August 28, 2009 - The Family Council Manual and Toolkit: A Guide for Creating and Sustaining Effective Nursing Home Family Councils is a practical handbook for family members interested in setting up a new family council as well as a comprehensive resource for more experienced leaders facing new issues or wanting to reinvigorate an existing council.
Tool
August 28, 2009 - With support from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and partial funding from The Commonwealth Fund, the Rhode Island Department of Health conducted a project called the Individualized Care Pilot.
Tool
August 28, 2009 - Based on the experiences of more than 400 nursing homes, the Staff Stability Toolkit is designed to serve as an evidence-based resource for nursing homes that are working to reduce staff turnover.
Tool
June 22, 2009 - Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) is a public–private partnership between the state and 14 nonprofit community care networks. The networks comprise essential local providers that deliver key components of a "medical home" for low-income adults and children enrolled in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Case Study
May 26, 2009 - Eighty-seven percent of patients recently discharged from Parkwest Medical Center said they would recommend the hospital to a family member or friend—a patient satisfaction level 19 percentage points higher than the national average.
Case Study
May 22, 2009 - At The Valley Hospital, hospital leaders exemplify on a daily basis the hospital's dedication to patient service. Each morning, the chief executive officer and chief financial officer visit patients.
Case Study
April 21, 2009 - The State Investment in Culture Change Toolkit, created by the Institute for the Future of Aging Services, the research arm of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, aims to help states play an active role in getting nursing homes to initiate or expand "culture change" efforts.
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April 21, 2009 - The Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut has released a report, A Framework for Child Health Services: Supporting Healthy Child Development and School Readiness of Connecticut's Children, that offers a strategic vision and a series of specific recommendations for strengthening and integrating children's health services into a comprehensive system of early childhood services.
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April 21, 2009 - Idaho Governor C. L. "Butch" Otter (R) discussed difficult choices during our "troubled times" in his January 12 "State of the State" address. He proposed a 7.5 percent budget cut for the state's Department of Health and Welfare, along with even greater cuts in other state agencies.
State Profile
April 21, 2009 - Since early January, state governors have been discussing health care in their annual "State of the State" addresses, despite not knowing exactly what the federal stimulus package or CHIP reauthorization would look like. Among the 40 speeches made through mid-February, the health policy messages varied in content and tone. The health-related provisions are summarized in an interactive feature.
State Profile
April 21, 2009 - New York Governor David Paterson (D) outlined four key health reform initiatives in his State of the State address on January 7: public coverage expansion, enrollment reforms, private insurance expansion for dependents, and multiple efforts to combat obesity.
State Profile
April 20, 2009 - Implementing Change in Long-Term Care: A Practical Guide to Transformation is a manual for nursing home staff that offers evidence-based recommendations on preparing a nursing home to take the first steps toward clinical and cultural changes, as well as methods to implement and sustain those changes.
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April 15, 2009 - A state employee health plan designated hospitals, and later primary care physician practices, that met certain performance criteria as "preferred" providers, and then gave employees incentives to use them. While this initiative appears to have improved the quality of care, its impact on costs has not yet been evaluated.
Case Study
April 14, 2009 - In 2005, under pressure to improve performance on indicators of financial well-being, patient satisfaction, and clinical quality, St. Mary's Health Center leadership made a deliberate decision to focus on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services process-of-care measures, or "core" measures.
Case Study
April 14, 2009 - Oklahoma Heart Hospital, a for-profit hospital in Oklahoma City, Okla., has consistently demonstrated high adherence to process-of-care or "core" measures and high patient satisfaction.
Case Study