/ en Fri, 25 Apr 2025 21:24:33 -0500 Wed, 13 Dec 23 13:16:49 -0600 /news/healthcareinnovation-blog/2023-12-13-innovations-improving-community-health-chw-hub-rush <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/AHA-Center-logo-community-health-improvement-900x400.jpg" data-entity-uuid="75be54f9-857a-4c7b-8b0b-bc440ce33e61" data-entity-type="file" alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation Community Health Improvement" width="900" height="400" class="align-right"></p><p>Community health workers have become an essential component of RUSH University Medical Center’s efforts to minimize inequities in health and life expectancy. CHWs provide much-needed resources across the RUSH campus and several Chicago neighborhoods, while also being a driving force for partnerships and programming in a variety of care and community settings.</p><p>As the life expectancy gap in the city of Chicago shows, this work is greatly needed: People born in the Loop — downtown Chicago — are likely to live 14 years longer than those born in the West Side neighborhood of East Garfield Park. Residents of Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods have <a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/eve.shapiro3851/viz/ourimpact/Dashboard7" target="_blank">higher mortality rates</a> due to chronic illnesses, a reality exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><h2>Focus of CHW Hub at RUSH</h2><p>Since its launch in 2018, the CHW Hub at RUSH has worked to ensure positive health outcomes for patients by promoting interdisciplinary partnerships and care coordination that provide valuable resources and necessary services to patients — all of which help improve health equity. The CHW Hub is made up of a centralized workforce of individuals who serve as liaisons between community members and available resources and services. The CHWs also are trusted members of the community who have built relationships that allow them to effectively provide outreach, education and social support.</p><blockquote><p class="bq-text">Collaborating to build strong internal networks and external community partnerships creates a path for improving health equity, and CHWs are a vital link in this work.</p></blockquote><p>The CHW Hub focuses on six core areas: continued public health response, the emergency department, community settings, chronic disease management, youth programs, and connection to care. For individuals who are not receiving care on the RUSH campus, CHWs meet them where they are, including at community events or at churches.</p><h2>Paving the Way for Improving Health Equity</h2><p>Collaborating to build strong internal networks and external community partnerships creates a path for improving health equity, and CHWs are a vital link in this work.</p><p>Beyond collaborating internally to improve clinical integration and social care coordination, RUSH has several external partners who financially support the CHW Hub. The Hub is entirely grant-funded, with a portfolio including private, public and government partnerships. Grant-funded initiatives vary based on the needs of communities, allowing the CHW Hub to be both responsive and proactive. For example, the Chicago Department of Public Health continues to partner with RUSH in funding public health response initiatives, which are implemented by interdisciplinary teams of CHWs, registered nurses, social workers and medical assistants at RUSH and in the community.</p><p>CHWs use the Unite Us platform to connect patients with appropriate resources and services, working to meet the health and social needs of individuals living throughout Chicago. These resources are considered closed-loop referrals; after CHWs complete social needs screenings, organizations such as Top Box, the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County, and the Spanish Coalition for Housing are alerted to the referrals. Someone from the community organization then reaches out to the patient to coordinate resources, adding an additional point of contact. This process increases the uptake of resources and services, since the responsibility of reaching out does not fall on the patient.</p><p>The CHW Hub is deliberate in providing support for CHWs as they work with patients by providing direct escalation to social workers in cases of crisis and having clear role delineation and referral protocols in place for social workers and registered nurses. Additional support for the CHW Hub is provided in the form of training, development opportunities and monthly trauma processing sessions led by social workers.</p><h2>CHWs’ Role in Building Strong Community Partnerships</h2><p>Working with community organizations and building partnerships can foster a deeper understanding of what individuals and communities need. Addressing health and social needs is most effective when programming meets community members where they are and when the emphasis is on building trusting relationships. For example, a hospital may partner with a local church to hold workshops on chronic disease management so people convene in a neighborhood space that is comfortable if slightly unconventional. In these community settings, CHWs can offer key assistance and support in outreach and education.</p><p>Finding unique approaches to improving access to resources that address health and social needs requires integration at all levels, from both clinical and nonclinical applications. When teams across multiple disciplines are part of the patient referral process, it allows each team member to engage in their work confidently and within the scope of their practice.</p><p>Hospitals and health systems continue to develop programming that improves health equity and access to care. At RUSH, CHWs provide essential insights and services to address the needs of historically marginalized communities. The CHW Hub is an instrumental asset and an innovative program — one that can happen only through effective partnerships.</p><p><em>Lexi Artman is the system manager, community health strategy and programs, and Teresa Berumen is a community health worker supervisor, both at RUSH University Medical Center in Chicago. Alex Shrader served as a summer intern through the RUSH Education and Career Hub for two years with the CHW Hub team.</em></p><p><em>To learn more about the RUSH CHW program, visit </em><a href="https://www.rush.edu/about-us/rush-community/office-community-health-equity-and-engagement" target="_blank"><em>RUSH Office of Community Health Equity and Engagement</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>To explore more community health partnership initiatives, check out the </em><a href="/center/population-health-management/bridging-the-sectors"><em>Bridging the Sectors</em></a><em> project page on AHA.org.</em></p></div><div class="col-mod-4"><div class="col-md-4"><div class="panel module-typeC"><div class="panel-heading"><h3 class="panel-title">Measuring the Impact</h3></div><div class="panel-body"><p>Since the rapid expansion of RUSH’s CHW Hub in December 2020, community health workers have:</p><ul><li>Made over 20,000 proactive outreach attempts.</li><li>Facilitated over 2,000 connections to care, via referrals to community practice social workers and registered nurses.</li><li>Completed nearly 8,000 social needs screenings (from July 2021 to May 2023).</li></ul><p>Check out <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a9d6ae6af2096ecf434a2d1/t/63632d77ceef6548a081fe9f/1667444088435/CHWHub_poster_APHA_2022.pdf" target="_blank">this poster</a> for more info on how CHWs can improve health and reduce gaps in care.</p></div></div></div></div></div>p.bq-text { font-size: 20px; } </div> Wed, 13 Dec 2023 13:16:49 -0600 #HealthCareInnovation Blog /news/healthcareinnovation-blog/2023-08-17-how-mayo-clinic-hospital-has-built-authentic-partnerships-assess-and-address <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> <p><img alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation Community Health Improvement" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="75be54f9-857a-4c7b-8b0b-bc440ce33e61" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/AHA-Center-logo-community-health-improvement-900x400.jpg" width="900" height="400" class="align-right"></p> <p>Ten years ago, the Affordable Care Act mandated triannual community health needs assessments to document how hospitals are meeting the health needs in their communities. The Mayo Clinic Hospital in Arizona, where I serve as director of the Office for Community Engagement, is a tertiary referral care hospital. Community hospitals that have patients who have complex health needs and who need specialty care send those patients to us.</p> <p>Though our patients come from across the state and across the U.S. — and even around the world — we must identify our “community” to meet CHNA requirements. At Mayo Clinic Hospital, we identified Maricopa County — where about 60% of our patients live — as our community.</p> <p>Through community partnerships — including with local health departments and community-based organizations — all stakeholders can come together to strengthen the health of the populations we serve better than we could do apart.</p> <h2>Building Authentic Partnerships for Community Health Improvement</h2> <p>Maricopa County is the fourth largest county in the U.S. Phoenix is the largest city in the county and the fifth largest in the U.S. Maricopa County is ethnically and culturally diverse. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 14% of the county’s population does not have a high school diploma, nearly 13% are living below the federal poverty line, and nearly 480,000 are uninsured.</p> <p>To address the county’s health needs and build on assets, I knew we needed partners that were steeped in the community and understood its challenges differently than Mayo Clinic Hospital did. The hospital is located on the outskirts of the community in North Phoenix.</p> <blockquote> <p class="bq-text">An important part of this partnership work is understanding who you are and who you’re not. A health care organization doesn’t have to be an expert in everything. But it can identify the experts and set up a referral system for patients.</p> </blockquote> <p>Back in 2013, I called the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, knowing at the time of the CHNA mandate that the department would be bombarded with requests for data. I suggested creating a consortium of hospitals that would need the same information. That’s how we birthed a collaboration, or public-private partnership.</p> <p>Since the patients in our hospital corridors don’t always represent Maricopa County, we worked with the public health department to look at the population in our community, ZIP code by ZIP code, and asked questions such as: What is the educational attainment level of people in those ZIP codes? What is the level of health in the community? What are the health needs of various sectors in the community, such as the immigrant community, Black community, Latino community and LGBTQ+ community?</p> <h2>Recognizing What Makes Our Community Unique</h2> <p>We looked at the community from diverse angles to make sure we heard every voice represented within the larger community of Maricopa County. We did so by reaching out and doing focus groups, conducting written and electronic surveys, and listening to community leaders. Then we better understood the social drivers of health in our community.</p> <p>We also looked at life expectancy rates by ZIP code. Life expectancy for people living in some Maricopa County ZIP codes was 84 years, and for others it was 71 years. We asked “why?” What are those differences? How do we bridge those divides that keep 71 from becoming 84?</p> <p>That’s where the strength of the partnership and collaboration have come into being. We created the <a href="https://www.maricopa.gov/4983/About-the-Health-Improvement-Partnership" target="_blank">Health Improvement Partnership of Maricopa County</a>, which includes hospitals, federally qualified health centers, community-based organizations, communities of faith and citizens. All these people come together and identify the health-related challenges and opportunities we share as a community. We have identified lack of day care to lack of access to health care — and everything in between.</p> <p>Collectively, the hospitals created a smaller organization made up of clinical care providers. We look at the clinical care side of what’s needed while the HIPMC partners look at the public health needs that have been identified and bring those two things together. The hospitals are responsible for prioritizing focus areas.</p> <h2>Focusing on Access to Care, Cancer Care and Social Drivers of Health</h2> <p>Based on information gathered from our most recent CHNA, during this three-year cycle the hospitals are focusing on access to care, cancer care and social drivers of health such as homelessness.</p> <p>Phoenix has a significant population of unhoused people. Even though housing and homelessness are not our primary focus, as part of the community, we think we can make a positive impact on the health of those who happen to be in a state of homelessness. People experiencing homelessness go to some of the partnering organizations, like Circle the City, to get care. If their care needs cannot be met, they go to Mayo. And if people without housing cannot get to us, we go to them.</p> <p>Another example is cancer care. Mountain Park Health Center, Adelante Healthcare and many other FQHCs in the Phoenix area have cancer patients. Those centers refer cancer patients to us because they don’t do cancer care. Mayo Clinic Hospital provides cancer diagnosis and treatment — everything from biopsy to surgery — at no cost to those patients or the FHQCs. Because of who we are in the community and the lack of cancer care available outside of Mayo Clinic Hospital, we thought it would be a great place for us to be a partner to address one of the identified priority health needs.</p> <h2>‘Lifting’ the Community and Making It Healthier</h2> <p>As Mayo Clinic Hospital, the Maricopa County Department of Health and many other organizations came together to merge resources and expertise, we understood more fully our community and the health challenges it faced — and then began working to implement a plan to meet those needs.</p> <p>An important part of this partnership work is understanding who you are and who you’re not. A health care organization doesn’t have to be an expert in everything. But it can identify the experts and set up a referral system for patients.</p> <p>When the tide comes in, all boats are lifted. If you’re not part of the partnership, your community is not being lifted. Being part of this consortium of organizations working together has been vital for lifting our community and making it healthier.</p> <p><em>Marion Kelly is director of the Office for Community Engagement at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Arizona.</em></p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <div class="panel module-typeC"> <div class="panel-heading"> <h3 class="panel-title">AHA Toolkit Guides Hospitals and Collaborators Conducting Community Health Assessments</h3> </div> <div class="panel-body"> <p>The AHA recently updated the Community Health Assessment Toolkit, which provides step-by-step guidance for hospitals and health systems performing a collaborative community health assessment.</p> <p>Given the unequivocal call to accelerate health equity for all communities, the CHA Toolkit reflects the understanding that while CHNA reporting is required only for nonprofit hospitals and health systems, the community health assessment process is one that all hospitals can undertake.</p> <p>The CHA Toolkit recognizes that cultivating and sustaining equitable community partnerships is crucial to ensuring that a CHA has a positive impact. The CHA allows hospitals, stakeholder organizations and community members to collaboratively identify and prioritize community health needs; assessing strengths and areas for improvement is an integral part of the process.</p> <div class="external-link spacer"><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="https://www.healthycommunities.org/resources/community-health-assessment-toolkit" target="_blank">Learn More about the CHA Toolkit</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> p.bq-text { font-size: 20px; } Thu, 17 Aug 2023 08:57:23 -0500 #HealthCareInnovation Blog /news/healthcareinnovation-blog/2023-06-12-community-health-strategic-asset-redesigning-care-delivery-and-accelerating-health <div class="container row"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> <p><img alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation Community Health Improvement" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9ca6cc8c-96d5-4c4b-8051-d3a27bd5fea0" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/AHA_Center_logo-community-health-improvement-900x400.jpg" width="900" height="400"></p> <p>There is now consensus about what health care leaders and practitioners — not to mention community members — have long known: The conditions in which people live are major drivers of health and well-being.</p> <p>Examples of how improving societal factors fosters the health of patients and communities abounded at the recent <a href="https://equityconference.aha.org/" target="_blank">AHA Accelerating Health Equity Conference</a> in Minneapolis. At in-person convenings and national celebrations such as <a href="/center/community-health-improvement-week">Community Health Improvement Week</a>, health care leaders and community members come together to recenter community voices and share tactics for addressing the negative impacts of experiences of racism, genderism or agism, as well as legacies of inequitable practices and systems. While this progress is inspiring, if overdue, driving systemic reform through practical actions that eliminate disparities and foster the conditions for health for all individuals and communities remains a central challenge of our day.</p> <blockquote> <h3>Improving health and addressing legacies of inequity require partnership: Hospitals and health systems cannot solve these challenges alone.</h3> </blockquote> <p>What can hospital and health system leaders do to address these complex issues? How can health care delivery systems accelerate their efforts at fostering the conditions that contribute to the health of communities, especially with current <a href="/aha-workforce-scan">workforce</a> and <a href="/system/files/media/file/2023/04/Cost-of-Caring-2023-The-Financial-Stability-of-Americas-Hospitals-and-Health-Systems-Is-at-Risk.pdf">financial</a> challenges?</p> <h2>Strategic Community Health Assets</h2> <p>The good news is that recent data show that most U.S. hospitals and health systems are already actively engaged in partnerships to cocreate the conditions for health: 99% of hospitals in the most recent AHA Annual Survey reported having at least one program to address societal factors that affect health among patients and communities, with nearly two-thirds (65%) reporting five or more such programs. This evidence shows that U.S. hospitals and their aligned partners have begun building meaningful connections with local groups to authentically understand and collaboratively address the health needs and assets of the communities they serve.</p> <p>Part of cocreating the conditions for healthy communities involves conducting the systematic collection and analysis of data that go into a <a href="https://www.healthycommunities.org/resources/community-health-assessment-toolkit" target="_blank">community health assessment</a> and developing a plan to address the identified needs in collaboration with other key stakeholders, including local health departments and community members.</p> <p>As part of a regional collaborative known as <a href="https://healthybr.com/">Healthy BR</a>, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, La., works with the municipal government to collaborate with other health care delivery systems, public health partners, health plans, community-based organizations, government agencies, local schools and others to make shared progress on community-identified health priorities including behavioral health, maternal and infant health, sexually transmitted infections, healthy living and health equity. Community health assessments provide community-level views of the current health needs and resources to address those needs. Leveraging this resource as a strategic tool can support hospitals and health systems as they make informed decisions on community grants and investments and advance initiatives addressing health-related social needs and health equity.</p> <h2>Community Health Improvement as a Journey</h2> <p>But there is much more to it than that. Community health improvement is a journey built on years of trust building and investment in people and processes, in relationships, and the laughter and tears of those who dedicate their lives and labor to creating the equitable communities where we all want to live. Forging these relationships allows opportunities to listen and activate authentic community voices to codesign solutions.</p> <p>To act on the strengths and assets of communities requires authentic and sustained partnerships in programs such as the <a href="/center/hcc">Hospital Community Collaborative</a> and <a href="/center/age-friendly-health-systems">Age-Friendly Health Systems</a>. As part of these initiatives, community partners, local health departments, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations and hospitals collaborate with the community to drive changes to make systems more equitable and impactful in addressing shared priorities through action. Resources to improve the health of the community — infrastructure, organizational knowledge and, perhaps most importantly, relationships — are important strategic assets for hospitals and health systems.</p> <p>Cross-sector collaboration is necessary to identify, reach out and engage with community partners to address health-related social needs of historically marginalized patients and community members. Improving health and addressing legacies of inequity require partnership: Hospitals and health systems cannot solve these challenges alone.</p> <p>Examples of such partnered efforts are CommonSpirit Health ’s <a href="https://www.commonspirit.org/what-we-do/advancing-health-equity/community-health-initiatives/connected-community-network" target="_blank">Connected Community Network</a>, which builds networks of community-based organizations to support the broader community, and the <a blank href="https://www.commonspirit.org/what-we-do/advancing-health-equity/community-health-initiatives/connected-community-network#:~:text=through%20shared%20governance.-,A%20%27Community%20Bank%27,-The%20CCN%20model">Community Bank model</a>, which combines multiple funding and resources to financially sustain a shared goal of the community. Likewise, <a href="https://www.pchi-hub.org/hospital-system-guide" target="_blank">Pathways Community HUB model</a> allows hospitals and health systems to tap into the community workforce through contracts for community health workers. By doing so, hospitals can catalyze and invest in community capacity and infrastructure building to create access to critical resources that mitigate health and social risk factors leading to poor health outcomes.</p> <h2>Community Health as an Asset</h2> <p>To continue making meaningful progress on accelerating health equity and collaboratively improving the health of our communities, hospitals and health systems have an integral, though not solitary, role to play. Fortunately, tools, resources, and community knowledge and capacity are readily available.</p> <p>Community and population health leaders will continue to work in partnership with their colleagues — both within the systems they do their work and in the communities they serve. Seeing these initiatives, infrastructure, professional talent, investments and relationships as core strategic assets will help maintain momentum in meeting the challenge.</p> <p>No one organization can achieve equitable and quality health care alone. Community health can be a strong asset to achieving the goal of creating greater access to high-quality care in all communities that hospitals and health systems serve.</p> <p><em>Andrew Jager is senior director, population health, at the ���������� Association, and Ji Im is system senior director, community and population health, at CommonSpirit Health.</em></p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <div class="panel module-typeC"> <div class="panel-heading"> <h3 class="panel-title">Addressing Health-related Societal Factors at the Individual, Community and System Levels</h3> </div> <div class="panel-body"> <p>Hospitals and health systems meet the <strong>individual needs</strong> of patients by partnering with patients themselves to better navigate complex systems. For example, <a href="/news/headline/2023-03-15-aha-podcast-strategies-building-powerful-community-partnerships">Nemours Children’s Health</a> created a tool to help build community partnerships that advance health. Many hospitals and health systems <a href="/center/population-health-management/bridging-the-sectors/compendium">partner with community-based organizations</a> so that when a health-related social need is identified during a clinical encounter, they can make a closed-loop referral to a trusted and vetted partner.</p> <p>At the <strong>community level,</strong> hospitals and health systems are actively partnering in cocreating the conditions that can rebuild trust by collaboratively <a href="https://www.healthycommunities.org/resources/community-health-assessment-toolkit" target="_blank">identifying health priorities</a> with the communities they serve. For example, as part of a cross-sector collaboration in Southern California’s Ventura County, Community Memorial Healthcare identified a need for community caregiver support and acted on that need to cocreate with two other local health systems a <a href="https://www.mycmh.org/programs-services/supportive-care/caregiver-navigator/" target="_blank">Caregiver Navigator</a> program to provide support and easy access to resources that help ease the burden of caregiving.</p> <p>And at the <strong>system level,</strong> hospitals and health systems are taking an increasingly intentional approach to contribute to the long-term strength and resilience of communities by pursuing <a href="/center/population-health/community-investment-health">place-based investments</a> in community health and applying a broad array of <a href="https://healthcareanchor.network/" target="_blank">anchor strategies</a>. For example, Boston Medical Center recently used what it learned in its <a href="https://www.bostonchna.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BCCC-CHNA-Report_062922.pdf" target="_blank">2022 community health needs assessment</a> to participate in creating <a href="https://development.bmc.org/why-give/stories/introducing-nubian-markets/" target="_blank">Nubian Markets</a>, a new grocery store in an underserved part of its community that provides nutritious, culturally aligned food options to residents.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Mon, 12 Jun 2023 06:00:00 -0500 #HealthCareInnovation Blog /news/healthcareinnovation-blog/2023-05-30-strategy-tackle-public-health-misinformation <p><img alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation Emergency Preparedness" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bb8eba8f-d0e8-4129-867c-0a9001a62765" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/AHA-Center-logo-emergency-preparedness-900x400.jpg" width="900" height="400"></p> <p>In the fall of 2021, two years into the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., nearly 80% of adults said they had heard “at least one of eight different false statements about COVID-19 and that they believe it to be true or are unsure if it is true or false,” according to <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-media-and-misinformation/" tareget="_blank" title="KFF: KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: Media and Misinformation">polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation</a>.</p> <p>As the director of health education and marketing at the Livingston County (Ill.) Health Department, I have witnessed firsthand how misinformation during the pandemic has contributed to vaccine hesitancy and low vaccination rates. My research has identified the spread of false information and conspiracy theories as major obstacles to improving vaccination rates in the rural community that the health department serves.</p> <blockquote> <h3>By understanding the attitudes and beliefs that drive patient behavior, health care providers and administrators can better design messaging that promotes positive health outcomes, including messages deployed during a public health emergency.</h3> </blockquote> <p>To better understand the intentions of community residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, I applied the theory of planned behavior, or TPB, which suggests that attitudes, social support, self-efficacy and the interplay of external factors — such as demographics and news sources — are what drive an individual's intention to engage in a behavior. Health care and public health leaders can use this framework to actively combat misinformation and ensure community safety during public health emergencies.</p> <h2>Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation in a Community</h2> <p>In Livingston County, misinformation significantly influenced the willingness of people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, due to their perceptions about the development and approval process, which they considered expedited and too swift. Only 25% of Livingston County residents were vaccinated by late April 2021. The spread of misinformation was exacerbated as people held the attitudes and beliefs of family members and close friends in much higher regard than information shared by federal and state government officials, who were deemed untrustworthy sources of health information by some people.</p> <p>To address vaccine hesitancy in Livingston County, our health department began by identifying areas of concern for residents and then developed messaging that specifically addressed those concerns. For example, many residents expressed concerns about missing work or social events due to COVID-19 exposure or infection. In response, our health department highlighted how being vaccinated helped residents maintain a consistent work schedule, spend more time with loved ones and protect family members, such as grandparents. We also regularly shared COVID-19 vaccination rates and hospitalization data in our county, emphasizing that vaccinated individuals were less likely to be hospitalized.</p> <p>Although this tailored communication was helpful in gaining community trust and increasing people’s willingness to get vaccinated, it wasn’t enough. Trusted voices were needed. We identified highly trusted community members, including local physicians and religious leaders, as key messengers in disseminating accurate information about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, we encouraged people to discuss their vaccination experience with family members and friends. Support from trusted community leaders — along with tailored messaging from our health department — led to a greater than 25% increase in the number of vaccinated residents.</p> <p>In addition to combating misinformation, health care and public health leaders play a critical role in preparing and protecting their communities. Effective cross-sector emergency management requires coordinated information-sharing and transparent communications as well as the ability to quickly disseminate accurate information to the public. The spread of misinformation can create detrimental consequences for hospitals, health systems, public health departments and communities. Successful emergency preparedness relies heavily on the ability of health care leaders to mitigate misinformation while also dispersing reliable information to protect the health of community members.</p> <h2>Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior in Public Health Emergencies</h2> <p>The theory of planned behavior has significant applications for hospitals and health systems. By understanding the attitudes and beliefs that drive patient behavior, health care providers and administrators can better design messaging that promotes positive health outcomes, including messages deployed during a public health emergency. In Livingston County, using the theory of planned behavior was a key component in pinpointing socially driven norms as a way of better tailoring messaging and identifying trusted messengers to disseminate accurate vaccination information.</p> <p>Looking beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and toward preparing for future public health emergencies, it is essential to establish trust within communities to more effectively communicate the intended messages. After establishing trust, health care and public health officials can focus on being intentional and authentic with wider dissemination of messaging. Messages should emphasize valued benefits, including both social and personal advantages, as well as validate people’s feelings of hesitation. Of utmost importance is choosing highly trusted messengers in the community — whether individuals or organizations — to convey the information.</p> <p>Information-sharing is foundational to emergency response and directly impacts outcomes. By creating cross-sector communication pathways and using trusted messengers, health care and public health leaders can better reach and inform members of their communities during a crisis.</p> <p><em>Erin Fogarty, Ph.D., M.P.H., is the health education and marketing director at Livingston County Health Department in Pontiac, Ill.</em></p> <p><em>For more examples and actionable strategies on sharing information and proactively mitigating misinformation during public health emergencies, check out AHA’s <a href="/aha-clear/field-guide-for-emergency-preparedness">CLEAR Field Guide for Emergency Preparedness</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Presented as part of Cooperative Agreement 5 HITEP210047-02-00, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR). The Health Research & Educational Trust, an ���������� Association 501(c)(3) nonprofit subsidiary, is a proud partner of this Cooperative Agreement. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the Health Research & Educational Trust and its partners and do not necessarily represent the official policies or views of the Department of Health and Human Services or of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. Further, any mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.</em></p> Tue, 30 May 2023 09:02:27 -0500 #HealthCareInnovation Blog /news/healthcareinnovation-blog/2023-04-28-promedicas-catalyst-improving-health-urban-and-rural-communities <p><img alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation Health Equity" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d0c7ba9c-a05d-486b-8b7d-d5dcbc3931ae" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/chi-blog-health-equity-900x400.jpg" width="900" height="400"></p> <p>We know that a person’s job, education, lifestyle and even ZIP code affect their health. By taking a holistic approach and addressing the social determinants of health, ProMedica is working to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. As an anchor institution, ProMedica also is investing in local communities and driving economic growth.</p> <p>These initiatives — designed to offer a helping hand, not a prescribed intervention, and driven by collaboration with community partners — are making a significant impact.</p> <h2>SDOH Institute</h2> <p>ProMedica’s Social Determinants of Health initiatives are focused on creating healthier people and communities by integrating SDOH across clinical care delivery models and implementing scalable interventions that address health disparities and racial inequities. When patients screen positive for various SDOH domains, our health care teams offer resources at discharge and connect them to local resources in the community.</p> <blockquote> <h3>Integrating social determinants of health into ProMedica’s operations has brought communities together to improve the lives of thousands of people.</h3> </blockquote> <p>For example, to address food insecurity, ProMedica set up food clinics in northwest Ohio and implemented a food at discharge program across all 11 of the health system’s hospitals. In 2021, the food clinics served more than 6,700 patient households and an additional 1,000 employee households.</p> <h2>Expanding SDOH Interventions in Urban Areas</h2> <p>After implementing SDOH screening for patients, it became evident that interventions to reduce these nonclinical barriers to health were improving patients’ health and well-being. It also became evident that we needed intentional, place-based interventions and partnerships to address disparities and inequities outside the four walls of our hospitals.</p> <p>In 2018, ProMedica launched the Ebeid Neighborhood Promise (ENP), a community-driven, multifaceted initiative designed to improve equity, improve long-term neighborhood health and encourage neighborhood revitalization in an economically disadvantaged area of Toledo, Ohio.</p> <p>Catalyzed by investments from local philanthropist Russell J. Ebeid, ENP was first established in the Uptown neighborhood of Toledo to address limited access to food, poor health outcomes and a variety of health disparities and inequities in the area. The ENP strategic plan was developed in partnership with Uptown residents, using a variety of data. The ProMedica team identified and renovated a vacant building in the heart of the community and opened its doors as the Ebeid Center.</p> <p>Today the Ebeid Center has expanded its offerings for Uptown Toledo neighborhoods to include Market on the Green, a nonprofit, full-service grocery store; free financial coaching and tax preparation services; nursing assistant and emergency medical technician training programs; healthy cooking classes; grab-and-go meal distribution for youth; free health screenings; and a full calendar of partner programs and community events.</p> <p>ProMedica evaluates the initiative’s outcomes through individual surveys, population-level data analysis and program-specific evaluations. We also capture stories of specific individuals and compile an annual <a href="https://www.promedica.org/social-determinants-of-health/_assets/documents/50_changed_lives_part2.pdf" target="_blank">“50 Changed Lives” report</a> to showcase the impact ENP has on the community.</p> <h2>Addressing the Drivers of Disparities and Inequities in Rural Communities</h2> <p>Witnessing the positive impact that SDOH interventions and the ENP have on patients and whole communities led ProMedica to tailor our approaches for food security and place-making in the rural community of Adrian, Mich. Compared to urban areas, rural communities tend to have higher incidences of chronic diseases and behavioral health conditions. Other social and environmental factors that affect the overall health of rural residents include: a higher proportion of the population living at or below the poverty threshold; limited internet access; and significant transportation barriers that limit residents’ access to health care, food pantries and other social services.</p> <p>In response to the unique drivers of rural health disparities and inequities, ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital in Lenawee County, Mich., established the ProMedica Farm and the Veggie Mobile to increase access to fresh, affordable produce across the county, which is designated as a food desert. The ProMedica Farm is nestled on three of the 127 acres of green space on the hospital campus. This green space also includes a boundless playground, over three miles of walking trails and the county YMCA.</p> <p>As a tailored SDOH approach for patients who screen positive for food insecurity, the hospital offers meals at discharge, with a $5 voucher for the patients to redeem at the ProMedica Farm or any of the 17 scheduled Veggie Mobile stops. In 2021, these programs served nearly 5,500 residents with fresh produce; harvested and sourced 2,559 pounds of produce; and hosted 13 educational workshops on gardening.</p> <h2>Using Data to Tailor Services and Resources</h2> <p>Community health needs assessments and other data sources continue to show that patients residing within a specific ZIP code in Lenawee County screen positive for various SDOH domains at a much higher rate than other county areas. Further data analysis identified that three of the most socially vulnerable census tracts in the entire county were located within this one ZIP code.</p> <p>In 2021, ProMedica staff partnered with the All About Adrian Resident Coalition and Lenawee Community Foundation to host 12 months of community conversations and engagement opportunities with residents to explore whether a tailored design of the Ebeid Neighborhood Promise model could positively impact the community’s health and well-being. With unanimous consensus and resident support, the Adrian Ebeid Neighborhood Promise, or Adrian ENP, was announced in February 2022.</p> <p>Following the announcement, ProMedica and partners conducted strategic planning sessions in the neighborhood and developed a strategic plan based on the input of community members. Today partners are actively fundraising to begin offering no-cost health services, financial coaching, cooking demonstrations, nursing assistant certification programs and other initiatives based on ongoing feedback from the resident coalition and neighbors.</p> <h2>Blazing a New Path Forward for Better Health</h2> <p>Integrating social determinants of health into ProMedica’s operations has brought communities together to improve the lives of thousands of people. This approach of offering a helping hand, rather than a prescribed intervention, has built trust and empowered individuals to achieve a higher potential for health. A <a href="https://www.promedica.org/social-determinants-of-health/_assets/documents/promedica_impact_report.pdf" target="_blank">recent impact report</a> prepared by the ProMedica Social Determinants of Health team details outcomes and shares more examples of this community health improvement work.</p> <p>Through these models, health care can blaze a new path forward in transforming how we care for and improve the health and well-being of individuals as well as the health of rural and urban communities across the country.</p> <p><em>Frank Nagle is director of community impact, Michigan, at ProMedica.</em></p> <p><em>Addressing food insecurity and nutrition equity is the focus of <a href="https://web.cvent.com/event/a84c3029-9d94-40ab-87f0-52617aef5821/websitePage:4b450b5c-3d26-4dd9-899c-411662e3af98" target="_blank">“Beyond Food Access: Successful Approaches and Opportunities for Moving Toward Nutrition Equity,”</a> a May 18 breakout session at the <a href="https://equityconference.aha.org/" target="_blank">AHA Accelerating Health Equity Conference</a>, May 16–18, in Minneapolis.</em></p> Fri, 28 Apr 2023 14:46:37 -0500 #HealthCareInnovation Blog /news/healthcareinnovation-thursday-blog/2023-02-23-health-cares-next-generation-leaders-tackle-challenges-innovate-solutions <p><img alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation. Next Generation Leadership." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="28e1077b-6ad1-4894-b04a-d1ec898e76ab" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/chi-blog-next-gen-leadership-900x400.jpg" width="900" height="400"></p> <p>Developing innovative approaches and creative solutions to tackle the unprecedented challenges in health care calls for skilled, knowledgeable and innovative leaders. Empowering the next generation of health care leaders is the aim of the <a href="/center/next-generation-leaders-fellowship">AHA’s Next Generation Leaders Fellowship</a>.</p> <p>During the past year, 41 fellows participated in this fellowship, planning and executing a yearlong capstone project with the guidance of an executive-level mentor and their cohort network. Their work focused on key issues in health care including quality, safety, affordability and equity. Fellows also honed essential skills, such as expanding innovation capacity, driving organizational change and digital transformation, and leading the shift from health care to well care. Our AHA team is now accepting <a href="/center/next-generation-leaders-fellowship/application">applications for the 2023–2024 cohort</a>, due March 31.</p> <p>Several fellows from the 2021–2022 cohort described their capstone projects, key takeaways from the fellowship experience and skills they gained. These projects addressed delirium in the intensive care unit, nursing workforce challenges, and the unique care needs of older adult patients and diabetic patients with heart disease.</p> <h2>Addressing Delirium in the ICU</h2> <p>For his fellowship project, Biren Kamdar, M.D., an ICU physician, pulmonologist and associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego Health, developed an ICU delirium playbook. Delirium affects up to 85% of patients in the ICU and is quite costly; yet nearly half of ICU nurses report receiving no prior delirium education. The playbook is a virtual, expandable platform for ICU nurse education and training, with a focus on delirium management in older adult patients who are critically ill and receiving mechanical ventilation and sedative infusions. Kamdar was one of <a href="/center/next-generation-leaders-fellowship/scholarship">The John A. Hartford Foundation Age-Friendly Fellow Scholarship</a> recipients.</p> <p>Kamdar found the fellowship “enlightening” as he was exposed to so many innovative ideas from diverse health care settings and met people in the field who are facing the same challenges. The most important skills he gained are likely “ones I have not yet realized,” said Kamdar. “The connections I’ve made from being part of this fellowship, the projects I’ve learned about, and the feedback I’ve received will transform the projects I’m currently performing and will help me gain skills and refine them moving forward,” Kamdar observed.</p> <h2>Focusing on the Nursing Workforce</h2> <p>Alicia LaPalombara, director of nursing operations at Allegheny Health Network, based in Pittsburgh, focused on the nursing workforce for her fellowship project. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing had become one of the most pressing issues at AHN: The bedside vacancy rate had increased to about 30%, from 8% to 9% before the pandemic.</p> <p>LaPalombara convened a team of nurse leaders that constructed a proposal called Work Your Way, which offers alternative work schedules and higher compensation. Nearly 800 nursing care team members elected to move into one of the new options; they gave the program positive feedback, as did those who didn’t opt in but benefited tangentially. Managers reported greater retention.</p> <p>The opportunity the fellowship offered to “bounce ideas off my mentor and other fellows was hugely valuable in working through my project,” LaPalombara noted. “Gaining perspective from health care leaders outside of my organization helped to broaden my thinking and enrich my work, both on my fellowship project and in general.” She added, “I particularly enjoyed the [module] focused on effecting positive change, building emotional intelligence and supporting workforce resilience.”</p> <h2>Making Health Care ‘Age Friendly’</h2> <p>Tripp Grooms, director of business operations at Atrium Health Cabarrus, in Concord, N.C., led a project to improve care for older adult patients. This work used the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms framework: what matters (to older adult patients and their families), medications, mentation and mobility. Grooms was one of The John A. Harford Foundation Age-Friendly Fellow Scholarship recipients.</p> <p>Atrium Health Cabarrus established an Acute Care for Elderly, or ACE, task force with representation from medical leadership, nursing leadership, pharmacy, case management, senior behavioral care and administration. The task force developed care pilots that uniquely addressed each of the 4Ms, using volunteer patient ambassadors (what matters), a geriatric inpatient pharmacist (medications), transitions of care program (mentation) and exercise physiologist program (mobility). Outcomes include improved mobility compliance, decreased rates for inpatient falls, and reduced length of stay and readmissions.</p> <p>Grooms said the AHA fellowship team provided excellent tools, resources and information on what the health care field is going through now and in the future. “[The fellowship] will set me up well to make an impact at my organization and in the communities we serve,” Grooms noted. He appreciated the opportunity to “enhance my leadership capabilities” and benefited from using the Prism assessment to “learn more about my leadership styles.”</p> <h2>Improving Care Management for Diabetic Patients with Heart Disease</h2> <p>Christina Johnson, M.D., health equity lead physician at Atlantic Medical Group, part of Atlantic Health System in New Jersey, addressed care management challenges for patients with type 2 diabetes, whose risk for cardiovascular disease is twice that of the nondiabetic population. A pilot program made up of diabetic patients with heart disease at Atlantic Health System revealed that 75% of diabetic patients are Black, and 45% of those patients demonstrated suboptimal diabetic control.</p> <p>As part of Johnson’s capstone project, one of the health system’s outpatient practices formed a cross-functional team that included a primary care physician, nurse, diabetic educator, pharmacist and specialists (such as a nephrologist). This team identified patients who needed laboratory studies and routine diabetic management encounters. Patients received diabetic education and evaluations by health care specialists as needed. As a result of these interventions, within one quarter, nearly 50% of participating patients experienced a drop in their A1C level, and 50% of patients with A1C greater than 9% experienced a decrease in levels as well. This project is part of an organizational initiative that embeds health equity into quality and care delivery models.</p> <p>Learning about the “power of creative collaboration” was a key part of the fellowship for Johnson. “By sharing the work with like-minded partners and communicating the work to team members and across the organization, we have been able to make tangible, population-level interventions to improve the lives of our patients and the community which we serve,” Johnson explained.</p> <h2>Becoming a Next Generation Leadership Fellow or Mentor</h2> <p>More details on these and other capstone projects are highlighted on the <a href="/center/next-generation-leaders-fellowship">AHA Next Generation Leaders Fellowship webpages</a>, which also provide fellowship program details, the current roster of mentors, and answers to frequently asked questions. I encourage you to become more familiar with this AHA program and its significant impact in the field.</p> <p>The fellowship offers an outstanding opportunity to participate in a first-rate mentorship program — or <a href="/center/next-generation-leaders-fellowship/nomination-form">nominate an emerging leader</a> at your health care organization to get involved. The AHA also is looking for executive mentors. If you’re interested in volunteering, <a href="/center/next-generation-leaders-fellowship/mentor-interest-form">please complete this form</a>.</p> <p>Join us in this important work to bring about real and lasting change in our hospitals and health systems.</p> <p><em>Lindsey Dunn Burgstahler is vice president, programming and market intelligence, at the ���������� Association.</em></p> Thu, 23 Feb 2023 07:59:02 -0600 #HealthCareInnovation Blog /news/healthcareinnovation-thursday-blog/2022-12-15-next-wave-emergency-preparedness-health-care <p><img alt="#healthcareinnovation Thursday" src="/sites/default/files/2019-11/innovation-blog-banner-900.jpg" /></p> <p>In the midst of managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care teams also have been dealing with natural disasters — including wildfires, hurricanes and severe flooding — along with mass casualty incidents. Threats to public health and safety are increasing. The nation’s public health and health care infrastructure should be designed to assess, respond and manage such threats well before they occur. But how does the field of first responders get there, together?</p> <p>In November, the ���������� Association hosted a panel session discussing the “next wave of emergency preparedness,” at Becker’s 10th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable in Chicago. This session centered on three priority areas that health care leaders must address to prepare, respond and recover from future public health emergencies: strengthening cross-sector partnerships, building workforce capacity and resilience, and fostering a culture of preparedness.</p> <h2>Strengthening Cross-sector Partnerships</h2> <p>No sector works in insolation during an emergency. There are no competitors — only collaborators working toward protecting their communities. It is critical to establish strong cross-sector partnerships <em>before</em> an emergency occurs. Keneatha Johnson, senior director of safety and emergency preparedness at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, likened it to a home mortgage. “You don’t want to be figuring out who your mortgage broker is on the day that your house forecloses. It’s the same thing in [emergency] preparedness.”</p> <p>In addition to creating and maintaining close relationships with public health, fire/EMS and law enforcement professionals, health care leaders should partner with nontraditional, trusted and influential organizations within their communities — such as religious organizations, civic groups and anchor institutions including universities or large companies. Strong cross-sector partnerships can support a more coordinated response and recovery while also providing value to all involved outside of an emergency.</p> <p>“It’s so important to have partners and to understand where and how an organization needs to decompress, or where and how to pull potential funding,” said Johnson. “The field collectively experienced COVID, and we all tried to figure it out together. [There were] no competitors, just compliments.”</p> <h2>Building Workforce Capacity and Resilience</h2> <p>Without a sufficient workforce, the health care field is unable to respond to the needs of communities, whether in emergencies or nonemergencies. Integrating resilience programs such as Stress First Aid and crisis leadership training into organizational workforce development plans are among several strategies that panel members encouraged leaders to prioritize.</p> <p>Mayer Bellehsen, assistant vice president of the behavioral health service line at Northwell Health, explained that before COVID-19 he wasn’t sure “how often the element of emotional support was considered when thinking about disaster preparedness.” He added, “Since COVID-19 though, behavioral health is increasingly a critical component of the safety operations and logistics.”</p> <p>Bellehsen, who also serves as Northwell Health’s director of the Center for Traumatic Stress, Resilience and Recovery, observed that what “the pandemic has perhaps really taught us is to come together across sectors and across departments and move to a ‘whole system’ approach for tackling complex issues.”</p> <h2>Fostering a Culture of Preparedness</h2> <p>The ability to prepare, respond and recover from an emergency starts within an organization. Normalizing a culture of preparedness and using key response concepts outside of an emergency provide an opportunity to educate and empower staff while bringing value to the goal at hand. But how can leaders foster and normalize a culture of preparedness? By engaging and investing in their organization’s emergency management program.</p> <p>Advice from the panelists included:</p> <ul> <li>Meet with emergency managers.</li> <li>Review your organization’s response plans.</li> <li>Understand the strengths and gaps in your emergency management programs.</li> <li>Support and nourish partnerships with your local health care coalition, public health authority and other trusted community organizations.</li> </ul> <p>The more prepared an organization is, the better equipped it will be to support the community when responding to an emergency.</p> <p>The AHA has released a new resource on disaster and emergency preparedness, <a href="/aha-clear/field-guide-for-emergency-preparedness">“Convening Leaders for Emergency and Response (CLEAR) Field Guide for Emergency Preparedness,”</a> which aligns input from seven national representative associations and unites the collective first responder system. This guide provides a set of common priorities, tangible strategies, real-world examples, resources and action steps that health care and public health can implement — together — to strengthen the nation’s emergency management systems. <a href="/aha-clear/field-guide-for-emergency-preparedness">Learn more and download the field guide.</a></p> <p><em>Helena Bonfitto is a senior program manager and Benjamin C. Wise is senior program manager of communications strategy, both at the ���������� Association.</em></p> <p><em>Presented as part of Cooperative Agreement HITEP210047, funded by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR). The Health Research & Educational Trust, an ���������� Association 501(c)(3) nonprofit subsidiary, is a proud partner of this Cooperative Agreement. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).</em></p> Thu, 15 Dec 2022 08:47:19 -0600 #HealthCareInnovation Blog /news/healthcareinnovation-thursday-blog/2022-12-08-healing-power-music-how-adventhealth-staff-formed-orchestra-during-pandemic <p><img alt="#healthcareinnovation Thursday" src="/sites/default/files/2019-11/innovation-blog-banner-900.jpg"></p> <p>Early on in my professional journey as a physician, I had a calling to work with infectious diseases. Little did I know then how big a role this medical subspecialty would play in my life: training in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; working on outbreaks of anthrax, Ebola and H1N1 virus in the U.S.; and caring for COVID-19 patients at AdventHealth in Florida throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>From an epidemiological perspective, COVID-19’s fast-growing spread and global pervasiveness presented significant challenges the health care field hadn’t seen with previous diseases. My colleagues and I cared for so many gravely ill patients. We experienced fear and anxiety about spreading COVID-19 to our families when we returned home after work. Most tragically, hundreds of patients died, many without loved ones by their side, which had a huge emotional toll on all involved.</p> <p>Perhaps the biggest challenge for infectious disease clinicians like me during this time was trying to balance caring for patients with disseminating crucial information on such a large scale — and doing it without losing speed or efficiency. It’s easier said than done at a health system with 80,000-plus employees.</p> <h2>A Cathartic Experience Performing with Colleagues in the AdventHealth Orchestra</h2> <p><img alt="Vincent and Grace Hsu in scrubs and white coats with their instruments." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="519656cc-062d-4d34-bbb8-397263942561" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Center-blog-Vincent-Grace-Hsu.jpg" width="572" height="600" class="align-left">One day at work during the pandemic, I saw an auditions announcement for a new, staff-only orchestra. Led by Richard Hickam, AdventHealth director of music and the arts, the orchestra became a way for health care employees to manage stress and express ourselves artistically in a safe environment.</p> <p>My wife, Grace, and I both decided to audition for the orchestra and were selected. Grace is a nurse at AdventHealth, and she and I have musical backgrounds and play several instruments. We were excited about playing in a musical ensemble with colleagues and saw it as a distraction from the pandemic.</p> <p>The first day of rehearsal was cathartic if not revelatory. My clinical colleagues shared music stands alongside AdventHealth vice presidents, the chief information officer, front-line nurses, lab team members and so many others.</p> <p>After a few rehearsals, the orchestra gave its premiere performance, recorded at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando. Our first piece, Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” is a beautiful melody known for its tear-jerking pathos. We dedicated <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp6SbyQlMzA" target="_blank">the performance</a> to patients and loved ones we’d lost during the pandemic.</p> <p><img alt="Vincent Hsu playing violin with the AdventHealth Orchestra." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7162bf4-c0b6-4234-818b-6a78498a5ff5" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Center-blog-Vincent-Hsu-violin.png" width="576" height="385" class="align-right">The performance was so well received by our community — and the experience so meaningful to us — that we resolved to continue the ensemble. The AdventHealth Orchestra plays on to this day and has increased its membership and number of performances.</p> <p>In December 2022, we’ll be performing an ambitious program of pieces by Tchaikovsky, Leroy Anderson and Georges Bizet for the public.</p> <h2>Insights from Sharing Music, Stories During the Pandemic</h2> <p>I’ve gleaned a myriad of lessons from playing in an orchestra. Performers must listen, communicate and be accountable to one another in real time, while blending technical skills with an emotional depth — all of which builds empathy.</p> <p><img alt="The AdventHealth Orchestra playing on stage." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b8bab307-3b14-441e-9a4d-f312f36036dd" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Center-blog-AdventHealth-orchestra.jpg" width="600" height="399" class="align-left">The AdventHealth Orchestra has been a wonderful experience as well as an effective way to address staff burnout and promote resilience and mental health in the workplace.</p> <p>One of the most important lessons from the pandemic is the value of communicating and using platforms like the AHA’s Living Learning Network to be inspired and inspire others to find creative solutions to everyday challenges. The LLN is a virtual community that connects health care professionals across the country to share knowledge and ideas and problem-solve together. Some of these connections and experiences are highlighted in the LLN’s recent <a href="/center/living-learning-network/pandemic-resiliency-and-community">pandemic reflection book</a>.</p> <p>As a field, we can make a conscious effort to share stories that convey the humanity behind the scenes of health care. Doing so will help us build stronger bonds among hospital teams, between clinicians and their patients, and between clinicians and the communities they serve.</p> <p><em>Vincent Hsu, M.D., is an infectious diseases and preventive medicine physician at AdventHealth Orlando, where he also serves as medical director of continuing medical education and assistant director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program.</em></p> <p><em>Hsu recently joined the AHA for a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8iGR5mKA4E" target="_blank">Facebook Live broadcast</a> to discuss the bivalent booster and the importance of vaccinating and boosting kids against COVID-19. To see more of Hsu’s story and others like it, check out the AHA Living Learning Network’s <a href="/center/living-learning-network/pandemic-resiliency-and-community">“The Pandemic: Responding with Resilience and Service to Community.”</a></em></p> Thu, 08 Dec 2022 06:00:00 -0600 #HealthCareInnovation Blog /news/healthcareinnovation-thursday-blog/2022-11-10-putting-age-friendly-care-principles-action <p><img alt="#healthcareinnovation Thursday" src="/sites/default/files/2019-11/innovation-blog-banner-900.jpg" /></p> <p><strong>By Marie Cleary-Fishman</strong></p> <p>Five years ago, a national effort began to ensure that health care for older adult patients is “age friendly.” This initiative — <a href="/center/age-friendly-health-systems">Age-Friendly Health Systems</a> — follows a set of evidence-based practices called the 4Ms, a framework that focuses on what matters to the patient and their care partners as well as medications, mentation and mobility. Older adult patients — age 65 and older — have complex health needs, which can make their medical care more challenging. The 4Ms framework addresses those unique care needs.</p> <p>The ���������� Association is leading its fourth <a href="/center/age-friendly-health-systems/commitment-form">Age-Friendly Health Systems Action Community</a> this fall. During this seven-month virtual convening, hospital and health system teams receive free guidance and coaching and can access a host of resources and real-life examples on how to implement the 4Ms.</p> <blockquote> <h4>Many health care organizations have found they already provide care for older adults that aligns with one or more of the 4Ms. New work involves organizing care so all 4Ms guide every encounter with an older adult and, in many cases, their care partners.</h4> </blockquote> <p>More than <a href="https://www.johnahartford.org/ahimap/">2,800 health care organizations</a> already have been recognized as Age-Friendly Health Systems, and that number continues to grow.</p> <p>Benefits of participation are many, including improved health outcomes, better patient and family satisfaction, reduced readmission rates and shorter length of stay. Hospitals and health systems that have integrated age-friendly care across their care teams are creating a culture of support and excellence.</p> <h2>COVID-19 Has Reinforced the Need for Age-Friendly Care</h2> <p>When the first case of the coronavirus was confirmed January 2019 in the U.S. — and the global pandemic quickly took hold — the Age-Friendly Health System initiative was entering its third year. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of delivering evidence-based age-friendly care. The virus disproportionately affected older adults and increased the burden on patients, families and health care teams. The 4Ms can reduce that kind of burden by providing an organizing framework to focus on the most critical care for older adults.</p> <p>Many health care organizations have found they already provide care for older adults that aligns with one or more of the 4Ms. New work involves organizing care so all 4Ms guide every encounter with an older adult and, in many cases, their care partners.</p> <h2>My Personal Connection to Age-Friendly Care</h2> <p>I have witnessed firsthand the benefits of age-friendly care. After my father had open heart surgery, he was determined to help care for my mother, who was battling Alzheimer’s disease at the time, as well as continue tasks he enjoyed — like spending time with his grandchildren and attending their sporting events, using his riding lawn mower and playing Irish music for my mom every day. Focusing on “what matters” as well as his medications, mentation and mobility was key to care planning and successful transitions between health care settings for my dad.</p> <p>Age-friendly care is an urgent need now as the population of older adults steadily climbs: There currently are more than 54 million Americans age 65 and over, and that number is projected to reach about 95 million by 2060.</p> <p>The Age-Friendly Heath Systems initiative aligns with the AHA’s commitment to improve the health of people in our communities at every life stage. I hope you’ll join us to improve care for older adults and reach that goal.</p> <p>Visit <a href="/center/age-friendly-health-systems">AHA.org/agefriendly</a> for more information and to sign up for the AHA Action Community.</p> <p><em>Marie Cleary-Fishman is vice president, clinical quality, at the ���������� Association.</em></p> <p><em>Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in partnership with the ���������� Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.</em></p> Thu, 10 Nov 2022 15:27:13 -0600 #HealthCareInnovation Blog /news/healthcareinnovation-thursday-blog/2022-08-11-what-covid-19-continues-teach-us-about-hospital <p><img alt="#healthcareinnovation Thursday" src="/sites/default/files/2019-11/innovation-blog-banner-900.jpg" /></p> <p>Situated in the heart of Westchester County and just outside of New York City, White Plains Hospital was among the first hospitals in New York to face the COVID-19 pandemic during the early days of 2020, back when there were many unknowns.</p> <p>I will never forget the first case and how quickly the numbers multiplied — seemingly doubling each day early in the pandemic. The overhead rapid response codes blared at a frequency never heard before, and there was an intensity during those first few weeks that was overwhelming.</p> <blockquote> <h4>As we reflect on what has helped those on the front line persevere, we come away with lessons learned about the importance of a strong culture of teamwork, support and encouragement throughout our organization to achieve the best outcomes.</h4> </blockquote> <p>In time, however, we all have learned to adapt. As treatments continue to be developed and we understand more about the virus, the fear of the unknown diminishes and COVID-19 becomes our new normal. Many times, we think the end of this pandemic is here, and then a new variant appears or a new spike occurs.</p> <p>With each wave comes a new challenge, but our team is prepared and repeatedly steps up to care for our community. Health care workers deservedly have been recognized for their heroic efforts throughout this pandemic, but it’s not over yet.</p> <p>As we reflect on what has helped those on the front line persevere, we come away with lessons learned about the importance of a strong culture of teamwork, support and encouragement throughout our organization to achieve the best outcomes. Here are a few lessons.</p> <h2>Recognize the Value of the Team</h2> <p>Health care workers are selfless by nature, normalizing things that many people cannot. But they are human too. And what we have seen is that when things are at their worst, it is the bond with colleagues and support from others that help health care professionals get through the tough days. This camaraderie begins by developing a culture of teamwork and trust throughout the organization. Hospital staff will do incredible things if they know that they can count on each other, especially when times are their toughest.</p> <p>There are many ways to accomplish this. We have found success in our recently reengaged Rewards and Recognition Committee, which focuses on the work of teams, units and departments in achieving goals. These groups are recognized in an award ceremony attended by colleagues and senior leaders and celebrated in an email to staff and on social media. This small gesture builds pride with our teams and importantly helps to reinforce the idea that we rely on each other for our success and by working collaboratively we can achieve our goals.</p> <h2>Reinforce the Positive</h2> <p>During the height of the pandemic, the reality was that while many lives were lost, we saved many more. We wanted to emphasize to our staff how many people have returned home to their loved ones due to their efforts. To help people visualize the impact they were making, we adopted the butterfly as a symbol of hope. Each COVID-19 patient who was discharged in 2020 received a paper butterfly with a number. Hundreds of butterflies lined the main hallway that staff walk through each day, serving as a powerful reminder of their dedication and effort. Staff rallied behind the idea, taking videos of patients holding their butterflies as they left the hospital and taking a moment to celebrate the win.</p> <p>We now have installed a butterfly garden outside the hospital with plants that attract butterflies and a large stone with a plaque dedicated to the efforts of our teams. It acts as a quiet place for our staff to sit and reflect on those lives they have saved as well as those they could not.</p> <p>In addition, to keep morale high — especially during the first year of the pandemic — hospital leadership sent out nearly 100 emails to staff, including a campaign from the CEO called “Everyday Heroes,” recognizing departments across the hospital for their unique contributions to their efforts at saving lives. Each Everyday Heroes story and photo was posted on social media.</p> <h2>Never Underestimate the Power of Community</h2> <p>Throughout the pandemic, the community has been eager to do what they can to support our efforts, especially early on when many were asked to shelter in place. Local celebrities have sent inspirational messages, and a parade of cars came each week for a Thursday night shout-out to cheer on our heroes. Hundreds of children have sent us heartwarming cards and notes that lined another busy hallway for staff to see. A volunteer group even spearheaded an initiative selling 1,300 signs with motivational messages — like “Stay Strong” and “We Love You” — which lined lawns across the county so our employees could see them as they drove to and from work. That groundswell of support reinforced what we had known, but the lesson was amplified during the pandemic: While it is our role to care for our community, they want to care for us as well.</p> <p>Our community organizations are trusted resources throughout Westchester County and valuable partners in helping to communicate, influence and inspire others to act. These partners have been essential in working with us during this time of crisis to bring key constituents together and provide us with critical insights about the needs of our community members. For example, knowing that a certain subset of community members did not have access to transportation to get a COVID-19 vaccine spurred us to create pop-up vaccination sites in areas of need. In addition, learning about vaccination hesitancy from various community groups resulted in a targeted educational effort from our physicians, in partnership with community leaders, to listen to concerns and relay important factual information.</p> <p>As health equity remains a priority, partnering with those trusted community groups is essential to developing impactful programs to identify real needs and continue to optimize the health of our communities.</p> <p><em>Dawn French is senior vice president for marketing and community outreach at White Plains (N.Y.) Hospital. White Plains Hospital is featured in the AHA Living Learning Network’s second pandemic reflection book, <a href="/center/living-learning-network/pandemic-resiliency-and-community">The Pandemic: Responding with Resilience and Service to Community</a>.</em></p> Thu, 11 Aug 2022 10:59:12 -0500 #HealthCareInnovation Blog