Hospital Case Management articles from October 2004

Hospital Case Management archives from October 2004

Internal case management program gets injured employees back to work: database helps track alternative jobs.
October 1, 2004... An internal case management system for hospital employees who are injured on the job has reduced costs and increased return to work for Allina Hospitals and Clinics, based in Minneapolis. The health system's disability case management...

CMs, quality managers team up for better care: technology helps staff take proactive measures.
October 1, 2004... Merging the case management department with the quality department is "the best thing we've ever done," says Sharon Simmons, CRNP, MSN, CNOR, director of clinical excellence for St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, AL. Combining the...

CM is the glue holding the trauma team together: duties include coordinating care, helping families.
October 1, 2004... The trauma team at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, MI, refers to Dorothy Malcolm, RN, BSN, as "the glue that holds us all together." As trauma case manager, Malcolm coordinates care for trauma patients from the time they come into the...

Joint replacement CM helps hospital improve outcomes: surgeries increase, LOS, readmission rates decline.(Critical Path Network[TM])
October 1, 2004... Hiring a case manager assigned specifically to manage joint replacement patients has paid dividends for St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, PA. The number of total hip and total knee surgeries has increased from 145 in fiscal year 2003...

'Safety culture' approach guides health system's efforts: health system takes cue from manufacturing world.
October 1, 2004... It's not that unusual these days to find health care professionals modeling their performance improvement efforts on proven strategies from the world of business. It is, however, unique to find a health care system's safety culture taking its...

Program enables 50 new initiatives in four months: 'Transforming Care at the Bedside'.(Critical Path Network[TM])
October 1, 2004... Seton Northwest Hospital in Austin, TX, launched nearly 50 new quality initiatives in a single four-month period after deciding to participate in the "Transforming Care at the Bedside" (TCAB) program, which was launched by the Robert Wood...

JCAHO unveils national patient safety goals.(Critical Path Network[TM])
October 1, 2004... The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has released its 2005 National Patient Safety Goals that will apply specifically to hospitals. The goals and associated requirements, which were approved by JCAHO's...

Clinic serves as a model for care of the uninsured: volunteers play key role.(Discharge Planning Advisor[R]--the update for improving continuity of care)
October 1, 2004... In April 2002, Donna Zazworsky, MS, RN, CCM, FAAN, director of grants, partnerships, and policy at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Clinic in Tucson, AZ, got a telephone call from a case manager at a local hospital who wanted to know if the clinic had...

Uninsured cases increase in number, complexity: 'we try to educate them'.(Discharge Planning Advisor[R]--the update for improving continuity of care)
October 1, 2004... Arranging care for uninsured and underinsured patients has become more complicated in the past four or five years, says Jennifer DeCamp, MSW, LSW, a social worker at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago. "It seems there are more patients...

CE questions.
October 1, 2004... 13. The bulk of cases handled by David Dubovich, a disabilities specialist at Allina Health System, include employees with: A. knee injuries B. sharps injuries C. neck, back, and shoulder injuries D. asthma 14. By working...

Revised recommendations for flu prevention issued.(Discharge Planning Advisor[R]--the update for improving continuity of care)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has released its revised recommendations for the prevention and control of influenza. They update 2003 ACIP recommendations for the use...