Find qualified healthcare employees at this virtual job fair February
17 in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach
Consortium members are urged to participate in Hearts for Healthcare Virtual Career Fair being held Thursday, February 17, 11
a.m. to 2 p.m. by the joint efforts of three county workforce boards – Career
Source Broward, Career Source Palm Beach County and Career Source South Florida.
This important event is a great place to contact qualified healthcare jobseekers
and fill open staff positions. There is no
cost to participate. Consortium members can click here to register for a FREE virtual exhibit booth at the Healthcare Virtual Career
Fair. New to virtual hiring? Please view this 3-minute registration tutorial video. If you are not in Employ Florida, please use the “EF
Employer User Guide” to prepare for the event by creating an Employer
account in EmployFlorida.com (if
you do not currently have one). Participation is free, but pre-registration is
required.
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Ready to Lead?
Member organization leaders are encouraged to run for a seat
on the Consortium's Board of Directors. The Consortium's Board meets
quarterly, most often virtually, and Directors are expected to chair or co
chair a committee or initiative. To nominate yourself please send an
email to egues@nursingconsortium.us
addressing why you'd like to serve on the Consortium Board and what current or
new initiatives you'd like to advance as a Director.
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Consortium New Name
During the Consortium's regularly scheduled board meeting on the 14th of December, directors adopted a resolution to change the organization's name to the Nursing Consortium of Florida. This will be the third name change of the organization first established as the South Florida Nursing Shortage Consortium and became the Nursing Shortage Consortium of South Florida, prior to becoming the the Nursing Consortium of South Florida. "We now have member organizations from Tavernier in the
middle Keys to Sebring, a community just south of Orlando, and from Fort Lauderdale on
the east coast to Fort Myers on the gulf coast" noted Consortium president Maria Suarez who added, "we're all as close to one another as we are our computers and phones." "The degree of engagement by nurse leaders and emerging nurse leaders in Consortium initiatives has never been greater and the fact that it has all taken place in the midst of a pandemic attests to the value that we all place on collaboration." Directors voted for the name change to better communicate an openness to healthcare organizations, nursing schools, and other nurse employers interested in closer collaboration and joint initiatives to advance nursing. Consortium executive director Ralph Egues recently responded to a reporter question about the work underway at the Consortium in the midst of pandemic challenges, "We realized a long time ago that in good times and bad, we get to better together." We're delighted that new members in the Treasure Coast and across the state have joined us and we're grateful for the contribution that many employed at these organizations are already making as active committee members."
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New
Individual Memberships to keep retiring leaders engaged
"There
are numerous nurse leaders that though retired wish to contribute to
Consortium committee work, and I am pleased that our Board has approved a new
Individual Member category to facilitate their continued engagement,” remarked
Consortium president Maria Suarez. Those wishing to learn more about the
new membership category should click here. Despite this change, the Consortium will continue to
predominately be an organizational member driven organization.
"Membership at the organizational level has facilitated close
relationships with executive nurse leaders and provided opportunities for all
member entity nurse employees to engage as committee members and influence
Consortium programming," noted Consortium executive
director Ralph Egües, "That isn't changing, but we do want to
also facilitate engagement by retired nurse leaders that want to continue
advancing nursing."
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Cross Country shares lessons learned from the healthcare staffing
crisis of 2021
A recent article by Consortium member Cross Country
Healthcare takes a close look at what we have learned from the tough healthcare
staffing crisis of 2021. Cross Country says the severity and immediacy of
2021’s complex challenges spurred investigations and solutions to ongoing
issues – solutions that could vastly improve health care in the long run. The
article explores three of the most valuable lessons learned in 2021 – overarching
themes that will enhance our approach and outlook for 2022 and beyond. They are
the topics of 1) Reimagining roles of advanced
Practice Professionals; 2) Licensing, credentialing, and reimbursement changes to
expand healthcare access; and 3) Renewed focus on retention. The report underscores
the growing importance of the role of the Nurse Practicioner. The report also
notes how the expanding role of the Nurse Practitioner
may be a “secret weapon in
the fight against COVID and the future of healthcare. Please click here to read
more.
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Rising labor expenses continue to strain hospital finances
The latest issue of Kaufman Hall’s National
Hospital Flash Report says U.S. hospitals and health systems
continued to feel the pressures of rising expenses and nationwide labor
shortages. Volumes and margins remained depressed in November—before the highly
contagious Omicron variant was widespread in the United States—while expenses
remained highly elevated relative to pre-pandemic trends. COVID-19
hospitalizations jumped more than 25% over the course of the month, while
actual hospital margins narrowed. The median Kaufman Hall Operating Margin
Index was 2.7% in November, not including federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security (CARES) Act funding. With the aid, it was 4.1%. “Widespread
labor shortages are driving up already high labor expenses, posing significant
operational challenges for our nation’s hospitals,” said Erik Swanson, a senior
vice president of Data and Analytics with Kaufman Hall. “Hospitals are
grappling with higher labor costs despite lower staffing levels, due to intense
competition for qualified healthcare workers. In addition, the highly
contagious Omicron variant could put more pressure on hospitals in months to
come.”
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Cleveland Clinic Weston reaches milestone of 1,000 kidney
transplants
Consortium member
Cleveland Clinic’s Weston Hospital, Broward County’s largest
provider of solid organ transplantation, completed its 1,000th kidney
transplant recently when 48-year-old Fort Lauderdale resident Erskine Clark
received a kidney from a deceased donor.“Achieving this milestone shows the
tremendous need for organ transplantation services in South Florida and the
region,” said Rodolfo
J. Blandon, M.D., MBA, President of Cleveland Clinic’s Weston Hospital.
“Since the inception of our transplant program, we have had an outstanding team
that continues to provide highly specialized care to patients with complex
medical conditions. I am proud of the work that they continue to do.” Cleveland
Clinic’s Weston Hospital received approval from the United Network for Organ
Sharing (UNOS) to perform adult liver and kidney transplants in 2013 and adult
heart transplants in 2014. In addition to 1,000 kidney transplants, the center
has completed 375 liver and 198 heart transplantations to date. This
year, the Weston hospital also began performing living donor liver transplants.
Please click here to read more.
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Bank of America grants $500,000 to Baptist Health Foundation
for healthcare access to underserved communities
Bank of America has committed $500,000 to help Consumer
member Baptist Health’s Homestead Community Health Center extend vital
healthcare and treatment for uninsured and underinsured patients in the
community. The grant will be used to facilitate increased medical access,
funding various programs and needs such as medications, diagnostic testing,
specialty physician visits, care coaches and more. More often than not,
low-income, uninsured, or underinsured individuals living below the federal
poverty line with chronic diseases or conditions struggle to maintain their
health without a proper support system. Often, these individuals go without
essential vital medications or periodic doctor visits. Bank of America’s grant
will help address these health disparities in the Homestead area. Please click here to read more.
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FAU
Dementia Care model designated “Edge Runner’” by AAN
The American Academy of Nursing has honored a Dementia Care Model program at Consortium member Florida Atlantic University's nursing college as an “Edge Runner”
program. The AAN Edge Runners are nurse-designed, innovative models of care or
interventions with significant, demonstrated outcomes to improve health, impact
cost, and influence policy. The designated program was created by Florida Atlantic University’s María de los Ángeles
Ortega, DNP, APRN, GNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, CDP, FAANP, FAAN, in
FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing.
The program is named “A Caring Science Model of Specialized Dementia Care for
Transforming Practice and Advancing Health Equity.” Through its Edge Runners
program, the Academy recognizes the nursing profession’s contributions to new,
innovative ideas that transform the health system. Edge Runners represent the
powerful connection nurses have to the healthcare system, the public, and
society as they mark the essence of the profession – science and
compassion.
As life expectancies continue to grow and more families
are supporting individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease or Related Dementias
(ADRD), nurses and caregivers are at the forefront of facilitating healthy
environments for these patients. Please click here to read more.
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JPM 2022: Staffing expenses led to an extra $440M in
operating costs in 2021 for AdventHealth
AdventHealth experienced staffing increases last year
that led to an extra $440 million in operating costs according to a report from
the J.P. Morgan 2022 annual Healthcare Conference, by Robert King in Fierce
Healthcare’s special issue covering the event. The report said major disruptions in the
healthcare labor market caused the added cost. During the conference leadership
with the 38-hospital nonprofit system said during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare
Conference Monday that it is making more investments into its workforce
education system. Terry Shaw, president and CEO of AdventHealth said, “The
healthcare workforce has seen significant disruption, this includes early
retirements, a surge in remote work, the mobility of nursing labor and the
resetting of wage rates across numerous job categories,” Shaw added that over
the next nine years, the healthcare system is likely to see 1 million nurses
retire and a shortage of an additional 500,000 nurses. Please click here to
read more.
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Supreme
Court upholds health worker vaccine mandate
By a narrow margin of 5-4, the Supreme Court has allowed Health
and Human Services to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for employees at healthcare
facilities but blocked the federal government’s broader vaccine-or-mask mandate
for business employers with at least 100 employees. The rulings came three days after an emergency
measure passed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration began to
take effect on businesses. The business mandate required that workers at companies
with 100 or more employees get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid test
weekly to enter the workplace, and also required unvaccinated workers to wear
masks indoors at work. The decision to uphold the mandate for healthcare
workers overturns roadblocks from the lower courts and paves the way for the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to withhold Medicare funds
from provider organizations that do not comply with the order. According to the Biden administration, the mandate
will cover 10.4 million healthcare workers at 76,000 medical facilities. Biden
said, “We will enforce it.” The America Hospital Association has issued a
Special Bulletin in support of the court’s decision to uphold the mandate for
health workers. Please click here to read more.
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HRSA releases more resources on Provider Relief
Fund reporting portal
The Health Resources and Services Administration has released
several new resources to assist providers with
reporting their use of funds from the Provider Relief Fund. Providers who
received aggregate Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments exceeding $10,000 from
July 1, 2020 to December. 31, 2020 must report on their use of funds during
“Reporting Period 2.” The reporting portal for Reporting Period 2 is open January.
1 through March 31. The new resources include: a fact sheet describing updates and changes that were
made for Reporting Period 2; a guide describing how to report lost revenues,
including several options for their calculation; and other helpful tools.
Please click hereto read more.
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Updated COVID-19 prevention,
treatment information for clinicians
The federal government, through the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
has released a series of updated, clinically important information that may be
of critical interest as hospital leaders and staff work to provide patients
with the best possible protection and care against COVID-19. Highlights of
these updates are reported in a recent AHA Special Bulletin. The resources focus on patients’
vaccination prior to discharge to congregate, long-term care facilities and the
availability of therapeutics for COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe
outcomes. They include: vaccinating patients prior to discharge to
congregate settings; availability of therapeutics for Covid-19 patients at high
risk of severe outcomes (Monoclonal antibody therapeutics and Antiviral
medications); and Remdesivir. Please click here to
read more. |
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