October 2021 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review
ON THE COVER
10 signs your board has a strong pulse
Great systems are usually governed by great boards, who are made up of people who match the following 10 descriptions.
When a nursing shortage and COVID-19 collide: How 4 CNOs are responding
Ask any nursing leader about their greatest challenge and they'll likely point to staffing. If hospitals weren't already feeling the effects of a severe nursing shortage, a nationwide rise in hospitalizations fueled by the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant has made the effects of it unmistakable.
5 questions hospital CEOs want answered — and why
Hospital and health system CEOs have a lot on their minds, including questions about the healthcare workforce, meeting patients' digital expectations and navigating the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A breakdown of Google Health in 2021: 15 things leading up to division's dismantling
Google has begun dissolving its health division as it looks to split its healthcare projects and teams across several areas of the company, Insider reported Aug. 20.
AdventHealth buys theme park for $32M, plans redevelopment
Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth has acquired The Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Fla., for $32 million, the Orlando Business Journal reported Aug. 5.
Parents hit with $270K medical bill over 'birthday rule' inspire changes
In January, a Kansas couple shared the story of how they received a $270,951 medical bill after the birth of their first child — even though they're both insured. Now, a state representative is proposing legislation to ensure stories like theirs don't happen again.
14 latest hospital closures
From reimbursement landscape challenges to dwindling patient volumes, many factors lead hospitals to shut down. In the past year, financial damage linked to the COVID-19 pandemic has put many hospitals in a fragile financial position and forced a few to close.
Big corporations may be eyeing your system's top physician
The chief medical officer role has been a mainstay for hospitals and health systems, but COVID-19 is motivating other corporations like PepsiCo, Delta Air Lines and Tyson Foods to add a CMO to their executive teams, according to Bloomberg.
20 health systems named top employers for women
Here are the top 20 health systems to work at for women, according to a July 27 Forbes report.
The new era of clinician technologists: Cleveland Clinic CIO's 'aha' moment
Matthew Kull, CIO of Cleveland Clinic, joined the Becker's Healthcare podcast to discuss where technology to support clinical leaders is headed and Cleveland Clinic's global initiatives.
19 hospital execs name the health IT terms that make them cringe
Everybody needs to vent sometimes, even those running the technology strategy at a hospital or health system. Below, 19 healthcare executives share the health IT terms and buzz words they find overused, annoying or cringeworthy.
Don't let the term 'elective' fool you, physicians urge the public
As a growing number of hospitals pressed for resources due to the COVID-19 surge suspend elective surgeries, some healthcare professionals want the public to know exactly how important an "elective" procedure can be.
Thousands of patients received heart pump with known safety issues, ProPublica finds
A heart pump with a history of manufacturing and quality issues was implanted into thousands of patients even after the FDA was aware the device did not meet federal standards, according to an investigative report ProPublica published Aug. 5.
Alexa Kimball, MD
All busy professionals understand that time pressure creates stress, and that stress leads to mistakes. For physicians in particular, those mistakes can be truly costly. Yet physicians often make poor — and avoidable — decisions about marginal time and marginal cost by undervaluing their time. Fortunately, simple strategies and a shift in thinking about spending money to create more time can improve well-being and professional performance.
Naomi Cramer
COVID-19 is surging again across the country, and frontline healthcare professionals in hotspots are facing overwhelming caseloads. The extreme and extended pressures of the pandemic will leave behind long-term changes to our workplace. Employers must now apply what we've learned to help shape the future by creating the best possible experience for our workforce, just as we do for patients.
Sophia Thomas, DNP
For Sophia Thomas, DNP, an unlikely spark lit her passion for nursing: a severe case of appendicitis at age 13.
Marc Harrison, MD
Marc Harrison, MD, CEO of Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, joined the Becker's Healthcare podcast to talk about healthcare delivery transformation and building an innovative organization.
Maneesh Goyal
In May, two of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S. — Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente and Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic — made a joint strategic investment in Medically Home Group, a Boston-based tech services company that powers hospital-at-home programs.
Michelle Crain, MSN, RN
Michelle Crain, MSN, RN, vice president of the cardiovascular service line, administrator and COO of Heart Hospital of Lafayette (La.), shared her top leadership advice during a recent episode of the Becker's Healthcare cardiology podcast.
Bill Gassen
Bill Gassen was promoted to president and CEO of Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health in November, replacing Kelby Krabbenhoft at the helm of the 46-hospital system.
Darrell Bodnar
Darrell Bodnar, CIO of North Country Healthcare in Lancaster, N.H., joined the Becker's Healthcare podcast to talk about major challenges for rural healthcare and exciting technology for the future.
Rick Evans
Reading headlines this week, many of us are experiencing déjà vu. Is it summer 2020 or summer 2021?
CFO / FINANCE
CMS' final inpatient payment rule for 2022: 7 things to know
CMS released its annual Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule Aug. 2, which increases Medicare payment rates for acute care hospitals and removes some price transparency requirements.
Mount Sinai Health System launches $2B capital campaign
Mount Sinai Health System has launched a capital campaign to raise $2 billion by 2025, the New York City-based system said Aug. 9.
AdventHealth buys theme park for $32M, plans redevelopment
Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth has acquired The Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Fla., for $32 million, the Orlando Business Journal reported Aug. 5.
Parents hit with $270K medical bill over 'birthday rule' inspire changes
In January, a Kansas couple shared the story of how they received a $270,951 medical bill after the birth of their first child — even though they're both insured. Now, a state representative is proposing legislation to ensure stories like theirs don't happen again.
Tenet to shed $1.1B of debt
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare plans to retire $1.1 billion of debt in September, the company said Aug. 11.
CEO/STRATEGY
5 questions hospital CEOs want answered — and why
Hospital and health system CEOs have a lot on their minds, including questions about the healthcare workforce, meeting patients' digital expectations and navigating the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arkansas hospital CEO resigns after 2 no-confidence votes
Scott Street has resigned as CEO of El Dorado-based Medical Center of South Arkansas, according to a hospital statement shared with Becker's Aug. 24.
Seattle Children's 21-page anti-racism plan: 5 things to know
An independent review of Seattle Children's found the organization hasn't properly addressed systemic racism. On Sept. 1, the hospital released its action plan to "become the anti-racist organization you expect us to be," Susan Betcher, hospital board chair, and CEO Jeff Sperring, MD, said.
New York hospital gets 1st physician president in 93 years
Mount Sinai South Nassau has named Adhi Sharma, MD, its president, effective Sept. 1. He will be the first physician to lead the Oceanside, N.Y.-based hospital in its 93-year history, according to a news release shared with Becker's Aug. 17.
US News' Best Hospitals 2021-22 Honor Roll
U.S. News & World Report released its best hospitals rankings for 2021-22 on July 27, with Mayo Clinic earning the top spot for the sixth consecutive year.
WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP
15 best, worst states for working women in 2021
The top three states and territories to work in for women are Oregon, California and New York, while the worst state was North Carolina, according to an August ranking by Oxfam America.
Zoom fatigue harder on women, new employees
Women and new employees are more likely to be fatigued by Zoom meetings than their colleagues, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
UPMC's new CEO Leslie Davis talks leadership style, growth strategy
Leslie Davis has been chosen to succeed Jeffrey Romoff as president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based UPMC. Her first day on the job was Aug. 1, the health system said.
Viewpoint: If you want more women in your C-suite, try these 3 things
Many companies are focusing on diversity and inclusion in their recruitment strategies, but some are still far behind equality. An investment fund partner shared three strategies for leaders seeking to put more women in the C-suite, according to an Aug. 10 op-ed published in Fortune.
#GiveHerAReasonToStay campaign takes off, calls on employers to better support women in healthcare
Women have been flocking from the medical field during the pandemic, and a Harvard physician launched a gender equity campaign to encourage employers to support their female employees and bring awareness to why they are leaving.
INNOVATION
5 healthcare innovation trends to keep a close eye on
As healthcare's digital transformation continues, new trends arise each year. Below are five innovation trends to which health systems' innovation leaders have been paying especially close attention in 2021:
Penn Medicine to launch health informatics center
Penn Medicine is launching a new health informatics center this fall that will focus on health data projects across the Philadelphia-based health system's innovation and information services departments, the health system said July 26.
No. 1 thing to seek in an innovation investment? Mayo Clinic, Northwell & 4 other systems answer
As more health systems make investments in digital health startups to help address unmet needs in the healthcare industry, it is imperative that their selection process have a clear strategy.
Why some hospitals might not be ready for digital health investments
Investments in new digital health technologies are a gamble many hospitals might not be ready to take, according to an Aug. 17 report in The Washington Post.
Amazon, Olive team up to bring cloud automation to 950 hospitals
Olive has unveiled a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services to use AWS' cloud computing to make its healthcare platform faster and more affordable for 950 hospitals in 40 states.
CIO/HEALTH IT
A breakdown of Google Health in 2021: 15 things leading up to division's dismantling
Google has begun dissolving its health division as it looks to split its healthcare projects and teams across several areas of the company, Insider reported Aug. 20.
1.3 million affected after Las Vegas hospital cyberattack
There were 1.3 million people affected in a cyberattack on Las Vegas-based University Medical Center, the hospital reported to HHS on Aug. 13.
Epic pays hospitals that use its EHR algorithms, report finds
Verona, Wis.-based EHR giant Epic gives financial incentives to hospitals and health systems that use its artificial intelligence algorithms, which can provide false predictions, according to a July 26 STAT News investigation.
Why HIPAA is widely misunderstood
Even before the advent of social media and the ease of the rapid spread of health misinformation, the HIPAA privacy law has often been the subject of misinterpretation, The New York Times reported July 23.
Average chief data officer tenure just 2.5 years: 7 things to know
Decades ago, "CIO" was repeatedly joked to be an abbreviation for "career is over." Now, chief data officer may have taken the crown as the IT role with the shortest tenure, according to an Aug. 18 Harvard Business Review report.
CMO/CARE DELIVERY
When a nursing shortage and COVID-19 collide: How 4 CNOs are responding
Ask any nursing leader about their greatest challenge and they'll likely point to staffing. If hospitals weren't already feeling the effects of a severe nursing shortage, a nationwide rise in hospitalizations fueled by the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant has made the effects of it unmistakable.
Cleveland's University Hospitals changes organ transplant protocol after kidney mix-up
University Hospitals in Cleveland is strengthening its organ transplant procedures after a patient received a kidney meant for another patient, Cleveland.com reports.
Breakthrough COVID-19 infection risk may differ with vaccine type, early Mayo Clinic research suggests
People who received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine may be less likely to experience a breakthrough infection compared to Pfizer vaccine recipients, findings published Aug. 8 in preprint server medRxiv suggest.
Don't let the term 'elective' fool you, physicians urge the public
As a growing number of hospitals pressed for resources due to the COVID-19 surge suspend elective surgeries, some healthcare professionals want the public to know exactly how important an "elective" procedure can be.
Long COVID-19 among children rare, study suggests
Among 1,734 children in the U.K. with a COVID-19 infection, less than 5 percent had symptoms that lasted four weeks or longer, suggesting long COVID-19 is rarer in children than adults, according to research published Aug. 3 in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health found.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
The underappreciated value of marginal time: Freeing up the right kinds of time can reduce burnout
All busy professionals understand that time pressure creates stress, and that stress leads to mistakes. For physicians in particular, those mistakes can be truly costly. Yet physicians often make poor — and avoidable — decisions about marginal time and marginal cost by undervaluing their time. Fortunately, simple strategies and a shift in thinking about spending money to create more time can improve well-being and professional performance.
Reimagining the healthcare workforce after COVID-19
COVID-19 is surging again across the country, and frontline healthcare professionals in hotspots are facing overwhelming caseloads. The extreme and extended pressures of the pandemic will leave behind long-term changes to our workplace. Employers must now apply what we've learned to help shape the future by creating the best possible experience for our workforce, just as we do for patients.
Dr. Sophia Thomas: Let NPs be allies as healthcare faces physician shortage
For Sophia Thomas, DNP, an unlikely spark lit her passion for nursing: a severe case of appendicitis at age 13.
Intermountain CEO's secret to building an innovative exec team
Marc Harrison, MD, CEO of Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, joined the Becker's Healthcare podcast to talk about healthcare delivery transformation and building an innovative organization.
Mayo, Kaiser execs detail their joint investment in Medically Home
In May, two of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S. — Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente and Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic — made a joint strategic investment in Medically Home Group, a Boston-based tech services company that powers hospital-at-home programs.