Last Thursday MHA released the Caring for the Caregiver Task Force Report that focuses on challenges relating to worker safety, wellbeing, engagement, and development and deployment of staff.
  
Task force membership consisted of representatives from hospitals, behavioral health, home care, secondary education, community providers, patient and family advocacy, government and independent regulatory organizations, nursing and physician organizations, insurers, and labor and nursing unions. It was convened in the wake of the 2018 Question 1 nurse staffing ballot question, when the healthcare system pledged to work together to address the challenges facing its workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic placed further importance on this work. Mark Keroack, M.D., the president & CEO of Baystate Health, and Donna Glynn, R.N., associate dean at Regis College co-chaired the task force.
  
Separate workgroups tackled each of the four focus areas, identifying the challenges and outlining a series of best practices that facilities can adopt, while recognizing there is no one-size-fits-all way to address workforce challenges across all providers. 
  
The safety section aims at preventing and managing issues that result in harm to an employee, including physical, mental, and emotional harm. This includes both workplace violence and worker injury. The engagement section addresses fostering a workplace culture and environment that embodies the defined values of each organization and supports a productive workforce. Wellbeing aims at fostering comprehensive programs and leadership commitment to a culture that supports caregivers with their physical, emotional, mental, and financial health; social connectivity; and a sense of fulfilment on the job. The broad workforce section was divided into two parts: development and pipeline, aimed at advancing the skills of healthcare workers and bolstering the number of available applicants; and deployment of staff in a manner that is most optimal to care delivery.
  
MHA has also launched new Caring for the Caregiver webpages on its PatientCareLink site, where MHA will post workforce-related resources on a rolling basis.

Burnout among healthcare professionals has been a concern even before COVID-19 struck and the pandemic has placed even more attention on the stresses that caregivers face.
  
Last week, a bill to prevent suicide, burnout, and behavioral health disorders among healthcare professionals – the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act -- was reintroduced in the U.S. Congress. Named after an ED doctor at a New York hospital, who died by suicide during the height of the pandemic, the bill authorizes grants for providers to create programs to assist front-line workers, and requires federal studies on burnout and for campaigns to encourage health workers to seek assistance. The bill was introduced by Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Congresswoman Susan Wild (D-Penn.) and has bipartisan support.
  
In a related action, last week MHA shared with members recommendations on how to address a clinician’s mental health issues during the credentialing process. The Joint Task Force on Physician Burnout, created by the Massachusetts Medical Society and MHA, endorses guidance from The Joint Commission and the Federal of State Medical Boards that encourages hospitals and physician practices to focus on the applicant’s present condition as opposed to probing about past mental health treatment. Voluminous evidence on burnout shows that the perceived stigma associated with the pressures of dealing with caregiver stress often inhibits people from seeking help. The Joint Commission “strongly encourages organizations to not ask about past history of mental health conditions or treatment.”
  
Instead, an appropriate question is: “Do you presently have a physical or mental health condition, including alcohol or substance dependence, that affects or is likely to affect your ability to perform professional or medical staff duties appropriately?”
  
The Federation of State Medical Boards says focusing on current impairment as opposed to past treatment “may be more meaningful in the context of a physician’s ability to provide safe care to patients in the immediate future.”

This Wednesday, March 10, will mark one year since a state of emergency was declared in Massachusetts due to COVID-19. In the time since, more than 500,000 residents have contracted the virus and over 16,000 lives have been lost statewide. The healthcare system has navigated a seemingly endless stream of challenges, while also pushing forth innovation that will be a permanent part of the patient experience.
  
As Massachusetts soberly marks these difficult 365 days, the promise surrounding the COVID-19 vaccination effort continues to grow. 
  
“For our hospitals and healthcare providers, this has been a year of heartbreak and perpetual uncertainty. But it has also been one of remarkable unity and commitment to our patients,” reflected MHA President & CEO Steve Walsh. “We are proud that, for every day of the past year, hospital doors have remained open. We are grateful for how our providers and elected leaders have come together to take on this crisis. And, most of all, we are continually awestruck by the resolve of our caregivers and community members. With this new year comes new hope, and our healthcare community remains energized to take on every challenge that lies ahead.”

Acute care hospitals are reminded that they have until April 1 to submit admission, discharge, and transfer (ADT) data to a certified Event Notification Service (ENS) vendor. The state’s ENS framework facilitates the provision of patients’ ADT data sharing across the commonwealth. When providers subscribe to an ENS vendor, they can exchange alerts with all providers subscribed to the same vendor. To expand their service, ENS vendors can partner to interconnect their ENS systems into an ENS network in which each system shares all incoming alerts with the interconnected systems. The Executive Office of Health & Human Services has contracted with Collective Medical Technologies and PatientPing as certified ENS vendors. Learn more about ENS here.

With cases of Ebola identified in Congo and Guinea, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an order requiring all airlines transporting individuals from those countries to collect contact information about their passengers arriving in the U.S. Airlines arriving from the two countries can only land at six airports in the U.S.: New York’s John F. Kennedy International; Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International; Newark’s Liberty International; Chicago’s O’Hare International; Los Angeles International; and Washington Dulles International. The CDC urged all providers to review its Ebola guidance on protection control and use of personal protective equipment. The last Ebola outbreak occurred in 2013 to 2016. The World Health Organization stated last Friday that it is concerned that the countries bordering Guinea are not prepared to handle the potential spread of Ebola.

Risky Business is a series of patient safety conferences that have been held worldwide in London, Boston, Toronto, and Cape Town since 2006. This year, healthcare organizations across Massachusetts are working together to present this two-hour virtual event, where speakers will discuss topics such as equity, leadership, decision-making, teamwork, stamina, and managing logistical challenges. MHA has been a part of the planning effort for this event. The free event takes place on Thursday, April 15 from noon to 2 p.m. To register, click here.
 

Leading the Conversation: MHA's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Healthcare Conference

Thursday, March 25; 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET

 

Have you ever wondered how to catalyze systemic change in the healthcare field? Join local and national experts at MHA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Healthcare Conference to learn and discuss topics such as anti-racism in the healthcare context, dismantling systemic racism, and what it will take to achieve equity. The virtual event will feature a riveting keynote address, a panel discussion on mitigating vaccine hesitancy in communities of color, and thought leadership on how to advocate for change in the healthcare space at the policy and community level. Register today!