing initiatives, has been effective for improving community health.</p><p>Visit <a href="/center/community-health-improvement-week">/center/community-health-improvement-week</a> to learn more about the work hospitals and health systems are doing for their communities.</p><hr><div></div><div class="raw-html-embed"><details class="transcript"> <summary> <h2 title="Click here to open/close the transcript."> <span>View Transcript</span><br> </h2> </summary> <p> 00:00:01:04 - 00:00:31:25<br> Tom Haederle<br> Welcome to Advancing Health. An increasing number of hospitals today are part of a larger health system. How can the big systems support the mission of their local member hospitals, while avoiding a one size fits all approach that may not work for everyone? As we recognize Community Health Improvement Week, we learn more about Michigan-based Corewell Health's approach, from tactical support to collaborative community partnerships that helps each hospital or health system be the best it can be. </p> <p> 00:00:31:27 - 00:00:54:23<br> Andrew Jager<br> My name is Andrew Jager at the AHA. Today, it's my pleasure to be joined by two colleagues from Corewell Health in Michigan. With me we have Dr. Corey Smith and Vanessa Briggs. Today, as part of Community Health Improvement Week, we're going to talk a little bit about the role of a health system in supporting hospitals to maintain a really robust process in identifying and understanding the health needs of the local communities that they serve. </p> <p> 00:00:54:26 - 00:01:09:14<br> Andrew Jager<br> Now, I'd like to turn to our guest to hear a little bit about how you see the role of health systems like Corewell Health in supporting local hospital offers to identify, understand and to address community health needs. Starting with Vanessa, how do you see the role of Corewell in this? </p> <p> 00:01:09:17 - 00:01:45:24<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> That's a really great question. And some of the lessons I think, that we've learned here at Corewell Health. It really does take a collaborative process. And that really requires diverse voices and perspectives and lived experiences, because that engagement process is really critical, because we think about -when we do CHNA - as an ecosystem. And an ecosystem model that can be replicated across all three regions, given the spanned and reach that Corewell Health has within Michigan. </p> <p> 00:01:45:27 - 00:02:29:05<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> And so our CHNA ecosystem is made up of public health partners, health and human service organizations, community based organizations, as well as community advocates. And we also include our Corewell Health local community board representatives and health professionals that have local but yet regional specific insight into the needs that are happening and needed within community. And so when we work alongside all of those individuals, when we call our ecosystem, it really allows us to deliver programs and work alongside our community to engage throughout the entire process for the CHNA. </p> <p> 00:02:29:07 - 00:02:40:04<br> Andrew Jager<br> I love that, Vanessa, really taking that ecosystem approach and then intentionally bringing in those local community voices to create that strong effort. Corey, what would you add to Vanessa's response? </p> <p> 00:02:40:06 - 00:03:03:02<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> Well, the one thing I would add is, for a health system like Corewell Health, it can be sometimes easy to think, given our size, that we are kind of the main actor in a space. Right? And I think it's important, especially at the regional level, at the local level, to remember the kind of the legacy and positionality that some of these local hospitals have in their communities and that they are a part of the fabric. </p> <p> 00:03:03:02 - 00:03:30:00<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> Right. And so I think in some of our regions, and one of the things that we're trying to lift up as best practice is to be conduct doing the needs assessment process as part of a collective, right, a collective group in collaboration with public health departments, with local organizations, with school districts and other stakeholders that have some interest and where it's relevant for them to be aware of and participating in the process of defining community health needs, </p> <p> 00:03:30:00 - 00:03:30:18<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> right? </p> <p> 00:03:30:20 - 00:03:55:13<br> Andrew Jager<br> Yeah, I love that sort of intentionality of recognizing the true complexity across the communities, the legacy, different perspectives, and the intentionality of bringing all those together in a process is great. So moving on to that process, I guess I'd ask Vanessa, you know, from the system level, what would you say are some of the most important resources or tools that that you can use to support that local priority identification? </p> <p> 00:03:55:15 - 00:04:22:08<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> Yeah. At Corewell we firmly believe that technical support to help prioritize and help our local hospitals and stakeholders. It really has to align all focus areas effectively. And so having that technical support that Corey's team actually provides for my team in healthier communities is critical to the success. And that's a huge resource that's beneficial to us. </p> <p> 00:04:22:10 - 00:04:28:18<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> And I'm sure Corey has some other examples that that he would like to share in terms of some resources as well. </p> <p> 00:04:28:21 - 00:04:44:24<br> Andrew Jager<br> Yeah, I'd love to hear Corey's thoughts, especially around, you know, what do you think about when you try to balance standardization across the hospitals in your health system and data collection, reporting, etc., with the flexibility that local teams really need to to get at those needs and address them in a local way? </p> <p> 00:04:44:26 - 00:05:16:09<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> Yeah, it's one of the main tensions that we wrestle with, right? And it can be enticing to want to go with standardizing across systems. Right. It's simpler. You know you can feel like you're focusing, but when you bring it to local stakeholders, it can feel misaligned with what they actually need and what they experience. So, you know, I think stepping back from the actual process of identifying the needs rather than bringing forth a standard set of here are the needs that we're going to identify at each hospital across our system. </p> <p> 00:05:16:11 - 00:05:52:24<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> We try to frame it as here is our broad theory of change for how we think we can address health needs across the Corewell Health service area, right? We think we need to have a balanced approach to investing in, initiatives that are going to create change at lots of different levels. And so rather than saying this is exactly, you know, the condition or the need that you need to work towards trying to offer a way to work rather than a how to work, I think is a critical part of what we try to bring into both the CHNA, the community health assessment needs process, but also the development of the strategies and response to that </p> <p> 00:05:52:24 - 00:06:17:18<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> process. So I think that's part of the way we balance that tension. And then we've thought a lot about, you know, what is a system's sort of backbone look like for local teams doing this work. And what kind of technical support can we bring to the table, whether it's, you know, in the in the form of how to create better surveys, whether it's in the form of bringing forth access to publicly available data sets that look more at community need. </p> <p> 00:06:17:21 - 00:06:41:15<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> Mining census data. Mining other forms of information that, you know, the communities themselves, they may have the capacity, but not the time necessarily to do that work. And even more recently, what tools are available from a technology standpoint site now that even boost the efficiency of accessing that kind of information even more, right? There are tools now that, you know, make that an even simpler process. </p> <p> 00:06:41:15 - 00:06:49:23<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> And then how do we make that data more publicly available to people to use as part of the CHNA process or in their own work? Right? </p> <p> 00:06:49:25 - 00:07:09:10<br> Andrew Jager<br> Those are such good examples of kind of how you think about balancing that tension, as you mentioned, between kind of having a standard set of measures and having things resonate with the local communities that you serve. You talked about, I think, Vanessa, there are three regions across Michigan that you serve. So I wonder, you know, from a practical level, what does this work look like? </p> <p> 00:07:09:10 - 00:07:14:24<br> Andrew Jager<br> Could you share how it plays out, maybe, in one of the initiatives from 1 or 2 of those regions? </p> <p> 00:07:14:27 - 00:07:47:06<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> So the way that we like to approach our work is we sort of like to say we use a system wide approach and we're developing what we're calling program portfolios that allows us to encapsulate programs that healthier communities can deliver at a regional level. This approach gives us a system wide strategy, but it gives us local context within the regions across east, west and south by addressing the needs that we have identified within our 21 hospitals. </p> <p> 00:07:47:08 - 00:08:28:13<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> And so examples of those programs, it ranges from doing school based clinics on the east side of the state, where we're actually providing primary care in the school for our students, as well as for residents in community. And the west side of the state, we have a school nursing program that allows us to have a different model, but yet still in the schools, providing training for the school administrative staff, providing basic care for our students in the schools, and helping them manage their chronic diseases whether it's asthma or diabetes. </p> <p> 00:08:28:15 - 00:08:54:09<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> So that's why we're able to sort of customize our approaches, but yet still have, if you will, a collection of programs in a portfolio that addresses the needs of children, adolescents in a school environment. And so that's a good way and a good example to show how you can have a system wide strategy, but yet still keep it very, very local based off of the needs that are in community, </p> <p> 00:08:54:17 - 00:09:33:28<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> the partnerships that we have in community. Because we know, as I mentioned, it takes an ecosystem to do this work. And so Corewell has deep relationships with other nonprofits within organizations to help us execute programs, whether it's prevention programs, chronic disease management programs, and even coalition building and doing what we like to call collective impact work. And so it's a variety of programs and interventions that are derived from our implementation plans and, as you know, come from the priorities that are identified in our community health needs assessments. </p> <p> 00:09:34:00 - 00:10:00:26<br> Andrew Jager<br> Such a powerful example, I think, of the ways that you're thinking about understanding what are the local assets of your communities and then partnering to address those needs in a way that that is really having an impact across the state. So thank you for that work. Corey, one of the questions I frequently get, and I imagine maybe you hear something like this too, is, you know, how do we show the impact of the work that we're having, you know, both through metrics as well as through sharing the stories of the work across our community. </p> <p> 00:10:00:26 - 00:10:13:00<br> Andrew Jager<br> So how do you share your work in a way that that gets people excited about the work you're doing, brings in partners, and also that can help to develop a system wide culture of learning, adaptation and continuous improvement? </p> <p> 00:10:13:02 - 00:10:36:26<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> Definitely a question that I get. You know, my background is in evaluation. And so this is something I've been thinking a lot about. Corewell Health for the time I've been here - and, and I think the question that's been sitting in my head for five years has fundamentally been, how do we evaluate at scale, you know, have three regions, with, you know, over 100 individual initiatives. </p> <p> 00:10:36:28 - 00:11:02:08<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> How do you think about evaluating at scale? Right. You want to have evaluation where it makes sense, but you also have limited resources. And so what we've been doing is working to establish a systematic way of making choices with our regional leadership about where to invest, evaluation resources based on local priorities. Right. So really trying to define first where do we need to do this evaluative work. </p> <p> 00:11:02:08 - 00:11:24:21<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> Where do we feel it's most important for us to either generate learning or evidence of impact. And then through that designing, evaluation and monitoring processes that are really going to help us hone in on the indicators that are going to be useful for tracking our progress over time, but also the critical outcomes that our stakeholders have helped us develop, </p> <p> 00:11:24:23 - 00:12:03:13<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> that our regional leadership has decided are most important. And then it's just a technical task, right? Then it's designing methodologies, whether they're quantitative and qualitative, whether they're optimally mixed. You know, the application of both is most often the best way to answer the evaluative questions that you may be trying to answer. The last thing I'll say about that is, you know, we really have been working to try and establish a set of regional sort of priority indicators that can serve as a guidepost where they're not going to be right the first time, and they're going to have to get better over time in terms of their relevance to local needs, but really trying to </p> <p> 00:12:03:13 - 00:12:15:21<br> Corey Smith, Ph.D.<br> establish what are some of our, you know, our north stars, our guideposts that we can organize around as we try to make decisions about what to do, and where to invest some of our resources. </p> <p> 00:12:15:23 - 00:12:29:22<br> Andrew Jager<br> Really well said. Any last words? I mean, a lot of the listeners are health system leaders. So what do you think they need to know about supporting a process that's locally led and owned with the system level resources? </p> <p> 00:12:29:24 - 00:12:58:04<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> The way that I sort of think about it is it really is important to have a system wide strategy, as I mentioned, whether or not it's in the interventions and creating portfolios to allow you to house like programs, or whether it's having Corey's team do evaluation, provide technical assistance across the entire system in doing our community health needs assessment. </p> <p> 00:12:58:06 - 00:13:39:14<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> But what's most important and critical is that that system wide strategy still needs to have and allow for adaptability and customization based off of local context. While we can move to centralize and provide benefits from economies of scale within a system wide approach, we can't lose sight that the relevance and the effectiveness of addressing unique needs at a local level or regional level is still critically important, because that's when you're able to address the needs that have been identified within community. </p> <p> 00:13:39:17 - 00:14:01:26<br> Vanessa Briggs<br> And I think that that's what's most important. We can have system wide strategies but that local context is what really matters, because then we know we're moving the needle to address health disparities, access to care, partnering with organizations, addressing transportation, food access. </p> <p> 00:14:01:28 - 00:14:24:17<br> Andrew Jager<br> Thank you so much for encapsulating the important work that hospitals do across the country every day to support the communities and to help people be as healthy as they can be. Well, thank you to each person listening for the work that you do to support health and resilience in your communities. Community Health Improvement Week is really about recognizing the important work that you do every day on behalf of America's hospitals and health systems, and more importantly, the communities that we all serve. </p> <p> 00:14:24:19 - 00:14:38:06<br> Andrew Jager<br> Special thanks to Vanessa and Corey for sharing your thoughts and expertise, for the great work that you're doing at Corewell for Michigan communities. Be well. And until next time, this is Andrew Jager from the wishing you all a very happy Community Health Improvement Week. </p> <p> 00:14:38:09 - 00:14:46:20<br> Tom Haederle<br> Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. </p> </details></div> Wed, 11 Jun 2025 07:42:18 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story /role-hospitals-louisiana-childrens-medical-center-five-hospitals-within-louisiana-childrens-health-system-receive-birth-ready <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-4"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-06/ths-lcmc-birth-ready-700x532.jpg" alt="Louisiana Children’s Medical Center. A pregant woman sits talking with a female physician" width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>Five hospitals within the LCMC Health system — East Jefferson General Hospital, Lakeside Hospital, Lakeview Hospital, Touro and West Jefferson Medical Center — have earned the Louisiana Birth Ready or Birth Ready+ Designation, a recognition awarded by the Louisiana Department of Health and the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative (LaPQC). The designation honors hospitals that have implemented evidence-based practices to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.</p><p>Launchedin 2021, the Birth Ready program evaluates hospitals across five key areas, including clinical readiness, patient partnership and the implementation of policies to address severe maternal morbidity. “LCMC Health is committed to providing the highest quality and best practice of safe patient care for all our patients,” said Toni Flowers, Ph.D., corporate chief social responsibility officer at LCMC Health. “All five of our birthing hospitals have demonstrated this commitment by obtaining and sustaining Birth Ready and Birth Ready+ designations. We applaud our team’s dedication to achieving improved health outcomes for mothers and infants in our community.”</p><p>This achievement is part of a broader statewide effort to improve maternal health outcomes. “Birthing hospitals across Louisiana are working diligently to ensure safe and patient-centered care for Louisiana families,” said Veronica Gillispie-Bell, M.D., medical director of the LaPQC.</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.lcmchealth.org/blog/2025/march/lcmc-health-celebrates-five-of-their-hospitals-a/">LEARN MORE</a></p><p> </p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/center/population-health">Improving Health and Wellness</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 10 Jun 2025 14:02:33 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story /role-hospitals-baystate-health-programs-help-develop-high-performing-workforce <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-5"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-06/ths-baystate-workforce-programs-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Baystate Health. A physician and a group of young trainees stand around a mannequin in a hospital bed" width="700" height="532" class="align-left"></div><p>To encourage community members and local students to train and study for health care careers and to offer educational opportunities and advancement for current employees, Baystate Health in Springfield, Mass., leads several workforce development programs:</p><div><ul><li>Observerships, or job shadowing opportunities, help individuals 18 years or older to learn about health career options and the occupational skills needed. Designed for career exploration, not hands-on training, observerships are supervised by Baystate employees and are uncompensated.</li><li>Externships and internships provide training for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students enrolled in an accredited program at a school, college or university that has an affiliation agreement with Baystate Health. Each year, more than 600 allied health students participate in these externships and internships with the health system.</li><li>Clinical rotations offer education and training to advanced practitioner students, including current Baystate Health employees, who are enrolled in nurse practitioner, graduate nursing or physician assistant degree programs. Advanced practitioner student placements at the health system are in high demand, and its AP fellowship program in primary care was the first in Massachusetts to receive <a href="https://blog.choosebaystatehealth.org/baystate-healths-advanced-practitioner-fellowship-program-in-primary-care-receives-accreditation-with-distinction">accreditation with distinction</a>.</li></ul></div><p>With these programs, Baystate Health aims to develop a high-performing workforce and train the next generation of providers in delivering team-based, person-centered care.</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.baystatehealth.org/healthcare-education/clinicals-internships">LEARN MORE</a></p><p> </p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/workforce-home">Workforce</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 10 Jun 2025 13:21:34 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story /advancing-health-podcast/2025-06-06-ssm-healths-united-front-against-workplace-violence <p>June 6 is the ninth annual Hospitals Against Violence (#HAVhope) Friday, a national day of awareness to highlight how America’s hospitals and health systems combat violence in their workplaces and communities. In this conversation, SSM Heath's Amy Wilson, DNP, R.N., chief nurse executive, and Todd Miller, vice president of security, discuss how collaboration between clinical and security teams for workplace violence simulations and de-escalation scenarios is reshaping the culture of safety across their system.</p><hr><div></div><p> </p><div class="raw-html-embed"> <details class="transcript"> <summary> <h2 title="Click here to open/close the transcript."> <span>View Transcript</span><br> </h2> </summary> <p> 00:00:01:02 - 00:00:16:21<br> Tom Haederle<br> Welcome to Advancing Health. Coming up in today's podcast, we hear how SSM health is taking a whole team approach to combat workplace violence. And it's working. </p> <p> 00:00:16:24 - 00:00:39:29<br> Jordan Steiger<br> Hi everyone. My name is Jordan Steiger. I am a senior program manager on the Clinical Affairs and Workforce team at the ���������� Association. I'm joined today by Todd Miller, who is the vice president of security, and Amy Wilson, who is a chief nurse executive at SSM Health, to talk about how they're making their hospitals safer for everyone, including patients, their families and the health care workforce. </p> <p> 00:00:40:01 - 00:00:50:21<br> Jordan Steiger<br> So to get us started, I'd love for all of our listeners to learn a little bit more about SSM health and also about the roles that you're playing within your organization. So, Amy why don't we start with you? </p> <p> 00:00:50:23 - 00:01:19:13<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> So thank you, Jordan, and thank you for having us here today to talk about this really important topic. SSM Health is a fully integrated health care network, located in the Midwest. We’re across four states. We have 23 acute care facilities, a post acute network, and approximately 500 ambulatory care site settings across those states. My role at SSM Health as chief nurse executive, and also I'm responsible for our clinical workforce. </p> <p> 00:01:19:15 - 00:01:34:26<br> Todd Miller<br> And hi Jordan, I’ll introduce myself. Todd Miller, VP of security with SSM obviously. My role is really just overseeing the physical security program, security technology, as well as just all the programmatic elements that make up our department systemwide. </p> <p> 00:01:34:28 - 00:02:01:06<br> Jordan Steiger<br> That's great. So two really important perspectives here. I mean, somebody overseeing the clinical workforce and especially that nursing perspective, and then also the security perspective. And one thing as I was learning a little bit more about the work that you all do at a system health that I was just so impressed by is the way that you bring every single person in your workforce together to tackle the issue of workplace violence, because I think we all know on this call that it can't be just one person or one group. </p> <p> 00:02:01:08 - 00:02:07:11<br> Jordan Steiger<br> It can't just be security or nursing or administrators working on this. It has to be everyone together. </p> <p> 00:02:07:14 - 00:02:30:29<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> Absolutely Jordan and I would tell you, I think that is the magic at SSM Health is the fact that we have taken a fully integrated approach to thinking about safety, security and workplace violence prevention. In many organizations and in organizations I've been in, in the past, this has really been the role of security or the role of facilities, and we don't actually have that perspective at SSM Health. </p> <p> 00:02:30:29 - 00:03:00:24<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> And I think that is the reason, the number one reason actually, for why you're seeing some of our successful results is because we really think about the whole team, what the role is of that team and how they interact together. And one of the things that I'm most proud of, especially as as we think about the clinical work team, is that our clinical work team believes that our security team is an integral part of that team and helps us take great care of our patients and our families and our communities every single day. </p> <p> 00:03:00:27 - 00:03:22:17<br> Todd Miller<br> I want to add on to that, Amy. When Amy joined the organization, within two weeks or so, I said, Amy, I would love some time to sit down and go over the security program. You remember we met and it was it was awesome to see an executive at her level engaged. And what is security doing? How are you supporting our clinical staff? </p> <p> 00:03:22:19 - 00:03:54:27<br> Todd Miller<br> And probably the most important sentence that really rung with me was how can I support you and your team? And again, it was it was just that comforting feeling that there was understanding about what we do there. There's understanding we are part of the patient care team to some degree. And then again, that high level of support from the top down in the programs, what we're doing, in that ultimate goal of lowering workplace violence. Right from the start, it was a good, strong relationship, reinforced at the highest level, which we appreciated. </p> <p> 00:03:54:29 - 00:04:16:12<br> Jordan Steiger<br> That's great. That leadership by in piece is so, so important, as I think all of us know. Let's take a step back even because I'm hearing that there's this commitment across the organization to lowering the incidence of workplace violence. And I don't think we need to explain to anybody on this podcast that health care workers are far more likely at this point to experience violence than the everyman. </p> <p> 00:04:16:12 - 00:04:30:27<br> Jordan Steiger<br> right. And that trend seems to be increasing. That's not what we want to be seeing. So what were you seeing within your organization at SSM Health that led you to start developing some of these programs and, you know, getting that leadership buy in for it? </p> <p> 00:04:30:29 - 00:04:49:24<br> Todd Miller<br> When I first joined SSM which is actually ten years ago, I remember when there was a workplace violence incident, let's just say a nurse got assaulted. It was a big deal. It still is a big deal., but it would I would say it was more of a rare occurrence, that got of a lot of focus. And even within my first year, I was starting to notice that. </p> <p> 00:04:49:24 - 00:05:17:27<br> Todd Miller<br> So again, around 2015, you started to notice more incidents, higher volume, and the sentiment just from the nursing staff was something was changing. Whether it was at huddles or just informal conversations. Something was changing. And then you started to hear about it nationally. And the trend kept growing and growing. And then my peers in health care security industry, there was that conversation happening in forums through our trade organizations where something was changing. </p> <p> 00:05:18:00 - 00:05:37:17<br> Todd Miller<br> It was about, I would say, 2017, 2018 when really the focus started to grow and grow and grow, to say we have to be more proactive and not as reactive. So what are we doing to get ahead of that curve of just the the assault in general? How are we looking at our data? How are we working with our nursing staff? </p> <p> 00:05:37:19 - 00:05:57:16<br> Todd Miller<br> That was really for me. The start of it was around then, and I can probably speak for a lot of my health care security peers. That's about the point where the curve started going up almost exponentially, where we knew there was an epidemic across the US and then globally as well as far as health care workers. </p> <p> 00:05:57:18 - 00:06:23:09<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> Yeah, and I would add to that, Jordan, I wasn't here during that time, but I would say that my frame of reference around the time frame is, is similar. About that same time, I was in a different organization, rounding in the ED one day and one of my most strong charge nurses was visibly upset about something. I was surprised to see this, pulled him off to the side, said, hey, tell me about what's going on. </p> <p> 00:06:23:09 - 00:06:55:27<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> Seems like it might be a rough day. And it wasn't one thing that had happened that day. It was really the weight of the world on his shoulders with him saying, Amy, something's different than it used to be. We used to have all of our patients and families come into our emergency rooms, and no matter who they were or what they might have been involved in outside the walls of the hospital, once they walked over that threshold, there was this respect for the fact that the doctors and the nurses are caring for them in a very important time, in a very vulnerable time. </p> <p> 00:06:55:27 - 00:07:17:21<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> And there was just total respect. And he said, we're seeing that change and we're seeing people come in and demand things or verbally escalate or be disrespectful. And it's it's really hard to see. And then I think if you fast forward to what we all experienced in the pandemic, we start to see this happening across the society. </p> <p> 00:07:17:23 - 00:07:51:12<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> And unfortunately for us in health care, what's happening outside the walls of all of our facilities and our ambulatory care settings, as well as our hospitals and acute care settings, is being brought across the threshold now into that. And so all of the turmoil that we feel as a society, all of the kind of polarization that we feel, the lack of empathy and understanding other people's perspectives and just a little bit of respect for each other and humanity now gets brought into the facilities, into our hospitals, our health care settings. </p> <p> 00:07:51:14 - 00:08:15:14<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> And now we are dealing with all of that burden at a very vulnerable time in people's lives, because in health care, we're dealing with everything from birth to death and everything in between. It's one of the most stressful times people ever have in their life. And so you couple that with what's been happening in our society, and we just see this escalating violence on the inside of our walls too. </p> <p> 00:08:15:17 - 00:08:24:02<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> And so as leaders, we would be amiss if we did not address that differently than we thought about this a few years ago. </p> <p> 00:08:24:04 - 00:08:43:21<br> Todd Miller<br> I'll tack on that Amy. A common thread that we've noticed in our health care security teams is the external risk has now been brought internal. And that's the change. It used to be a sacred space and we're losing that. Churches, schools, hospitals. There's a change. And unfortunately we've had to adapt to that. </p> <p> 00:08:43:23 - 00:09:13:19<br> Jordan Steiger<br> It does seem like those places that seemed untouchable. Now we are seeing more violence, and it's not a trend that we certainly want to see. We know that, it's affecting, you know, the well-being of our our health care workforce, our patients, our families. This is something that's not beneficial to anybody right? So I'm hearing from both of you as you're starting to talk about what you're doing at SSM Health, that there isn't just one solution or set of activities that you can just implement and everything's going to be fine. </p> <p> 00:09:13:22 - 00:09:33:04<br> Jordan Steiger<br> It seems like you are using a lot of, just layered approaches, lots of different things. You know, it's not just physical security. It's not just de-escalation training. It's thinking about this problem holistically. So could you tell us a little bit about some of the activities you have that are helping your team members and your patients and families stay safe? </p> <p> 00:09:33:07 - 00:09:58:28<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> One of the most important things we're doing around thinking about the entire team and thinking about security as part of a team member is team training, so those teams are trained together. They practice together. They're in simulation together, and they are simulating real live events so that when something happens, not if something happens, but when it happens that they know how to respond together as a team. </p> <p> 00:09:59:01 - 00:10:34:04<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> And we've invested a lot of time and resources into finding the right tools to train with, the right settings to train with and providing the time and the space for training. And I think that has been instrumental in part of our success. We have a really wonderful partner right now and our de-escalation training, and we are seeing results that I've never seen before with our care teams and our security teams telling us that they feel 93% more capable of dealing with the violent situation than they have ever felt before. </p> <p> 00:10:34:04 - 00:11:06:21<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> And I think those results are astronomical. And we're doing that by not just thinking about de-escalation training, which has been kind of the historical view of the world in the health care setting. It's what happens when de-escalation doesn't work. How do you stay safe? What do you do? What happens if this escalates to physical violence and is actually talking about protecting themselves and their team members and keeping themselves safe, and also integrating into that, this concept of trauma informed care. </p> <p> 00:11:06:24 - 00:11:29:25<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> So the trauma that the person who is escalating might be experiencing and and if you're thinking about that, what could be happening and also your own trauma in the situation and thinking about what how that is impacting your reaction to the situation. And so that as well as a concept called heart math, is also an integral part and is really about self-regulation, </p> <p> 00:11:29:25 - 00:11:56:16<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> in order to be able to hopefully de-escalate. But then also acknowledging that every situation will not be de-escalated and could turn into a violent situation. And what do you actually do if it if it does become violent? And I think for a long time we've been afraid as clinicians to have that conversation. You know, we always thought that we had a magic wand and we were going to de-escalate everything and everyone and everybody was going to be okay. </p> <p> 00:11:56:19 - 00:12:14:15<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> And we now know that that may not happen. And in some circumstances it will not happen. And so we train for when that happens. What do you do as well. And what we're hearing from our team members is that makes them feel safer and well equipped. When the situation happens. </p> <p> 00:12:14:17 - 00:12:38:03<br> Todd Miller<br> If we back up even before we chose that, that the partner we have for our de-escalation program, really evaluating what was of value in the de-escalation programs and for us, even how it's delivered to me, was one of the more important aspects of that vetting process for all these de-escalation programs. They all have value and their you know, apples to gala apples, they're similar enough </p> <p> 00:12:38:03 - 00:12:58:09<br> Todd Miller<br> right. And I think when we were looking at that and saying, well, our old program that we were using really focused more on the intensity model, the idea that on January 1st you have an eight hour training, congratulations, you know, how to de-escalate somebody. Great. And then the incident happens on December 31st. Are you going to remember those physical intervention skills? </p> <p> 00:12:58:09 - 00:13:21:21<br> Todd Miller<br> Are you going to remember all those are of de-escalation skills. Maybe that's not realistic. And saying, okay, so what are we going to do to change? And moving more towards that consistency model of more training, smaller increments, more touch bases throughout the year. And even just that change to me is showing value because people are remembering it, instead of having to sit there and go, what did I do? </p> <p> 00:13:21:24 - 00:13:41:26<br> Todd Miller<br> And we all know in a time of panic and a time of crisis, actually dealing with somebody in crisis, you're kind of reverting back to fight, flight or freeze. And sometimes the think, the critical thinking, especially when dealing with our patients. So that to me was a big advantage in how we were moving forward with the program we have now. </p> <p> 00:13:41:29 - 00:13:45:12<br> Todd Miller<br> And really how we're delivering that education to be retained. </p> <p> 00:13:45:15 - 00:14:09:27<br> Jordan Steiger<br> So many things that you both just said resonate. I think this move of the month or, you know, remember this verbal de-escalation tactic. You know, having that repetitive kind of education I think is so important. You know, I'm a social worker by background. I've worked in the hospital, and I can say that that would have been very helpful to know and, you know, to train with the interdisciplinary team, because that's how you're responding to incidents when they happen. </p> <p> 00:14:09:27 - 00:14:21:24<br> Jordan Steiger<br> It's not just the nurses that are responding or just the social workers. It's everybody coming together and you have to know how to work together. So I think these are practices that I think a lot of different organizations could try to implement. </p> <p> 00:14:21:27 - 00:14:41:15<br> Amy Wilson, R.N.<br> And Jordan, you referenced earlier, kind of our multi-pronged approach. But then if you even start to peel back the layers of the onion more, you start to see in our system many other things that we're doing. And I think Todd's approach to physical security of our buildings and what that looks like has been instrumental. </p> <p> 00:14:41:17 - 00:15:05:20<br> Todd Miller<br> Yeah. New start. And you look at just historically and base like foundational level, no pun intended, but the construction of our buildings and how they were built, our hospitals are built for convenience, not security. We want to make sure the non ambulatory patients park close, walk directly in. So if you look and this isn't just a SSM issue, this is across the United States even globally. </p> <p> 00:15:05:22 - 00:15:30:13<br> Todd Miller<br> That's how we were building and designing our hospitals which made sense at the time. We're all now dealing with what we call sins of the architectural past and saying, well, now we have these open environments, these open campuses, numerous ingress points. How do we site harden these now while still making it convenient. You know, what are we doing to relook at how we're designing and reevaluating, how we are having people come into our buildings? </p> <p> 00:15:30:16 - 00:15:52:18<br> Todd Miller<br> And that has been one of the hardest challenges, just from a physical security perspective. If you think about even how a bank is designed and you walk into any bank across the United States, there's certain standards you see immediately. The desk height, the glass, how they talk to you. The way the doors and entrances are designed. Those standards have been in place for decades and decades, if not a century or more. </p> <p> 00:15:52:20 - 00:16:13:04<br> Todd Miller<br> Now hospitals are having to think the same way and saying, how are we designing our buildings? Or if we do a renovation, how are we incorporating what kind of a nerdy security term, crime prevention through environmental design? How are we designing our facilities to reduce crime, without even doing anything, other than just how it's built, and how that can lower the risk for violence? </p> <p> 00:16:13:04 - 00:16:36:01<br> Todd Miller<br> Because it does. Now we're looking at we're going to redesign it. And when that person enters, and what is the process now that we're going to employ to keep our staff safe. And we know through our trade organization, International Association of Security and Safety, they’re guidelines and standards. So when they say, those are management, weapons detection is now a standard to hold ourselves to, </p> <p> 00:16:36:03 - 00:17:05:11<br> Todd Miller<br> that's a big change from where it was ten years ago, 15 years ago. And so we're now we're having to rethink about how our patients and visitors are coming in, even our staff, how are they entering the building and what are those security controls, that can make our staff safer. I will say, when we started doing these renovations and redesigning some of our entrances, especially in the high risk departments and with our emergency departments especially. It’s staggering what we've turned up. </p> <p> 00:17:05:13 - 00:17:27:13<br> Todd Miller<br> And let's just be honest about it. Anybody that employs weapons detection, there's kind of a shock that happens when you say, oh my, look at all the things that we're preventing coming in, and it doesn't have to go straight to firearms or knives. It can be a screwdriver, it can be a can of mace, you name it, anything that can be used as a weapon against our staff. </p> <p> 00:17:27:16 - 00:17:34:08<br> Todd Miller<br> So some of those successes have been game changing for us as an organization. And again, in all transparency, we're not done. </p> <p> 00:17:34:10 - 00:17:53:00<br> Jordan Steiger<br> Absolutely. And, Todd, I won't be, totally surprised if you get some outreach after this podcast because you both just shared some incredible advice and insight. Thank you both so much for being here with us today. We really appreciate you sharing the work that you're doing, and we look forward to hearing about more of your success. </p> <p> 00:17:53:02 - 00:18:01:14<br> Tom Haederle<br> Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. </p> </details> </div><p> </p> Fri, 06 Jun 2025 07:00:00 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story /role-hospitals-essentia-health-fargo-kids-follow-dolphins-surfboards-surgery-and-better-health <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-5"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-06/ths-essentia-sensory-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="An Essentia Health-Fargo patient walks the sensory path with the help of a caregiver" width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>Essentia Health-Fargo has introduced a brightly colored, ocean-themed sensory path in its pre-op space to make the environment more engaging for kids. Decorated with bubbles, dolphins, turtles, sharks and starfish, the path helps reduce stress and motivate children before surgery.</p><p>"The sensory path has always been a very helpful and motivating tool to offer our pediatric patients as a support to get them out of bed and moving and engaging to heal quicker," said Michelle Finneman, a child life specialist at Essentia.</p><p>First introduced in 2020 in the inpatient unit, the sensory path creates a cohesive environment throughout the unit, keeps kids moving and provides sensory input.</p><p>"They also have a developmental aspect as they provide the appropriate sensory input to decrease sensory-seeking behaviors that we may see in some kids who have autism or ADHD," Finneman said.</p><p>Essentia Health-Fargo also offers remote control cars for surgical patients age 2 to 9, allowing them to drive themselves back to the operating room. Having options and choice helps pediatric patients participate in their own care.</p><p>"One way isn’t going to necessarily work for all,” Finneman said. “For example, some might love our remote cars, but others might be a little hesitant. Development age plays a role, too."</p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/community-benefit">Benefiting Communities</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Thu, 05 Jun 2025 12:09:12 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story /role-hospitals-keck-school-medicine-usc-makes-hearing-breakthrough-studying-mouse-inner-ear <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-5"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-06/ths-usc-keck-hearing-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="USC Keck School of Medicine. Illustration of soundwaves entering an ear canal" width="700" height="532"></div><p>Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine, made a major discovery in understanding how the brain may help regulate hearing. And they did it by adapting an imaging technique currently used in ophthalmology offices, called optical coherence tomography.</p><p>The team used OCT to capture real-time images of the cochlea — a part of the inner ear involved in hearing — in mice, revealing that the brain can send signals to the inner ear to enhance sound sensitivity. The study found that while the cochlea doesn’t respond to short-term brain state changes, it does increase activity in response to long-term hearing damage in mice with genetic hearing loss. The study suggests the brain compensates for hearing loss by boosting the function of remaining sensory cells.</p><p>The team is now preparing clinical trials to test whether blocking certain brain-to-ear signals could help reduce symptoms in patients with sound sensitivity disorders. Findings could lead to new treatments for conditions like tinnitus (ringing, buzzing or other phantom sounds) and hyperacusis (where everyday sounds become uncomfortably loud).</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://scitechdaily.com/new-brain-discovery-could-revolutionize-hearing-loss-treatment/" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a></p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/promoting-healthy-communities">Building Healthy Communities</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Thu, 05 Jun 2025 12:08:29 -0500 Telling the Hospital Story