Workforce

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), a global investments firm, and the American Heart Association (AHA) have recently teamed up to launch a new research collaboration to study how effective workplace wellness initiatives have been at KKR and four of its portfolio companies.

Marie Freire, PhD President The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Md.

Many think of the contract management group as playing an administrative role within any organization. However, a structured and efficient contract management process can serve as the backbone to other processes such as business development and financial management. An effective contract management process is now essential to building an organization’s corporate strategy and ultimate vision. Organizations that have a successful process in place have a clear competitive advantage over others that do not.

Just over a decade ago, members of Arkansas Children's Hospital's management decided to go to Disney World. It wasn't a fun-and-games trip, although fun was had. They went to learn about developing a culture that would support everyone working at the hospital and everyone using hospital services. Arkansas Children's was ahead of trend recently taking hold in the healthcare industry: valuing customer service.

A report funded by the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association predicts that the 2 percent cuts to Medicare providers included in the "budget sequester" beginning in January will result in the loss of about 496,000 jobs during the first year of the automatic cuts.

Filling nursing shifts at the last minute is a nearly constant battle for many unit managers. Some industry experts say automated workforce management tools can offer significant relief for this time-intensive challenge; others say the use of these tools should not be viewed as a best practice.

Medical device firm Welch Allyn announced Monday it will reduce its workforce by 10 percent over the next three years in reaction to the 2.3 percent medical device tax slated to begin in January 2013 in accordance with the Affordable Care Act.

According to a J.D. Power and Associates report, high patient satisfaction is more influenced by superior service-related communication and interpersonal skills with nurses and physicians than impressive technology or facilities.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the country will have 62,900 fewer doctors than it will need in 2015. Allowing foreign doctors to practice in the U.S. could provide one solution to the problem.

According to a new John Hopkins Children's Center study published earlier this week, hospitals can prevent one in five central-line infections by following a list of precautions and measures, encouraging families to speak up when they observe noncompliance and doing an analysis of the causes behind every infection that does occur.