Big hearts wanted in eldercare 3 Mercy, Mayo are data partners 6 Rural sisters pull up stakes 8 PERIODICAL RATE PUBLICATION
SEPTEMBER 1, 2022
Ministry nursing home operators manage through financial strains
Assaults on staff, weapons on campus have health systems tightening security By JULIE MINDA
Mass shootings at a grade school, a grocery and a Fourth of July parade have left people across the U.S. feeling despondent and unsafe. Especially given that one such rampage happened in a medical office building at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in late spring, ministry leaders are asking what more can be done to protect patients and staff not only from the unpredictable savagery of mass shootings which are extremely rare in health facilities, but also from the increasingly common threats and physical assaults against health care staff. An ongoing focus is on ensuring employees have an awareness of potential threats and an understanding of how to respond if
CHRISTUS Health security officers Gabriel Briseno, left, and Darryl W. Flowers patrol at The Children's Hospital of San Antonio. CHRISTUS Health is among the many health care systems that have been reevaluating security protocols as assaults against health care workers become more common. Madeline Layton, left, a visitor to Benedictine Living Community — Dickson in North Dakota, shares some puppy love with resident Irene Kessel. The puppy's name is Captain Jack. The Dickson campus has independent and assisted living as well as skilled nursing and rehabilitation services. By JULIE MINDA
A longtime plea to state and federal government from the nation’s eldercare sector is resounding again as inflation claws at a low-margin industry weakened by COVID-19: Medicaid reimbursements are so low they threaten the viability of many facilities caring for frail and impoverished patients. Medicare pays more than Medicaid for skilled nursing care, covering up to 100 days of care for patients after hospital stays of three or more days. Medicare, along with private pay patients, have subsidized Medicaid shortfalls in many nursing home facilities. But not all eldercare facilities can afford the décor and upgrades to attract private pay patients and Medicare reimbursements are under pressure too. In June, 22 U.S. senators wrote to the
VOLUME 38, NUMBER 14
Monkeypox prompts concern, but not alarm, from infectious disease specialists By LISA EISENHAUER
In Dr. Jorge Parada’s view, the declaration of monkeypox as a national health emergency is both blessing and potential curse. Parada is medical director and committee chair of infection control and protection at Loyola Medicine, which is based in suburban Chicago and a member system of Trinity Health. He said the declaration that the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services issued Aug. 4 frees up resources to expand testing, treatment and
Continued on 2
Continued on 4
The history
How it spreads
The virus was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of research monkeys. Despite its name, the source of the disease remains unknown. The first human case was recorded in 1970.
Monkeypox can spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact including direct contact with monkeypox rash, scabs or body fluids; touching objects, fabrics and surfaces that have been used by someone with the virus; and contact with respiratory secretions.
Contagious cycle A person can spread monkeypox to others from the time symptoms start until the rash has fully healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed. The illness typically lasts two to four weeks.
Who should get the vaccine The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccination for people who have been exposed to the virus and people who are at higher risk of being exposed.
FACTS ABOUT MONKEYPOX
Continued on 6
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Avera Academy opens career paths in health care for high school seniors
Avera Health
By KATHLEEN NELSON
Elizabeth West, an alumni of Avera Academy, works as an imaging services assistant for Avera McKennan Hospital & University Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, while she pursues coursework in medical sonography at nearby Southeast Technical College.
Elizabeth West walked into her high school guidance counselor’s office three years ago with a vague notion that she might want to work in a lab someday. But no one in her family had attended college, so she was unaware of the challenges and opportunities in pursuing a postsecondary education. She walked out with information on Avera Academy, a fledgling two-semester program offering seniors in the Sioux Falls School District in South Dakota the chance to earn credit at nearby Southeast Technical College and shadow employees at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center.
She decided to apply because Avera would pay all expenses for the courses which yielded college and high school credits simultaneously. Since then, she has graduated from high school, been accepted into a selective sonography program and started working as an imaging services assistant at Avera while she finishes her degree program. And West and the 70-plus participants who are enrolled in or alumni of Avera Academy have earned much more. “What I see isn’t just the hard outcomes but how the students grow from the exposure to so many careers and the confidence they build,” says Shantel Krebs, administrator of Avera Academy. Continued on 7
“
What I see isn’t just the hard outcomes but how the students grow from the exposure to so many careers and the confidence they build.” — Shantel Krebs