Viewpoint: Strategies for Success

During Hispanic Heritage Month, Raul Yzaguirre Reminds Us of the Untold Stories that Must be Heard

By The SHSMD Team posted 6 days ago
Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, an annual time to celebrate the history, culture, legacy and influence of the Hispanic and Latino communities in the United States. UnidosUS , the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization (and a strategic partner of the American Hospital Association), hosted a ceremony on Sept. 14 honoring the life and legacy of civil rights activist Raul Yzaguirre. The event was held in Washington D.C. and over 200 attendees gathered to pay respect to Yzaguirre, who dedicated his life to fighting for justice and equality during a time when state-sanctioned discrimination against Latinos was legal ...
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During Hispanic Heritage Month, Raul Yzaguirre Reminds Us of the Untold Stories that Must be Heard

By The SHSMD Team posted 6 days ago
Raul Yzaguirre on September 14, 2022 at the UnidosUS ceremony honoring him. Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, an annual time to celebrate the history, culture, legacy and influence of the Hispanic and Latino communities in the United States. UnidosUS , the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization (and a strategic partner of the American Hospital Association), hosted a ceremony on Sept. 14 honoring the life and legacy of civil rights activist Raul Yzaguirre. The event was held in Washington D.C. and over 200 attendees gathered to pay respect to Yzaguirre, who dedicated his life to fighting for justice and equality ...
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Insights and inspirations from SHSMD Connections 2022

By The SHSMD Team posted 14 days ago
This blog was reposted with permission from Alan Shoebridge, SHSMD president-elect, and Associate Vice President for National Communication at Providence. Many of us said it repeatedly during the four days of SHSMD Connections 2022, but it was wonderful to see everyone in person at this year’s conference. After two years of disrupted live events, the agenda in Washington D.C. was packed with amazing speakers and inspiring content. All the sessions I attended lived up to my expectations, but a special mention needs to be made to recognize the keynote speakers who inspired the audience and encouraged us to help drive change in healthcare and in our ways ...
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CVS Health adds home health services. What’s next?

By The SHSMD Team posted 19 days ago
Shortly after announcing its $8 billion purchase last week of home health care provider Signify Health , CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch proclaimed that the house call is undergoing a “renaissance.” That’s a huge bet on the revival of a care delivery model that not long ago many considered a relic. But with technology changes and the growing flexibility of physicians and nurses to care for aging patients where they are most comfortable, CVS Health saw opportunity. And in the process, the retailer significantly expanded its care delivery reach. 4 ways the Signify Health purchase expands CVS’ reach 1 | More physicians to coordinate care. With the Signify ...
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Modern Space Planning: Eyes on the Horizon

By The SHSMD Team posted 08-30-2022
There’s more to facilities planning than selecting textiles and furniture. This nuanced field is charged with planning for a future they can’t see. Understanding how to navigate the unknowns can set the facilities planner up for success. Facilities of the Future “Keep your eyes out on the horizon and look out ahead,” advises Angelique Kennison, Director of Regional Clinical Planning at Maine Health. “A few months ago, I was at a conference and happened to sit next to a former fighter pilot. She shared with me that anytime she became overwhelmed with the noise and stimuli right in front of her, her mentor would remind her to stay focused on the ...
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Effective Leadership Through Communication

By The SHSMD Team posted 08-22-2022
When you consider your favorite world leaders, many of them were likely excellent communicators. Even on a smaller scale, those considered to be good leaders and bosses are often skilled at communication. Terri Flood, Vice President of Business Development at Wayne Healthcare, notes that “the ability to communicate as leaders, it helps us gain trust and confidence in our teams, and it also helps us to lead better from an employee engagement and patient outcome standpoint, which is important in healthcare leadership.” Not everyone has a natural aptitude for communication. Fortunately, this skill can be developed and improved so you’re equipped with the ...
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Five Thoughts on the State of COVID-19 Vaccination and the Road Ahead

By The SHSMD Team posted 08-11-2022
This is a confusing time in the public health emergency. Americans are thinking less about COVID-19 on a daily basis and many are eager to move on. But COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, as evidenced by quick spread of the new variant, and it will continue to be part of our lives for the foreseeable future. Getting more Americans vaccinated against the virus will help to move us out of the pandemic stage. We can do this by sharing the right message and using trusted messengers on multiple platforms. This is the focus of the AHA’s vaccine confidence initiative, supported by $3 million in grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ...
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Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time

By The SHSMD Team posted 08-09-2022
In America, productivity is valued. We get our sense of identity from work; how much we earn. Some might argue technology is to blame, because suddenly everyone had instant access to the office via their smartphone. But, this phenomenon was present even in the 1980s. That said, technology has certainly contributed to the endless busyness pervasive in Americans’ lives. “Some people think about it as almost a price of admission. That you have to be busy to show you're valuable and worthy,” states Brigid Shulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America. Physical and Mental Health Impact Shulte notes that some of the most powerful research today ...
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Keep the Goodwill Going: Post-Pandemic Engagement

By The SHSMD Team posted 07-29-2022
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the face of business around the world. In the field of healthcare marketing, it created a unique and timely opportunity to expand and strengthen community reach. Amy Stevens, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Tidelands Health, reinforces this sentiment. “We weren’t just healthcare providers in the pandemic, we were ordinary people living this unprecedented time. There was an overload of information and misinformation. In the early days of the pandemic, we didn’t know what we didn’t know. Everything was scary, and the information was changing so rapidly it was hard to trust anything. I think that heightened ...
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Creating an Environment for Retention with Internal Communications

By The SHSMD Team posted 07-25-2022
Health care systems are facing a crisis in retaining great employees and recruiting new ones. This perennial problem has only worsened through the pandemic. Internal marketing plays an important role in improving this situation, as well as the working lives of health care professionals. “Corporate communications are key to building workplace culture where teammates feel heard and seen,” according to Diette Casey, Corporate Communications Manager at Roper St. Francis Healthcare. “Corporate communications set the tone for the organization. It’s the voice of the organization. So, we need to see ourselves as playing an integral role in creating culture and therefore ...
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Analysis Finds 30% of Care Could Be Delivered Virtually. What’s Your Next Move?

By The SHSMD Team posted 07-18-2022
For all its promise, virtual care has its limitations. Most times, patients still need to be seen in person. Questions remain, however: How much of care can be reasonably moved to a virtual setting? What will the balance between in-person and virtual care look like in the future? How will virtual-first or virtual-only care companies integrate with the physical care environment going forward? In a recent analysis conducted by Second Opinion, a health-tech newsletter, and the digital health firm Omada found that about 30% of care can be delivered virtually. The conclusion was based on a review of more than 9,500 Category I CPT codes against a rubric of clinical ...
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6 Takeaways from a Change Forecast for the Future from Vizient/Sg2

By The SHSMD Team posted 07-12-2022
No one ever said coming out of a pandemic would be easy. And if the recent Change Forecast from Vizient and its Sg2 subsidiary is any indication, health care leaders will have to plan carefully to capitalize on future opportunities to rebound and grow. Optimizing workforce retention, recruitment and development will be critical over the next decade as hospitals and health systems adjust to what is expected to be a changing landscape in patient volumes, higher-acuity levels, increased length of stay and preferred sites for care delivery. 6 takeaways from the Change Forecast 1 | Slow growth for inpatient volumes … with two key caveats. Adult ...
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Need Help Evaluating Mental Health Apps? New AHRQ Brief Offers Direction

By The SHSMD Team posted 06-28-2022
With the explosive growth in mental health and wellness mobile apps for traditionally underserved populations, patients and providers largely have been left to make their own conclusions about the programs’ safety and efficacy and what consumer protections they offer. Recognizing that this can be a daunting task, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently issued a technical brief, “ Evaluation of Mental Health Mobile Applications ” to aid providers, patients, payers and others. The document provides a framework to assist stakeholders in technology evaluation for recovery and to help in appraising and selecting mental health mobile apps ...
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3 ways to advance digital disruption

By The SHSMD Team posted 06-21-2022
Bobby Mukkamala, M.D., American Medical Association board chairman, recently shared an interesting anecdote about his wife, an OB-GYN, and the state of health care digital transformation. He noted that she performs robotic surgery and then goes back to her office to fax information from the surgery to the patient’s primary care physician. “It’s like if Fred Flintstone and George Jetson lived in the same era,” Mukkamala said at Modern Healthcare’s recent Transformation Summit . While humorous, the illustration is a metaphor about how significantly health care has evolved in some operational areas and how far it still needs to go in others. Addressing this ...
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3 ways to meet the digital challenge from retail disruptors

By The SHSMD Team posted 06-14-2022
Health care’s digital transformation has been hastened by many factors, not the least of which is competition from consumer-savvy retailers in the primary care space. Companies like Amazon, Walmart, CVS Health and Walgreens have deep pockets and technology budgets that dwarf those of hospitals and health systems. This has enabled these disruptors to enjoy some unique advantages in geographic convenience, supply chain logistics, right-sized skilled staffing levels and marketing, notes Laura Kreofsky, vice president of strategy at Pivot Point Consulting, in a recent interview . These market realities have made it imperative for hospitals and health systems ...
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4 Keys to Delivering Superior Virtual Care

By The SHSMD Team posted 05-31-2022
Across the nation, hospitals and health systems are reshaping virtual care programs to be more accessible, affordable and responsive to patients, clinicians and care teams. The challenge is: How do you capture best practices of in-person visits and evidence-based medicine while adapting to the unique setting of virtual care? Four leaders of clinical transformation, innovation and marketing from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School recently shared a blueprint in the Harvard Business Review . The so-called “DIBS” framework — documentation, integration, best practices and support ...
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3 Effective Ways to Support Team Mental Health

By The SHSMD Team posted 05-18-2022
At this point in the pandemic, the countless hours writing and rewriting messages or taking on new tasks with zero experience may have taken a toll on you and your team. If you’re still trying to process the myriad of emotions generated by this pandemic and return to a pseudo-normal work life, you’re not alone. In their 2022 Mind the Workplace Report*, Mental Health America says the stress from work has led to other mental health concerns for 78% of surveyed employees. Additionally, 71% of employees find it difficult to concentrate at work compared to 65% in 2021 and 46% in 2018. Citation: Adams, T & Nguyen, T (February 2022). Mind the Workplace ...
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4 Health Care Workforce Moves to Make Now

By The SHSMD Team posted 05-10-2022
Front-line staffing shortages and fallout from the pandemic have caused hospitals and health systems to adjust their workforce strategies. Some are raising pay or offering more attractive benefits, housing or child care assistance and greater flexibility to attract and retain physicians, nurses and other personnel. Others are expanding mental health benefits to help employees cope with stress, fatigue and burnout. Responding to the challenge Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems will expand its benefits by roughly $40 million per year among its 66,000 staff. The new benefits are designed to help employees eliminate student loan debt quicker, ...
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SHSMD Members Discuss How to Build Public Trust and Confidence in Health Care

By The SHSMD Team posted 05-02-2022
Trust is the foundation to any relationship, and it is no different for health care providers and the communities they serve. A recent Edelman report gauging global trust in health care systems shows trust is a key determinant of health for both individual and public health care decisions. In the U.S., 48% of survey respondents felt decreased confidence in their health care system in handling a major health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled conversations regarding trust in health care systems among communities, adding new pressures to health care marketing, communication and strategy teams. At a recent SHSMD Member Meet Up, Building Public Trust ...
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SHSMD’s Top Workforce Roundup: April 27, 2022

By The SHSMD Team posted 04-26-2022
SHSMD would like to facilitate conversations, resources and strategies for its members as the field experiences transitions and a need for implementation of workforce solutions. Please visit the AHA workforce homepage for a host of resources that you can use and customize for your community. New Workforce Resources: AHA Action Alert - Urge Congress to Support Hospitals as They Contend with Many Challenges to Ensure Access to Care in Communities AHA Resources CASE STUDY - Preventing Physician Suicide: Center for WorkLife Wellbeing PODCAST - Addressing Workforce Challenges in America's Health Care Systems (featuring Elisa Arespacochaga ...
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