JWT INSIDE HEALTH CARE NEWSLETTER
Week of September 27,
2010
*Colorado
Docs sue
after nurses approved to administer anesthesia
Doctor groups in Colorado
are up in arms this week after Gov. Bill Ritter's decision to opt out of a
federal Medicare rule by allowing qualified nurses at rural hospitals throughout
the state to administer anesthesia without a doctor present. Both the Colorado
Society of Anesthesiologists and the Colorado Medical Society are suing the
state in an attempt to reverse what CSA spokesperson Dr. Randall Clark calls "an
unnecessary lowering of the standard of care in hospitals," reports the Denver Post. Ritter says his
decision was made with patient safety in mind, specifically for patients in
rural areas who have limited access to high-quality care. Colorado becomes the
16th state to opt out of the rule since 2001, when states were first given the
option. (Denver
Post, 09/29/10)
*National
Nurses, PAs,
physicians share in federal grants to enlarge primary care workforce
The new
healthcare reform law that will extend insurance coverage to millions of
Americans also is attempting to expand the nation's primary care workforce with
a major infusion of cash. Although physicians are the main beneficiaries,
registered nurses and physician assistants (PAs) also stand to gain in
significant ways. A $30.1 million grant will fund 28 training programs for PAs
over 5 years. HHS projects that this initiative will yield 600 additional fully
trained PAs by 2015. Two of the grants announced this week are aimed
at nursing. Twenty-six schools of nursing will receive $31 million to increase
full-time enrollment in primary care nurse practitioner and nurse midwife
programs. This grant will translate into more than 1300 student stipends of
$22,000 per year for up to 2 years, leading to 600 new, fully trained nurse
practitioners and nurse midwives by 2015. The other grant is a nod toward the
professional autonomy that nurses seek. HHS will spend $14.8 million to launch
10 nurse-managed health clinics providing primary care and wellness services to
underserved or vulnerable populations. Such centers will be associated with a
school, college, university, department of nursing, federally qualified health
center, or independent nonprofit health or social services agency. HHS expects
that these nurse-managed clinics will serve 94,000 patients as well as train 900
advanced-practice nurses. More information about the grants is available on the
HHS Web site. (Medscape Medical News, 09/28/10)
*National
Healthcare staffing
guidelines spotlight diversity
The nation's rapidly changing demographics
are posing a challenge to healthcare providers. Clinicians, administrators,
billing staff - anyone who deals with patients and their families - will have to
be trained and competent with a variety of cultures, races, and ethnicities. On
Jan. 1, 2011, The Joint Commission will clarify, refocus, and in some instances
strengthen hospital guidelines in the area that it has renamed "patient-centered
communication standards." Amy Wilson-Stronks, project director for health
disparities work in The Joint Commission's Division of Quality Measurement and
Research, says the refocused standards are a response to an increasingly diverse
population and the growing understanding of the importance of effective
communication in the age of patient-centered care. (HealthLeaders Media, 09/13/10)
*National
First Lady
underscores the crucial role of nurses
First Lady Michelle Obama held a
conference call with nurses from across the country to discuss the
new Patient's Bill of Rights and other important benefits from the Affordable
Care Act. Joined by Dr. Mary Wakefield, Administrator for the Health
Resources and Services Administration, and six nurses from a cross-section of
practices and hometowns, the First Lady emphasized what the new reforms mean for
nurses and their patients. More than 5,000 nurses from across the country
participated in the nurse-only health care reform conference call. A recording of the call is available on The White House Blog.
*Texas
Texas medical residents
forced to leave the state
Texas medical school graduates hoping to find their
dream training position increasingly are settling for positions outside the
state as medical residency slots in Texas continue to shrink, explains Texas Medicine magazine, the official
publication of the Texas Medical Association (TMA). While the residency shortage dashes the
dreams of these young physicians who want to stay in the Lone Star State, the
ultimate losers are Texas patients who will find it more difficult to get the
care they need when they need it. The state invests more than $200,000 per Texas
medical student -Texas money lost when medical students are forced to do their
residency in another state. Research indicates that residents often end up
setting up a practice within 100 miles of their residency. (Medical News Today, 09/27/10)
RECENTLY PUBLISHED
Emergency
Nurses Association urges Occupational Health and Safety Administration to issue
standards for reducing workplace violence
Every week, in the United States,
between eight and 13 percent of emergency department nurses are victims of
physical violence, according to a new study released by the Emergency Nurses
Association (ENA). More than half the nurses (a mean of 54.8 percent) surveyed
by ENA reported experiencing physical or verbal abuse at work in the last seven
days. The Emergency Department Violence
Surveillance Study also found that 15 percent of the nurses who reported
experiencing physical violence said they sustained a physical injury as a result
of the incident and in almost half of the cases (44.9 percent), no action was
taken against the perpetrator. Three in four nurses (74.4 percent) who were
victims of physical violence reported that the hospital gave them no response
regarding that violence. Nurses working in emergency departments at hospitals
with policies regarding violence reported experiencing fewer incidents of
physical or verbal violence. Hospitals with zero-tolerance reporting policies
had an 8.4 percent physical violence rate; hospitals with a non-zero-tolerance
policy had a 12.3 percent physical violence rate; and hospitals with no policy
had an 18.1 percent physical violence rate. The study revealed that certain
physical safeguards are correlated with lower rates of violence. The presence of
a panic button or silent alarm is associated with lower physical violence rates.
Having an enclosed nurses' station, security signs and well-lit areas are
associated with significantly lower verbal abuse rates. "These data underscore what nurses know
first-hand," said ENA President Diane Gurney, RN, MS, CEN. "Hospitals that have policies in place to
respond to violence and to prevent it are safer for the health care
professionals that work in them and the patients who seek treatment in them. The
Emergency Nurses Association strongly urges the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration to make its guidelines for preventing violence into mandatory
standards that to which all hospital and health care centers must adhere." The Emergency Department Violence Surveillance
Study is based on quarterly surveys of a total of 3,211 emergency nurses
across the country from May 2009 to February 2010. ENA collected the data at
three-month intervals in order to assess whether there were fluctuations in
violence over the course of a year. The study found that rates of abuse remained
constant over time. (HealthNewsDigest, 09/28/10)
Online ads for healthcare practitioners and technical workers fell by 26,200 listings to 516,300 in September, the third straight month of declines. However, vacancies continue to outnumber skilled healthcare job seekers by 2 to 1, a report shows. The Conference Board's Help Wanted Online Data Series, which tracks more than 1,000 online job boards across the United States, said the drop in healthcare job ads was largely due to decreases in advertised vacancies for registered nurses, and physical and occupational therapists. Since January, online job listings for the healthcare sector have fallen by a total 51,100. Healthcare support vacancy listings also dropped for the third straight month by 5,100 to 103,800, mainly due to the slide in physical and occupational therapist assistants. Unlike highly skilled healthcare professions, however, there were 2.8 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in healthcare support, The Conference Board reports. The average wage advertised for healthcare practitioners and technical workers was $33.51 an hour, while the average wage for healthcare support occupations was $12.84 an hour, the report says. (HealthLeaders Media, 09/30/10)
Medical specialties most pursued
for employment by hospitals
Hospitals transitioning toward new accountable
care models - and increasingly employing physicians - are heavily pursuing
physicians in several specialties, Becker's Hospital Review reports.
1. Primary care. The impending move
toward accountable care within the healthcare landscape is a strong reason for
hospitals to enlist primary care providers.
2. Cardiology. Cardiology is a
specialty that can be a big money-maker for the hospital since it is a high
revenue specialty.
3. Neurosurgery and orthopedics. Neurosurgery is important
for the medium- to- larger-sized hospitals as it is a significant revenue
generator and is viewed as a premier service that can be an image booster. Orthopedic specialists are also
attractive to hospitals because their procedures pay well and will be on the
rise as the population continues to age. (Becker's Hospital Review, 09/29/10)
RECENT LAYOFFS
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Worldwide (840)
JWT INSIDE NEWS
JWT INSIDE
Recognized with Four Web Marketing Association WebAwards; Including Best
Employment Web site
New York, NY - September 22, 2010 - JWT INSIDE, one of
the world's leading employee communications and marketing agencies, was honored
with four Web Marketing Association 2010 WebAwards; including Best Employment
Web site for the NewYork-Presbyterian Careers
Site. The WebAwards honor the best Web sites in 96 industries while setting
the standard of excellence for Web site development.
In addition to Best Employment site, JWT INSIDE was honored with an Outstanding Web site award for the Gulfstream Careers site. "A great site. Easy to use, nice design and precise messaging and content for the target audience," stated a WebAward judge. Plus, two Employment Standard of Excellence awards for the American Express Global Careers Site, which scored high on content and the Ernst & Young EY Experience Site, excelling in innovation.
To win Best of Industry in the Employment category, JWT INSIDE developed a best-in-class careers site for NewYork-Presbyterian that inspires, informs and supports candidates throughout the discovery and application process. In order to improve the candidate application process, reduce dependency on Job Boards and enhance the job search functionality JWT INSIDE developed a unique and flexible tool, Job Blaster, a customized search interface providing candidates with a more intuitive way to search for jobs. Not only did the site score high on interactivity and use of technology, but on content and design. "This site has great use of imagery; it gives the site a very personal feel. The layout of the site design is very clean and easy to navigate," commented one WebAward judge. "Nice touch on the explore stories section."
"Thank you to the Web Marketing Association for this prestigious honor! Due to the close collaboration between NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and JWT INSIDE we will continue our mission of putting patients first by attracting and selecting the best talent. For everyone on the team, this award serves as a powerful reminder that Amazing Things Are Happening Here every day," said G. Thomas Ferguson, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian
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