CURRENT RESEARCH AND NEWS

New ED-Based HIV Testing Guide Is Online

Emergency department-based HIV testing can be effective for screening hard-to-reach populations. To guide clinicians and administrators through planning, implementing, or expanding ED-based HIV testing programs, HRET has developed a Web-based operational guide. This comprehensive resource is based on interviews and site visits with EDs that have pioneered ED-based HIV testing. Access the guide at www.edhivtestguide.org.

HSR Special Theme Issue Call for Papers – Deadline is September 7

The call for papers deadline for the Health Services Research special theme issue supported by AHRQ on Improving Efficiency and Value in Health Care is September 7.

Federal and state policymakers, along with private payers and systems leaders, are seeking new ways to reduce waste, increase efficiency of health care delivery, and allocate resources to improve value in health care. Consumers also seek guidance on how to maximize the value of their own health care dollar, particularly since some payer innovations have increased consumers’ financial exposure.

HSR is interested in publishing the best research that addresses these issues and also contributes to the national debate and collective interest about health care during election years.

Click here for more information.

Janet Corrigan Honored at TRUST Award Reception

Mary Pittman, Gail Warden, Janet Corrigan, and Fred Hessler at the 2007 TRUST Award

Janet Corrigan, president and CEO of the National Quality Forum, was honored July 22, 2007, in San Diego as the 2007 TRUST Award recipient. In her remarks, Dr. Corrigan stressed the importance of developing a comprehensive measurement framework to support transparency, payment alignment, and the redesign of care processes and of setting national priorities for improvement. Dr. Corrigan said a critical element of addressing the country’s quality challenges is expressing a clear strategy for fundamental change in the health care delivery system. To achieve those goals Dr. Corrigan noted the need for strong leadership at the organizational level. To read Dr. Corrigan’s full remarks, view the award video, or see pictures from the award reception, click here.

RECENT ARTICLES AND PUBLICATIONS

H&HN Online: The Hospital’s Role in Community Engagement

“A Framework for Community Health Improvement,” authored by Frances Margolin, vice president, operations, HRET, is featured in the August 14 edition of H&HN Online. The article discusses the role of hospitals, health systems, and their leaders in community engagement. The framework presented can help categorize a community’s issues, actions, and partners. It also can help leaders prioritize and make decisions about allocating resources.

To read the article, click here.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Action Learning Lab Series Continues at Singing River Hospital System

HRET’s Learning Lab series continues on November 8-9, 2007, at the Singing River Hospital System in Pascagoula, Mississippi, with the topic Performance Improvement Is a Team Sport: Communication, Relationships, and Culture Change.

Singing River Hospital System, located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is emerging as one of the best small community hospital systems in the country. Singing River’s innovative work in building a high-performance culture based on communication, quality, and community engagement has been the key to its impressive performance gains, leading to its recognition as a Solucient Top 100 Hospitals® Performance Improvement Leader for the past two years.

Join us at Singing River Hospital System to explore the dynamics of a high-performance culture based on communication and relationships and how it is leading to new levels of clinical and operating performance. Visit www.hret.org/learninglabs for more information and to register for the learning lab.

ACHI Audioconference on Preventing Childhood Obesity

On September 20, 2007, Shawn LaFrance and Beth Wheeler of the Foundation for Healthy Communities, New Hampshire, will share new guidelines and a statewide public education campaign for reducing childhood obesity during their presentation, “Preventing Childhood Obesity: Guidelines for Physical Activity and Healthy Eating.”

Details and registration for the audioconference can be accessed here.

ACHI Opens Online Store

Recorded ACHI educational audioconferences can now be purchased for downloading. Go to www.communityhlth.org and click on the “ACHI Online Store” banner. If you missed an audioconference or were unable to participate, you will find downloadable audio and presentation slides that you can save to your computer and listen to and view at your convenience. Most one-hour sessions are $24.99 for members, $49.99 for nonmembers.

The ACHI Online Store contains more than a dozen sessions, including keynote presentations from the 2007 annual conference. The store will offer additional items soon, including the Community Care Notebook and other HRET community health publications.

Click here to go to the ACHI Online Store.

HRET Seeks Educational Development Manager

A new position at HRET, the Educational Development Manager, has primary responsibility for the development of educational services and products, including e-learning initiatives for health care professionals. HRET’s educational programs include annual conferences, workshops, telephone and Web conferences, learning labs, yearlong fellowships, and other face-to-face and distance learning mechanisms.

The position can be located in either the San Francisco or Chicago office. Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

For a detailed job listing and more information, click here.