Patient and Family Education/Engagement
The AHA’s new resource “Patient and Family Advisory Councils Blueprint” outlines seven steps to successfully launch a meaningful and impactful PFAC.
Imagine a care setting in which psychiatric patients can move to music with guidance from a principal dancer in a ballet company; in which a cellist plays in outpatient waiting rooms, distracting those within from the burdens of illness. Imagine a place where patients and their families take part…
As health care moves toward a population health paradigm that focuses on keeping people healthy, hospitals and health systems are recognizing the significance of the social determinants of health. Research by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute has shown that only 20 percent of…
In the first months of 2015, Erie, Pa., experienced an uptick in violence, drug-related crimes and murders.
One particular homicide of a promising young student hit the local hospital staff and the rest of the Erie community hard, says James Donnelly, R.N., chief nursing and quality…
Don’t Eat That
24,029
The number of infections caused by foodborne pathogens in 2016.
5,512
The number of hospitalizations related to foodborne pathogens that year.
98
The number of deaths caused by foodborne pathogens during that year.
When leaders at Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas launched a novel program for administering long-term antibiotics to Parkland Memorial Hospital patients, they were seeking to address two problems that vex many provider organizations: disparities in the delivery of health care…
By the time Warren J. Smith III met Kavita Bhavan, M.D., he had had dozens of surgeries stemming from a motorcycle accident that shattered his leg. Altogether, he had spent more than a year in hospital beds, and the serious infection in his leg was another disappointing setback.
So when Bhavan, an…
Governance
AHA seeks to strengthen services for trustees
The American Hospital Association board of trustees in July approved a plan to strengthen the AHA’s role in supporting good governance in a changing health care environment. The plan is intended to broaden opportunities for…
Summer vacations are over, which means that Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre troupe will soon be visiting schools to educate and entertain thousands of kids.
The free program has been around for 30 years and has served nearly 7 million children since its launch in 1985.
Population Health
Helping hospitals create community partnerships
A new guide from the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence initiative highlights promising practices for creating effective and sustainable hospital-community partnerships to build a culture…