JWT INSIDE HEALTH CARE NEWSLETTER

Week of February 1, 2010
*National
New data bank will help hospitals with background checks
After years of delay in the federal bureaucracy, a national data base for background checks on licensed medical professionals from all 50 states will be available for hospitals to examine on March 1, the Health Resources and Services Administration announced today. Hospitals can already access the National Practitioner Data Base, which contains records on physicians and dentists, such as license or privilege suspensions, and malpractice payments that are reported by state and federal oversight agencies and health plans. Now, restricted access data stored in the separate Healthcare Integrity Protection Data Bank, which records adverse licensure actions for all medical professionals, including nurses, technicians, chiropractors, and podiatrists, will be added to the NPDB for hospitals to examine. The data will be collected by sources that include malpractice payers, state licensing and certification boards, hospitals, peer review organizations, accreditation organizations, and professional societies that conduct peer review. It will be available for hospitals, healthcare professional societies that conduct peer review, state medical and dental boards, law enforcement, and for self-queries from medical professionals. Businesses like temporary healthcare staffing companies, however, will usually not be allowed access to the data. (HealthLeaders Media, 01/28/10)

*New Jersey
First in nation survey of nurses reveals New Jersey's 'Best Physicians'
In what is believed to be the first such comprehensive survey in the nation, nurses in New Jersey have selected who they think are the best physicians in their state. The results of the survey appear in New Jersey Monthly magazine which hit newsstands today. Called "Nurses' Choice," the initiative is the result of a unique collaboration between the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and the Monmouth University Polling Institute with the cooperation of the Institute for Nursing, the Foundation of the New Jersey State Nurses Association. The survey results are available through the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute (www.njhcqi.org); the website of New Jersey Monthly magazine (www.njmonthly.com); and also on the website of the New Jersey State Nurses Association (www.njsna.org). (San Jose Business Journal, 02/01/10)

*Pennsylvania
Suburban Pittsburgh hospital closing Sunday
A suburban Pittsburgh hospital closes its doors at midnight Sunday despite protests and legal efforts by local residents to keep the century-old hospital open.  The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center announced three months ago that it could not continue to operate the Braddock hospital at a loss of between $4 million and $12 million annually. UPMC attributed the problems in part to a drop in patient admissions and general underuse by the surrounding Mon Valley communities. (Lebanon Daily News, 01/31/10)

*Texas
Health Science Center tapped to lead Hispanic nursing initiative
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio received $500,000 in federal funding to help more Hispanics enter careers in nursing. The National Association of Hispanic Nurses administers a Hispanic nursing student mentoring program that identifies and mentors Hispanic students who want to enter careers in nursing. The initiative supports Hispanic nursing initiatives in Texas, Arizona and California. The program was developed in San Antonio. The federal funding will help the Health Science Center’s mentoring program become a national model. “The program will be based on the template of Juntos Podemos, a mentoring program for Hispanic students that has proven successful at our School of Nursing in San Antonio,” says Norma Martinez Rogers, professor of family nursing care at the Health Science Center. Rogers is president of NAHN and will lead the program. Juntos Podemos is Spanish for “together we can.” The School of Nursing created the program back in 2000. (San Antonio Business Journal, 02/03/10)

RECENTLY PUBLISHED
Healthcare sector leads online job ads bump in January
Online job listings were up sharply in January in many employment sectors across the nation, with continued strong demand for nurses and healthcare technicians, a new report released today shows. The Conference Board's Help Wanted Online Data Series report, which tracks more than 1,000 online job boards across the United States, found that advertised vacancies for highly skilled healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, such as registered nurses and radiographic technologists, increased by 24,500 listings in January, for a total of 567,800. Demand for healthcare support personal, such as dental assistants and home healthcare aides, also rose by 6,500 listing for the month, for a total of 119,000, the report shows. (HealthLeaders Media, 02/01/10)

2010 Survey of Registered Nurses: Job Satisfaction and Career Plans
Nearly one-third of registered nurses (RNs) surveyed last month say they will not be working in their current job a year from now and close to half say they plan to alter their career path in the next one to three years that would either take them out of the nursing field entirely or reduce their contribution to direct patient care by working fewer hours or choosing a less demanding role. These are among key findings from AMN's 2010 Survey of Registered Nurses: Job Satisfaction and Career Plans. The survey, which collected data from 1,399 respondents, was conducted during a period of economic recession and in the course of an ongoing national debate over healthcare reform. The survey reflects how RNs may have altered their career plans due to the recession, how they might respond to an economic recovery, and highlights whether they believe healthcare reform will address the nurse shortage.  (AMN press release, 02/03/10)

 

Visit us on the web at www.jwtinside.com 

Please note: If you would like to add or eliminate a name from our mailing list, please e-mail janette.hird@jwt.com  or advise your JWT INSIDE Account Executive.