healthcare facilities

While $25 million is a drop in the bucket, it's still noteworthy to see HHS stepping up to the problem of emergency department capacity and preparedness for public health emergencies. The agency... Read more...

A budget impasse in the California legislature has tied up a major chunk of cash, putting reimbursement for a wide range of facilities on hold for the time being. While providers like physicians,... Read more...

A new study by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) found two concerns--infection control and building improvements--seem to be foremost in its members' minds. The ACHE, which... Read more...

As FierceHealthcare readers know, last year the state of New York embarked on what may be the most aggressive Read more...

A new report by the Ohio Department of Health has given public health officials a new target to consider. The report, which focused on the state's 210 hospitals and 966 nursing homes, concluded that there were about 14,300 cases of Clostridium difficile infections last year in the state's healthcare facilities. Tracking this bug has become particularly important as the mortality rate from such infections has climbed. C. diff.-related deaths in Ohio have shot up 325 percent between the …

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The results are in from Indiana's first in-depth look at medical errors made in its hospitals and healthcare facilities. The Indiana Medical Error Reporting System, which requires facilities to share information on 27 "serious reportable events," completed its first full year last year. According to the data reported to the state, 77 serious medical errors occurred at the state's 287 hospitals and healthcare facilities last year. Seventy-two of the 77 errors occurred at hospitals, …

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It's well-known that the healthcare provided in some prison systems--such as California's--is minimal at best. To draw attention to the issue, healthcare workers with the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare West have been planning strikes at prison healthcare facilities, arguing that understaffing at these facilities is endangering patient health. However, the SEIU has reached a breakthrough in its talks with Prison Health Services, which may lead to calling off the strikes. Release

OK, the connection may be indirect. But the connection is there, say researchers from The Center for Health Design (CHD), which works to improve healthcare through evidence-based healthcare design. The physical environment of health organizations helps improve the health and safety of staff members, increasing care effectiveness, reducing errors and boosting job satisfaction. And that helps keep employees on board, according to a new paper published by CHD. Admittedly, they note, …

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Though reducing injuries at healthcare facilities is a complex process, managers can make a start by taking ten straightforward steps, according to healthcare consultant Patricia Gibson, who recently gave a talk at the National Safety Council's annual congress. Suggested steps include doing a baseline analysis providing a snapshot of when, where and why injuries currently occur, setting priorities focusing the worst injury problems, developing a written plan for improvement, enlisting employee and management support and publicly rewarding good results. Article

When in comes to healthcare, people seem to be in a giving mood. Charitable donations to U.S. healthcare facilities and organizations set a new record for growth during the last fiscal year, according to a new research report from the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. Donations climbed 16 percent, to $7.01 billion, during fiscal 2005. Most of these funds (60 percent) came from individuals, while 18.2 percent came from businesses, 12.7 percent from foundations and 9.9 percent from a …

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