Literature Review

Nearly 5,000 Providence Oregon workers issue strike notice Becker's Hospital Review; by Kristin Kuchno; 12/30/24 Nearly 5,000 front-line healthcare workers from Providence Oregon hospitals plan to begin an open-ended strike Jan. 10. The Oregon Nurses Association issued a 10-day notice following intensive bargaining, according to a Dec. 30 news release from the union. The striking workers include physicians, nurses and other healthcare staff from all eight Providence Oregon hospitals and six clinics. The union is urging Providence to invest in patient safety and provide competitive wages and benefits to support recruitment and retention efforts. ... Providence Oregon has secured replacement workers and identified other strategies to maintain patient care, Chief Executive Jennifer Burrows, RN, said in a message to caregivers shared with Becker's. She said the system has communicated to union leaders that bargaining stops during a work stoppage to prioritize patient care.

As a hospice nurse, Jaffrey's Nancy Folsom helps make the journey easier The Keene Sentinel, Keene, NH; by Elijah de Castro; 12/28/24 Nancy Folsom has been working around death since she was a teenager in her family’s funeral home, where she was an embalmer apprentice. From there, she took a step back, pursuing a career as a home hospice nurse in the Monadnock Region, where she helps those who are dying confront death. “Death is never easy, at any age or any time,” Folsom said. “We want to make it as human as possible. I’ve always been comfortable with death.” ... Folsom, 62, of Jaffrey, “has never had a boring day” on the job. When she’s not out in the community working, she’s in the Peterborough office of Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, a local nonprofit provider of home health services that also has offices in Keene and Charlestown. ... Over the years, Folsom has gained experience in how to best read a situation when she gets a new patient. Building trust between a hospice nurse and a patient, Folsom said, takes time, something many of her patients don’t have. Folsom resolves this dilemma by first making sure she is comfortable herself and cultivating a calm, abiding presence. ...

Sierra Hills employees strike for safer conditions to live and work Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne, WY; by Noah Zahn; 12/26/24 Employees at Sierra Hills Assisted Living protested Thursday outside the facility after Edgewood Healthcare, which owns Sierra Hills, has refused to budge in negotiations for safer working conditions for employees and residents after more than 10 months of negotiation. “We did include many things in our contract proposal that we feel will really benefit the residents,” said Taylor Ewig, who has been a CNA at Sierra Hills for around 10 years. ... There are currently between 70 and 80 residents at the facility and around eight under hospice care. Ewig and other CNAs participating in the strike said that many of the Sierra Hills residents are supportive of the strike. The issues began at the facility when Sierra Hills implemented a hospice care service a few years ago, shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... The company hires hospice nurses who are only on the facility about two hours per week, according to Sierra Hills staff. The rest of that time, the burden of care for the resident falls to the staffed CNAs and RNs.

'We do more than just pray': Chaplains take active role at Milwaukee VA and in community U.S. Government Veterans Administration; by David Walter; 12/23/24 If you think hospital chaplains just pray at bedsides, think again. At the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, chaplains are much more than comfort providers. They are fully integrated into the everyday workings of the hospital, serving on committees, participating in numerous events and consulting with other subject matter experts. Their work also goes beyond the walls of the hospital, interfacing with the community to help better reach those Veterans who may not venture into the hospital. And while they continue to meet one-on-one with patients on a daily basis, they also extend their services to hospital staff, providing solace and support for those dealing with the emotional toll that caregiving can sometimes take on health care professionals. “There’s been a really big shift here,” said Chaplain Robert Allen, chief of the Milwaukee VA’s Chaplain Services, adding that for too long chaplains were “put in this corner, thinking that we only just pray.” Editor's note: To strengthen your understanding of chaplaincy roles, standards, training, and certification, examine the national Association of Professional Chaplains.

Things CIOs and CTOs need to do differently in 2025 Information Week; by Lisa Morgan; 12/18/24 As CIOs and CTOs head into a new year, they always have priorities. Greater agility is a key theme in 2025. ... “Keep ahead or at least on top of the cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data analytics skills that are needed. Acquire talent and develop that talent so your company remains competitive,” says [Loren Margolis, faculty, Stony Brook University]. “Find ways to use [AI and analytics] to become even more agile so you remain competitive. Also embrace them as opportunities to train and develop your workforce. Make sure your organization is a place where great tech talent can come to develop and use their skills.” The following are some other priorities for 2025:

15 Important differences to know between leadership and management Forbes - Leadership; by Expert Panel - Forbes Coaches Council; 12/16/24 Understanding the difference between leadership and management is crucial for anyone looking to excel in guiding a team or advance within an organization. While the two terms are often used interchangeably, they involve distinct approaches to motivating people, driving results and achieving goals. Knowing when to lead, when to manage and how to balance the two can make all the difference in one’s professional success. Here, 15 members of the Forbes Coaches Council share their insights to clarify the distinction between leadership and management and explain the difference in their own words.

How UCSF Health is rebuilding an 'instrumental' management layer Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 12/17/24Middle managers have long played a crucial role in industries across the U.S. However, a November article from global management consulting firm Korn Ferry describes "a disappearing layer of middle management," particularly among professional-service firms that are "delayering" to improve flexibility and responsiveness. ...  [Data] shows that in 2023, middle managers accounted for 31.5% of all layoffs, with an average of 22% between 2018 and 2022. While Mitul Modi, Korn Ferry senior client partner in the firm's global healthcare services practice, said layoffs of managers have occurred at various health systems in 2024, he told Becker's he is not seeing this occur with patient-facing roles. Instead, he has observed an increased emphasis on developing middle managers. ... One example of this is San Francisco-based UCSF Health. ... UCSF Health's efforts center around investing in a management core training program.[Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Home health adds 16K jobs in November, leading healthcare workforce gains McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 12/6/24 The home health sector added 16,000 workers last month, making it one of the fastest-growing healthcare segments by hiring rates, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Employment Situation report. The monthly report measures employment gains and losses across all sectors of the economy. In healthcare, hospitals added the most jobs of any single category in November with 19,000. Home health, which falls under the ambulatory services category, followed with 16,000 new jobs. These employment gains compared with healthcare fields such as nursing and residential care facilities (11,900), outpatient care centers (9,500) and physicians’ offices (1,900). Home healthcare has been one of the fastest-growing healthcare workforces in recent months. The segment added 12,300 jobs in October, 13,000 in September and 5,500 in August.

Design work to prevent burnout: A new model for improving work design supports change that increases employee engagement and reduces stress MIT Sloan Management Review; by Sharon K. Parker and Carline Knight; 12/10/24... In the U.S., 67% of workers report feeling disengaged from their work, and 49% intend to leave their current job. ... In this article, we’ll introduce readers to our SMART Work Design model. This model captures and synthesizes the most important characteristics for worker well-being and performance from both the Jobs Characteristics and Job Demands-Resources models into five dimensions: stimulating work, mastery, autonomy, relational work, and tolerable demands (thus the SMART acronym). HR leaders, managers, and employees can use the model to identify aspects of work that lead to disengagement and burnout and then create a healthier work environment and improve performance. (See “A Model for Making Work Smarter.”)

How hospice CNAs provide comfort in end-of-life care Intelligent Living; by Jennifer Barns; 12/8/24 End-of-life care is one of the most challenging yet meaningful services that healthcare professionals can offer. During such a delicate time, the role of a hospice CNA becomes essential. ... Table of Contents:

Marin County Office of Education, Novato Unified School District & By the Bay Health partner to address healthcare talent shortage PR Newswire, San Rafael, CA and Novato, CA and Larkspur, CA; by By The Bay Health; 12/3/24The Marin County Office of Education (MCOE), the Novato Unified School District (NUSD), and By the Bay Health, Northern California's largest independent nonprofit hospice provider, are joining forces to launch a strategic workforce initiative to address the growing healthcare talent shortage in the County. Starting in Spring 2025, MCOE, NUSD, and By the Bay Health will pilot a new Career Technical Education (CTE) course at San Marin High School in Novato to introduce students to healthcare careers. The CTE course, Introduction to the World of Healthcare, will be the first high school course of its kind in the County designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to career opportunities in the healthcare field, including a focus on careers in community-based care in the home. An elective for 11th and 12th grade students, the curriculum will cover a range of topics from healthcare professions to medical ethics, communication, public health, and emerging trends in healthcare.

2025 BrightSpring brighter futures and hospice nursing scholarships now open BrightSpring Health Services - Careers; 12/3/24 Applications are being accepted from now through Friday, February 28, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET. For more information and to apply, visit https://cflouisville.awardspring.com/Home/Scholarships.  ... The BrightSpring Brighter Futures Scholarship awards one $10,000 per year scholarship, renewable for up to four years as long as the student maintains good academic standing with their college or university. ... The BrightSpring Hospice Nursing Scholarship awards four $5,000 per year scholarships, renewable for up to two years as long as the student maintains good academic standing with their college or university.Editor's note: How might your hospice organization partner with universities/colleges to provide a similar program for professional career growth?

Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave & Job Protection - Final Legislative Report University of Washington, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance; Lead investigator Heather D. Hill, MPP, PhD, with Tom Lindman, MPP, Diane Rucavado, MPA, and Elizabeth Ford, JD; 12/1/24 This research was funded by ESSB 5187. Additional support for data access and analyses for this research came from the UW Data Collaborative funded by the UW Population Health Initiative, UW’s Student Technology Fee program, the UW’s Provost’s office, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development research infrastructure grant, P2C HD042828 to the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors.