IHA Daily Briefing: September 1

IHA, Medical Solutions Leadership Forum Spotlights Workforce Strategy
What's the toughest workforce challenge your organization is facing? Illinois hospital and health system leaders shared top concerns-facility location, being proactive/forecasting and needing funding before filling vacancies-at a workforce strategy leadership forum last week. The event was jointly officered by IHA, Medical Solutions and Exigent Medical Education.

In discussing workforce stabilization, Erin MacKenzie of Medical Solutions noted that 20% of registered nurses nationwide are looking to leave their facility due to a lack of communication, clarity and structure in their workplace.

"RN retention policies are something we should all be thinking about," said MacKenzie, Vice President of Solution Engineering. "Retention is about culture. Most individuals will stay for a lower salary because they love the culture."

Hospital spending on travel and agency nurses is down, MacKenzie said, adding, "It's not about permanent vs. travel, it's about the greater picture. How do we look at this as a whole? If we reduce travel costs without having more permanent resources in our mix then we start to get burnout, we start to lose quality of care with our patients."

The event, "Shaping the Future Healthcare Workforce: A Leadership Forum," also addressed allied staffing shortages. Medical Solutions' Matthew Neel pointed to the need for physical, occupational, speech, and respiratory therapists, along with medical and radiologic technologists.

Among U.S. hospitals, the average turnover rate is 18.5% for allied health, Neel said, noting that "what the allied vacancy stops is the problem," from patient diagnosis and treatment to recovery and discharge. Neel encouraged leaders to examine how allied vacancies impact throughput, why allied roles are not interchangeable and friction in the hiring process.

Medical Solutions has been an IHA Strategic Partner since 2018. Contact Paul Brown, Strategic Account Executive, at [email protected] or 402-704-1738 to learn how Medical Solutions can support your hospital or health system.

Staff contact: Gary Drain

OPTN Board Approves Policy Changes for Donation After Circulatory Death
The Organ Procurement & Transplant Network (OPTN) Board of Directors recently approved policy changes related to donation after circulatory death (DCD) intended to strengthen protections for potential donor patients throughout the DCD process. The changes establish clearer patient safety protections, enhance transparency of information provided to potential donor families, and promote greater consistency and accountability in DCD practices.

The Board-approved changes establish new and enhanced patient safety requirements, including:

• Requirement of a formal process to pause a DCD case when concerns arise regarding a patient's safety during the organ donation process, including education to families, clinical professionals, and others involved of their ability to call for a pause;
• Defined procedures for addressing and resolving unplanned pauses;
• Required reporting of unplanned DCD pauses to improve transparency and oversight;
• Clear requirements for neurological assessment documentation and escalation of identified discrepancies between donor hospital-facilitated and organ procurement organization (OPO)-facilitated assessments;
• More comprehensive information for patient families about the organ donation process to support informed decision-making; and
• Adoption of a standardized, minimum waiting period of five minutes between circulatory cessation and commencement of organ recovery.

OPTN will provide implementation guidance and educational resources, including an informational webinar and frequently asked questions, in the coming weeks to help organ procurement organizations (OPOs) and other professionals understand and implement the new patient safety requirements. Click here for more information.

Webinar: Discussion on Conversion to Rural Emergency Hospital Designation
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's Rural Health Redesign Center will host a webinar on Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. CT, where hospital CEOs will discuss the process of converting to a rural emergency hospital (REH) designation. Leaders will share their experiences navigating the REH designation and provide insights into critical decisions, challenges and lessons learned along their journey of becoming the first to adopt the designation in their states.

Tech Firms Warn of AI Cyberattack Surge
More than 100 technology and cybersecurity companies recently issued an open letter warning that artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cyberattacks will soon become increasingly widespread, and said a coordinated response across government and industry will be necessary to adequately respond. Specifically mentioning hospitals as at-risk organizations, the groups outlined principles that called for empowering defenders with cyber-capable AI; making cybersecurity a top priority; and mobilizing a worldwide response. The letter encouraged governments to fund cyber defense, particularly for essential services, and emphasized the importance of giving hospitals, water utilities, and local governments access to capable defensive AI, testing, and hands-on support through trusted security providers and partners.

Illinois Respiratory Disease Surveillance Data

The Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) provides the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data. IDPH also tracks COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information through the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System dashboard.

Briefly Noted

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently updated its "Early Alert: Percutaneous Catheter Issue from Boston Scientific" to notify the public that this issue has been classified as a Class I Recall. Boston Scientific initiated the removal of certain Percutaneous Catheters, including the ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System and ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System Plus (NPS Plus). FDA said the devices may be associated with Silk Road Medical within hospital inventory systems.

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