What they're doing: Hospital case managers are the utility infielders of healthcare, plugging gaps in the care process that might be invisible to others. Despite the job's importance, health systems don't always give case managers the support they need. But that's not the case at Morton Plant Mease Health Care, a non-profit, four-hospital system that just won a Joint Commission award for its case management training and development efforts. Not only has Morton Plant fostered close collaboration between nursing and social work, executives have also taken time to make sure each side of the house understands the other's unique needs. At the same time, the system has developed an internship for professionals--primarily nurses and social workers--that want to become case managers, providing both classroom instruction and clinical training. Morton Plant's management team, including CEO Philip Beauchamp, has also worked to make sure case managers get a hearing when they run into bureaucratic obstacles.
The program has had several valuable results, including warmer relationships between clinical staff and social workers and better patient outcomes. And because it offers professional training, the initiative has given the health system a leg up in staffing case management openings. All told, it's a smart approach to a function that, too often, doesn't get much attention until something goes wrong.
Links:
[1] http://www.mpmhealth.com/
[2] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospital-innovators/2007/cedarssinaimedicalcenter
[3] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospital-innovators/2007