CURRENT RESEARCH AND NEWS

Blue Ribbon Panel on Health Care Governance Report Released!
The Health Research and Educational Trust, with funding from Russell Reynolds Associates and the Center for Healthcare Governance, convened a Blue Ribbon Panel on Health Care Governance from July 2005 through December 2006. The report examines key issues in governance and offer practical guidance for how board chairs and members can improve their performance and accountability. The Blue Ribbon Panel's findings are published in the Center monograph Building an Exceptional Board: Effective Practices for Health Care Governance. Comprised of hospital trustees, CEOs, governance experts, and researchers, the panel focused its efforts on five areas it determined were critical to effective governance:

• Being an Accountable Board: Earning and Maintaining the Public's Trust
• Building and Sustaining a Proactive and Interactive Board Culture
• Laying a Foundation for Effective Decision-Making: Board Meetings and Information for Governing
• Focusing the Board on Key Governance Priorities
• Clarifying Authority and Responsibility: The Buck Stops Where?

The report includes the panel's recommendations in each of these areas, as well as sample tools and resources to implement them. It is intended to foster broader dialogue and sharing, among health care organizations and their boards, of perspectives and resources to further strengthen and improve health care governance. Click here for more information on the Blue Ribbon Panel on Health Care Governance.

RECENT ARTICLES AND PUBLICATIONS

HRET Releases Hospital Response to Public Health Emergencies: Collaborative Strategies
In November 2006, HRET published a report revealing how hospitals can effectively work with public health and emergency response partners to jointly prepare for public health emergencies. HRET studied eight communities that have developed successful collaborative emergency preparedness planning models.

HRET researchers assessed how hospitals in the case study communities work with public health and EMS agencies to develop community-level surge capacity and improve medical preparedness for mass casualty events, epidemics, and public health emergencies. The report identifies methods and practices hospitals employ for collaboration and coordination in emergency response planning and implementation. It also provides examples at the local, regional, and state levels. Lessons learned from the study apply not only to hospitals, but also are adaptable to regional emergency response planning coalitions. For more information or to read the full report, click here.

HSR February Issue
The February issue of Health Services Research features a commentary from Carolyn Clancy, MD, Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, on the ED crisis and new research opportunities. Also included are articles on population-based performance measures, impact of patient/provider coordination on patient outcomes, and impact of population aging on health care costs, articles on quality, health care markets/insurance, and access and health disparities.

A new HSR special issue features the Cash & Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation Program implemented in three states between 1999 and 2003. Papers describe the process of conceptualization, the design and implementation, the experiences of participants, analysis of the program effects, case studies, and the initial and anticipated impact of the experiences and evaluation results on funders and states. The special issue was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

These articles can be found at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/hesr

UPCOMING EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Global Health Care Workforce Force Conference-Registration Now Open!
Registration is now open for "A Call to Action: Ensuring Global Human Resources for Health," a conference addressing the global shortage of health care workers, on March 22-23, 2007, in Geneva, Switzerland. This international effort is a collaboration among the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), the International Hospital Federation (IHF), American Hospital Association, World Health Organization, World Medical Association, and others. Click here to learn more.

With a multidisciplinary focus and convening of global stakeholders, this meeting will stimulate discussion and help identify the evidence-based action steps that can be taken to build, retain, and sustain a health care work force. Focus will be on research, policy, and promising practices to address this growing problem.

One Month to HRET's National Community Health Conference



The Association for Community Health Improvement's (ACHI) Fourth Annual Conference, "Spring Training for Health Champions," will be held March 7-9, 2007, in New Orleans. The conference includes a plenary session on Re-creating New Orleans' Communities, Health, and Health Care, featuring a dynamic panel discussion among three veteran New Orleans health professionals and community leaders who work together on the social, human, and health system facets of New Orleans' health recovery. This session will highlight lessons to help any community prepare for a disaster. More details and registration are available online at http://www.communityhlth.org

Romana Hasnain-Wynia among Experts to Present at Disparities Meeting
Romana Hasnain-Wynia, HRET vice president, research, will be participating on an expert panel at the Reducing Disparities Expert Meeting on Wednesday, April 11, 2007, at the Jurys Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C. The conference is sponsored by the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. For more information on health care disparities, click here.

HRET FELLOWSHIPS

Deadline for Applications Has Been Extended!

Cultural Competence Leadership Fellowship
Combining a dynamic network of national innovators, specially designed curricula, and field-based projects, the Cultural Competence Leadership Fellowship is a pioneering program supporting organizations pursuing health care quality and workforce development. Fellows explore practical approaches to assessing organizational competence, enhancing patient-provider interaction, and using systems approaches to reduce disparities. The fellowship is a collaboration of the Institute for Diversity in Health Management (IFD), the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL), Health Forum, and the AHA. Applications will be accepted through February 2007. Click here to download a brochure and registration form.

Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship
The Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship explores the business, cultural, and leadership implications and opportunities for embracing cultures of safety. Through executive leadership retreats, self-study modules, and a virtual learning community, fellows build skills needed to lead culture change initiatives, engage staff and clinicians, and manage long-term strategic planning for safety. Cosponsors include the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), in partnership with Health Forum, the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM), the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), and the American Hospital Association (AHA). Applications will be accepted through February 2007. Click here to download a brochure and registration form.

HRET Fellowship Alum Published
An article by Maripat Burrell, RN, BSN, CPHRM, an alumna of class 4 of the HRET Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship, was recently published in the ASHRM Journal. The article, "Shift Report: Improving a Complex Process to Enhance Patient Safety," focuses on the shift change process. This process identifies the different variables that can interfere with communication hand-offs in health care systems and create the possibility for errors or harm to happen. Ms. Burrell's work was developed as part of her Action Learning Project for the Fellowship. ASHRM is a partner in the HRET Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship. For more information on ASHRM click here.