BY KYM SOSOLIK

Director, Leadership and Organization Development

SMU Cox School of Business, Executive Education

The advancement of women to senior ranks of corporations really hasn’t changed much in the last 20 years. Today women are faced with the same two challenges: making it to the corner office and commanding equal pay. According to a study conducted by Catalyst, a New York City-based nonprofit research group, in 2008 only three percent of U.S. Fortune 500 companies had women CEOs. Also according to Catalyst, at the current rate of change, it will take women 47 years to reach parity with men as corporate officers of Fortune 500 companies. How can this be when universities are graduating women equal to or higher than men in scholastic achievement, and women make up the majority of employees in most corporations? Some believe women are treated differently from men when it comes to leadership selection, and they cite historical organizational behaviors as evidence of this bias.  Others– especially those in power positions – believe their leadership choices are based solely on performance, not gender. 

Paradigm shift

Is project integration the future of the construction industry?

Balfour Beatty Construction

Enthusiasm is building as owners, architects, engineers and construction professionals alike discover the benefits of project integration.  Project integration can be linked to improvements in schedule, cost, quality, and sustainability goals.  The move to incorporate this process is being driven by economic challenges, the increasing complexity of today’s construction projects, and the necessity to build better, faster, and more efficiently. 

Years in the making, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Education and Research Foundation (DFWHC Foundation) has developed and launched the Regional Enterprise Master Patient Index (REMPI). REMPI allows for the tracking of regional readmissions among hospitals participating in the Information and Quality Services Center.  

This innovative service was two years in development and uses QuadraMed software. Participating hospitals will now be able to trend regional readmission patterns, emergency room visits and other patient/hospital encounters across hospitals and systems.

“We believe this is an innovational tool for the future,” said W. Stephen Love, president and CEO of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council and DFWHC Foundation board member. “We also believe this tool will open new areas of research and exploration for the continued improvement of healthcare. While many companies can track a single hospital’s readmissions, REMPI tracks across all participating hospitals and is a regional master patient index that incorporates an all-payor data warehouse.” 

Wellness has an ROI...

As the recession lingers, companies continue to shed employees and cut back spending on capital equipment. But one of the hottest areas of corporate investment these days: paying employees bonuses and incentives to be as healthy as they can be.

About 80 percent of firms are targeting employees’ chronic health conditions, up from 51 percent the previous year, according to a survey by human resources consultant Hewitt Associates. More than 70 percent are zeroing in on cardiovascular disease and diabetes, 56 percent on asthma and about a third are attacking depression.

This article ran in the Star Telegram....

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/columnists/steve_jacob/story/1392759.html

It has been nearly ten years since the Milken Institute first released America’s High-Tech Economy. During that decade, they watched as the dot-com and technology bubble formed and subsequently popped in 2001. In the aftermath, many felt that technology-based economic development had ceased—but these doubters have been proven wrong. A recovery in hightech industries began in 2003 and fueled growth once again, a trend that continued through most of 2008.

The Home Health Care Industry

Anita Porco, President, Nurses Today, Inc.

(co-written with Paula Rodgers)

The home health care segment of the US health care industry has been a great contributing factor to the individual states and local communities which they serve.  The home health care industry has carved a niche that provides special care and service to individuals in very unique and familiar settings.  It is an industry which has seen growth and stability financially over the years, but may not have kept the same pace with technology.

The demands of shortened hospital stays, aging seniors and other demographic characteristics has placed home health care in a unique opportunity that should promote growth and success in this new era.  Most recent trends have found that care given in the home tends to promote wellness and helps families optimize care in a familiar setting. The challenges of finding more efficient and effective ways to take care of the sick and elderly have not been matched to those of keeping with the economic times as well as the ever changing technology.  In order to for home health care to continue its trend of success they must be willing and able to find new ways to market their services by using the internet and other technology sources to grow their business and customer base.  One such source is the use of medically sensitive technology devices that provide more efficient and cost effective care of patients. Better use of time management, scheduling and payroll through the use of PDA’s and other tracking devices help home health care providers keep costs low and minimizes scheduling glitches. 

As the cost of health care rises, so does the challenge that home health care providers must once again find new ways to brand their services and get the word out to their customers.  Finding ways to market and brand in home health must be done in a responsible but effective way that not only protects the confidentiality of patients and their families, but allows the home health care provider avenues by which to stretch and grow in these ever changing  times.

The economy has been on the minds of everyone including the home health care provider who must now seize the day and seek out new and cost effective measures to meet customer demand while exacting change and keeping up with technology in this new era.

Given that working conditions comprise a major factor in job satisfaction among RNs(2) as well as all healthcare providers, a positive building environment can play an important role in how healthcare delivery personnel feel about their jobs.  Providing supportive positive working conditions, including building layout, temperature, lighting, noise, and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) can therefore contribute to the ability of medical personnel to perform their work well and maintain high morale.

To create and maintain building environments that support the highest possible levels of healthcare delivery – as well as overall professional staff satisfaction –focus on efficiently providing indoor comfort and proper Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).

IAQ affects healthcare staff satisfaction in several ways.  Improving IAQ, including proper air exchange, air flow and filtration, can contribute to lower rates of nosocomial infections, which results in longer patient stays and higher work loads for already stressed staff.   Better IAQ also benefits hospital personnel by helping to reduce their risk of contracting infections such as tuberculosis.

For proper IAQ, hospital ventilation and filtration systems must meet strict standards. Look to guidelines set out by The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the Joint Commission (JCAHO).

Temperature and Humidity

When regulating temperature and humidity, priorities must address patient health and healing as well as staff working conditions.  For example, in the operating room, set temperatures to suit the procedure being performed and materials used – as well as the personnel involved.  Surgeons and support staff often need to concentrate for long hours wearing layers of protective clothing and sub-optimal temperatures can lead to significant discomfort and sweating.

Consider that different spaces may also warrant specific requirements. Patient rooms will generally require warmer temperatures than surgical suites.  Ensure that the design – and control of – healthcare HVAC systems will allow both the precise, and customized, temperature control throughout the facility.

Noise and Light

In addition to air quality, temperature and humidity, noise can also directly affect the hospital atmosphere, impacting both workers and patients.  High noise levels can add to stress. Building equipment, including HVAC systems, should be selected and designed for minimal noise output.

Poor lighting has been linked to patient depression and medication errors (Designing, 2004). Hospitals can incorporate technologies, such as highly efficient fluorescent lighting, to achieve proper conditions for staff while saving energy. Lighting systems can be integrated in overall building automation environmental management solutions to provide centralized control as well as improve energy management and efficiency.

Centralized Monitoring and Reporting

In launching the industry’s Critical Hospital Systems Dashboard, Trane has provided hospital administrators and engineers with a tool that will not only save time and money by providing detailed environment of care documentation for Joint Commission reporting, but also allows hospital staff to continuously view, monitor, track, trend and report environmental conditions in all critical areas from a single location.  The Dashboard provides an immediate alarm signal if any critical parameter is exceeded so that staff may take immediate action to correct the situation.

Quality Staff and Environment

Improving patient outcomes can be a direct benefit of raising job satisfaction and lowering turnover among healthcare professionals.  Creating healthy, efficient, and comfortable hospital buildings is an integral element of achieving staff satisfaction and retention – worthy of ongoing attention, investment, and improvement.

By Melissa Rieman, Healthcare Market Leader, TRANE

Home Health: A Bridge in the Continuum of Care

By Patricia Driscoll

Continuity in care during and after a hospital stay is a goal shared across the health care industry.  Each provider -- be it the specialist or surgeon for the event that originated a hospital stay, the hospitalist or the primary care physician -- understands the negative effects of operating in silos within an increasingly complex and fragmented health care system.  A patient’s discharge from a facility back into the community can be one of the most critical points in maintaining continuity, because ineffective coordination often brings the patient back to the point of re-admission.

Advances in information technology, such as electronic health records, play an important role in information sharing, but technology plays only one, albeit critical, part in addressing continuity.  Home health care also serves as a valuable bridge between a hospital stay and the successful transition to independence at home. 

In addition to the provision of services such as skilled care and therapy, home health care staff serve as the clinical eyes and ears in the patient’s home, observing and filtering information on the patient’s progress after discharge.  This filter function increases efficiency for all providers following the patient.  Home care staff can assess a patient’s issues and alert the correct provider to facilitate follow-up where appropriate or simply provide reassurance to the patient and family.  Working as a part of the total care team, home care staff serves as a liaison or lifeline for the patient, identifying critical information that circumvents a trip to the emergency room or re-hospitalization. 

Assisting with continuity of care is one vital role home health care can play, but it’s also important to note the patient benefits of home health.  Patients are often eager to get out of the hospital, but anxious about leaving the security of around-the-clock care.  Home health once again serves as a bridge, facilitating patients’ recuperation and rehabilitation as they gain back their full independence at home. 

As health care in the United States evolves to meet the growing mandate for change across the industry, each provider segment must identify new ways for increased efficiencies.  Home health care can be a valuable partner in the continuum, increasing efficiency while maintaining the more important goal of better patient care.