Nontraditional Small House Nursing Homes Have Fewer COVID-19 Cases and Deaths.

OBJECTIVES: Green House and other small nursing home (NH) models are considered "nontraditional" due to their size (10-12 beds), universal caregivers, and other home-like features. They have garnered great interest regarding their potential benefit to limit Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections due to fewer people living, working, visiting, and being admitted to Green House/small NHs, and private rooms and bathrooms, but this assumption has not been tested. If they prove advantageous compared with other NHs, they may constitute an especially promising model as policy makers and providers reinvent NHs post-COVID. DESIGN: This cohort study compared rates of COVID-19 infections, COVID-19 admissions/readmissions, and COVID-19 mortality, among Green House/small NHs with rates in other NHs between January 20, 2020 and July 31, 2020. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: All Green House homes that held a skilled nursing license and received Medicaid or Medicare payment were invited to participate; other small NHs that replicate Green House physical design and operational practices were eligible if they had the same licensure and payer sources. Of 57 organizations, 43 (75%) provided complete data, which included 219 NHs. Comparison NHs (referred to as "traditional NHs") were up to 5 most geographically proximate NHs within 100 miles that had <50 beds and ≥50 beds for which data were available from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Because Department of Veterans Affairs organizations are not required to report to CMS, they were not included. METHODS: Rates per 1000 resident days were derived for COVID-19 cases and admissions, and per 100 COVID-19 positive cases for mortality. A log-rank test compared rates between Green House/small NHs and traditional NHs with <50 beds and ≥50 beds. RESULTS: Rates of all outcomes were significantly lower in Green House/small NHs than in traditional NHs that had <50 beds and ≥50 beds (log-rank test P < .025 for all comparisons). The median (middle value) rates of COVID-19 cases per 1000 resident days were 0 in both Green House/small NHs and NHs <50 beds, while they were 0.06 in NHs ≥50 beds; in terms of COVID-19 mortality, the median rates per 100 positive residents were 0 (Green House/small NHs), 10 (<50 beds), and 12.5 (≥50 beds). Differences were most marked in the highest quartile: 25% of Green House/small NHs had COVID-19 case rates per 1000 resident days higher than 0.08, with the corresponding figures for other NHs being 0.15 (<50 beds) and 0.74 (≥50 beds). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates are less in Green House/small NHs than rates in traditional NHs with <50 and ≥50 beds, especially among the higher and extreme values. Green House/small NHs are a promising model of care as NHs are reinvented post-COVID.

Performance of infection prevention and control programs in small hospitals. / Desempenho dos programas de prevenção e controle de infecções em pequenos hospitais.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the structure compliance and prevention and control processes of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs). METHOD: A prospective and cross-sectional study conducted from 2015 to 2016 in small hospitals with up to 70 beds in a region of São Paulo state. Four previously validated indicators were evaluated and expressed as a compliance index (percentage in relation to the evaluated items). RESULTS: Fourteen (14) among the 27 recruited hospitals consented to participate in the study. The average compliance values for each indicator were: Program structure (61.0%); Operational guidelines (84.5%); Epidemiological surveillance (57.9%); and Prevention activities (74.5%). Greater compliance was observed in private hospitals (73.9%) and with the presence of an intensive care unit (90.3%). The hospitals had nurses assigned to the program (92.9%), but only 23.1% of the private institutions worked exclusively for six hours. CONCLUSION: Only the indicator referring to the Operational Guidelines of the evaluated programs was above 90% compliance for the median of hospitals. The greatest dispersion of compliance results among the studied hospitals was related to the Epidemiological Surveillance indicator.

Sistematização da assistência de enfermagem: a práxis do enfermeiro de hospital de pequeno porte / Sistematización de la asistencia a la enfermería: la práctica del enfermero de hospital pequeño / Nursing care systematization: the nursing practice of small-sized hospital

RESUMO Objetivo descrever a vivência dos enfermeiros atuantes em unidade hospitalar em relação à Sistematização da Assistência de Enfermagem (SAE). Método estudo descritivo, de abordagem qualitativa, realizado em dois hospitais de pequeno porte de um município do extremo noroeste do Paraná. A coleta de dados ocorreu entre maio e junho de 2018, por meio de entrevistas abertas e audiogravadas, com 14 enfermeiros. Após transcrição na íntegra as entrevistas foram submetidas à Análise de Conteúdo, modalidade temática. Resultados Foram elaboradas duas categorias temáticas: "Dificuldades enfrentadas pelos enfermeiros para a aplicação da SAE" e "Estratégias empregadas para facilitar a aplicação da SAE no cotidiano da enfermagem". Conclusão e implicações para a prática Aspectos relacionados à liderança, hierarquia, processo de trabalho e sensibilização dos enfermeiros acerca da SAE dificultaram sua aplicação. Em contrapartida, os enfermeiros apontaram que a utilização de instrumentos padronizados, o treinamento da equipe de enfermagem e o apoio dos gestores hospitalares são imprescindíveis para a aplicação da SAE. Esses achados mostram que ainda é preciso promover, na formação e no serviço, ações/estratégias que permitam aos enfermeiros se apoderarem e aplicarem a SAE no contexto hospitalar.

RESUMEN Objetivo describir la vivencia de los enfermeros actuantes de la unidad hospitalaria en relación a la Sistematización de la Asistencia de Enfermería (SAE). Método estudio descriptivo con aproximación cualitativa, realizado en dos hospitales pequeños de un municipio en el extremo noroeste de Paraná. La recopilación de datos tuvo lugar entre mayo y junio de 2018, a través de entrevistas abiertas y grabadas en audio con 14 enfermeras. Después de la transcripción completa, las entrevistas fueron sometidas al Análisis de Contenido, modalidad temática. Resultados se elaboraron dos categorías temáticas: "Dificultades que enfrentan las enfermeras para aplicar la SAE" y "Estrategias empleadas para facilitar la aplicación de la SAE en el cotidiano de la enfermería". Conclusiones e implicaciones para la práctica Los aspectos relacionados con el liderazgo, la jerarquía, el proceso de trabajo y la sensibilización de las enfermeras acerca de la SAE dificultaron su aplicación. En contraste, las enfermeras señalaron que el uso de instrumentos estandarizados, el entrenamiento del equipo de enfermería y el apoyo de los gerentes hospitalarios son esenciales para la aplicación de la SAE. Estos hallazgos muestran que aún es necesario promover, en la formación y en el servicio, acciones / estrategias que permita a las enfermeras hacerse y aplicar el SAE en el contexto hospitalario.

ABSTRACT Objective to describe the experience of nurses working in a hospital unit in relation to Nursing Care Systematization (SAE). Method a descriptive study with a qualitative approach, conducted in two small hospitals in a municipality in the extreme northwest of Paraná. Data collection took place between May and June 2018, through open and audio recorded interviews with 14 nurses. After transcription in full, interviews were subjected to Content Analysis, thematic modality. Results Two thematic categories were elaborated: "Difficulties faced by nurses for the application of SAE" and "Strategies employed to facilitate the application of NCS in daily nursing". Conclusion and implications for practice Aspects related to leadership, hierarchy, work process and sensitization of nurses about SAE made its application difficult. In contrast, nurses pointed out that the use of standardized tools, the training of the nursing team and the support of hospital managers is essential for the application of SAE. These findings show that it is still necessary to promote, in education and service, actions / strategies that allow nurses to empower yourself and apply the SAE in the hospital context.

A model for internal medicine physicians in a small rural hospital.

CONTEXT: Finding providers to work in the hospitals and clinics in the small towns of the USA is a significant struggle. In the traditional model, the primary care doctor sees patients in the inpatient setting in addition to a clinic practice. In the usual hospitalist model, providers specialize to work only in the inpatient setting. ISSUES: Rural communities often lack the resources, facilities, and volume to safely adopt the usual hospitalist model, which has its own disadvantages. Small town hospitals have found several ways to find a middle ground between the two models. A provider staffing model is described that utilizes internal medicine physicians to provide inpatient and consultative outpatient care in a rural 10-bed hospital in Washington State. The hospital is located in a town with a population of about 3100, in a county with an approximate population of 70 000 people. It has a 24-hour emergency room, three primary care clinics, urgent care, X-ray, pharmacy, and laboratory capabilities. In this model, the internist on duty provides care in the inpatient unit and in the afternoon sees patients consulted from primary care providers, as well as follow-up patients from the emergency room and the inpatient setting. LESSONS LEARNED: The model potentially increases access to a higher level of care in the rural setting. It potentially provides work that for the provider is interesting, satisfying, balanced, purposeful, and appropriate to their training level. Specific norms, standards, and leadership are key to functionality, including some continued experience in a larger hospital. The model has been functioning successfully for more than 3 years. The potential cost savings over the usual hospitalist model are substantial. The model could be used in other locations and in training internal medicine physicians in the rural setting. Research in this area could include randomizing communities to this and other staffing models and following the care given and the health of the community members over time.

Formalization of an antimicrobial stewardship program in a small community hospital.

PURPOSE: Results of a study to formalize an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) in a small community hospital are presented. METHODS: The formalization process began with a gap analysis of the hospital's antimicrobial services, followed by the development of a fully integrated, multipharmacist ASP. The impact was studied with an institutional review board-approved study design. Retrospective pre-ASP data were pulled from March 1 to June 30, 2012 and 2013 patient records; prospective post-ASP data were collected for March 1 to June 30, 2015. Analyses included descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: No significant differences in age, percent of patients on antimicrobials, or length of stay were found between the 2 groups. The post-ASP period showed a 30.2% decrease in defined daily dose (DDD) per 1,000 patient-days for the 18 most frequently used parenteral antimicrobial agents (p < 0.001). For all nursing units except nursery, the vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam DDD per 1,000 patient-days decreased by 63% (p < 0.001) and 36% (p < 0.001), respectively. Mean antibiotic charges per patient-day decreased from $10.44 to $3.09 (p < 0.001) and from $18.04 to $11.29 (p < 0.001) for vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam, respectively. Pharmacist interventions increased from 19.3 per 1,000 patients to 104.3 per 1,000 patients. Deescalation of therapy was the most common intervention (46% and 29%) in both time periods. CONCLUSION: In a small community hospital, a new formalized ASP with pharmacists showed a decrease in the DDD per 1,000 patient-days and average antibiotic charges per patient-day for vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam within 4 months of implementation. The approach used to develop a formalized ASP could be used as an example for development in small community hospitals with similar resources.

The Prolonged Neonatal Admission: Implications for our National Children's Hospital.

A significant number of neonates are admitted to tertiary paediatric units for prolonged stays annually, despite limited availability of neonatal beds. As the three Dublin paediatric hospitals merge, this pressure will be transferred to our new National Children's Hospital. We analysed epidemiological trends in prolonged neonatal admissions to the 14-bed neonatal unit in The Children's University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin. This was with a view to extrapolating this data toward the development of a neonatal unit in the National Children's Hospital that could accommodate for this complex, important, and resource-heavy patient population. Four hundred and thirty-six babies between 0 and 28 days of life were admitted to our neonatal unit for prolonged stays (three cohorts: >1 month and <3months, >3months and <6months, and >6months), between 2000-2014. Mean number of prolonged admissions >1 month was 29.1 per year (range 18-43). Median length of stay (LOS) was 42 days (range 29-727). 363 babies were admitted for >1month but <3months with a median LOS 38 days (range 28-90); 54 babies were admitted for >3months but <6months with a median LOS 111 days (range 91-179); 19 babies were admitted for >6months with a median LOS 331 (range 196-727). There has been a statistically significant upward trend in the number of prolonged admissions over last fifteen years (Spearman's rho p=0.01, correlation coefficient 0.848). There has been no significant increase in the median length of stay over time. It can be extrapolated, that in the new children's hospital must be capable of dealing with at least 80 neonatal long-stay patients annually.

Predictors of a Desire to be Helpful to Professional Nurses Among Japanese Nursing Assistants in Small- to Medium-Sized Hospitals.

Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses have been educated as professional nurses. Professional nurses can concentrate on their jobs requiring a high degree of expertise with help they get from nursing assistants.If professional nurses have improper attitudes toward nursing assistants, it is most likely that the nursing assistants will not help them to the best of their ability. We investigated nursing assistants' impressions regarding professional nurses' attitudes, and what effects nursing assistants' impressions have on their "desire to be helpful to professional nurses." The study design was a cross sectional study. Twenty-five small- to medium-sized hospitals with 55 to 458 beds were included in this study. The analyzed subjects were 642 nursing assistants (96 males, 546 females). Factor analyses were conducted to extract the factors of nursing assistants' impressions regarding professional nurses' attitudes. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate the predictors of "desire to be helpful to professional nurses." We discovered 5 factors: 1. professional nurses' model behavior, 2. manner dealing with nursing assistants, 3. respect for nursing assistants' passion for their work, 4. respect for nursing assistants' work, and 5. enhancing the ability of nursing assistants to do their work. The "desire to be helpful to professional nurses" was significantly associated with "professional nurses' model behavior," "manner dealing with nursing assistants" and "respect for nursing assistants' passion for their work." Factors 1 to 3 are fundamental principles when people establish appropriate relationships. Professional nurses must consider these fundamentals in their daily work in order to get complete cooperation from nursing assistants.

Re-orienting a remote acute care model towards a primary health care approach: key enablers.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to identify the key enablers of change in re-orienting a remote acute care model to comprehensive primary healthcare delivery. The setting of the study was a 12-bed hospital in Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia. METHODS: Individual key informant, in-depth interviews were completed with five of six identified senior leaders involved in the development of the Fitzroy Valley Health Partnership. Interviews were recorded and transcripts were thematically analysed by two investigators for shared views about the enabling factors strengthening primary healthcare delivery in a remote region of Australia. RESULTS: Participants described theestablishment of a culturally relevant primary healthcare service, using a community-driven, 'bottom up' approach characterised by extensive community participation. The formal partnership across the government and community controlled health services was essential, both to enable change to occur and to provide sustainability in the longer term. A hierarchy of major themes emerged. These included community participation, community readiness and desire for self-determination; linkages in the form of a government community controlled health service partnership; leadership; adequate infrastructure; enhanced workforce supply; supportive policy; and primary healthcare funding. CONCLUSIONS: The strong united leadership shown by the community and the health service enabled barriers to be overcome and it maximised the opportunities provided by government policy changes. The concurrent alignment around a common vision enabled implementation of change. The key principle learnt from this study is the importance of community and health service relationships and local leadership around a shared vision for the re-orientation of community health services.

The scope and distribution of imaging services at critical access hospitals.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to better understand the availability and scope of imaging services at critical access hospitals (CAHs) throughout the United States. METHODS: Recent American Hospital Association (AHA) annual survey data (containing 1,063 variables providing comprehensive information on organizational characteristics and availability of various services at 6,317 hospitals nationwide) and US census data were merged. Imaging survey data included mammography, ultrasound, CT, MRI, single photon emission CT, and combined PET/CT. Availability and characteristics of imaging services at the 1,060 CAHs in 45 states for which sufficient data were available were studied. RESULTS: Mammography, ultrasound, and some form of CT were the most widely available of all imaging services, but were available in all CAHs in only 13%, 33%, and 56% of all states, respectively. In no states were ≥64-slice CT, MRI, single photon emission CT, and combined PET/CT available in all CAHs. CONCLUSIONS: An overall scarcity of access to imaging services exists at CAHs throughout the United States. With 19.3% of the US population residing in rural areas and almost entirely dependent on CAHs for health services, the policy implications for imaging access could be profound. Further research is necessary to investigate the effect of imaging access on CAH patient outcomes.

[Malaria in the triple border region between Brazil, Colombia and Peru]. / Situação da malária na tríplice fronteira entre Brasil, Colômbia e Peru.

This article aims to analyze the malaria surveillance situation on the triple border between Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. This was a qualitative study using questionnaires in the border towns in 2011. The results were analyzed with the SWOT matrix methodology, pointing to significant differences between the malaria surveillance systems along the border. Weaknesses included lack of linkage between actors, lack of trained personnel, high turnover in teams, and lack of malaria specialists in the local hospitals. The study also showed lack of knowledge on malaria and its prevention in the local population. The strengths are the inclusion of new institutional actors, improvement of professional training, distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets, and possibilities for complementary action between surveillance systems through cooperation between health teams on the border. Malaria control can only be successful if the region is dealt with as a whole.

"What you see depends on where you stand" exploring the relationship between leadership behavior and job type in health care.

PURPOSE: This chapter seeks to increase our understanding of health care employees' perceptions of effective and ineffective leadership behavior within their organization. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Interviews were conducted with 59 employees working in a diversity of positions within the case study hospital. Interviewees were asked to cite behaviors of both an effective and an ineffective leader in their organization. They were also asked to clarify whether their example described the behavior of a formal or informal leader. Grounded theory data analysis techniques were used and findings were interpreting using existing leadership behavior theories. FINDINGS: (1) There was a consistent link between effective leadership and relationally oriented behaviors. (2) Employees identified both formal and informal leadership within their hospital. (3) There were both similarities and differences with respect to the types of behaviors attributed to informal versus formal leaders. (4) Informants cited a number of leadership behaviors not yet accounted for in the leadership behavior literature (e.g., 'hands on', 'professional', 'knows organization'). (5) Ineffective leadership behavior is not simply the opposite of effective leadership. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS: Findings support the following ideas: (1) there may be a relationship between the type of job held by employees in health care organizations and their perceptions of leader behavior, and (2) leadership behavior theories are not yet comprehensive enough to account for the varieties of leadership behavior in a health care organization. This study is limited by the fact that it focused on only those leadership theories that considered leader behavior. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: There are two practical implications for health care organizations. (1) leaders should recognize that the type of behavior an employee prefers from a leader may vary by follower job group (e.g., nurses may prefer relational behavior more than managerial staff do), and (2) organizations could improve leader development programs and evaluation tools by identifying ineffective leadership behaviors that they want to see reduced within their workplace. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Health care organizations could use these findings to identify informal leaders in their organization and invest in training and development for them in hopes that these individuals will have positive direct or indirect impacts on patient, staff, and organizational outcomes through their informal leadership role. VALUE/ORIGINALITY: This study contributes to research and practice on leadership behavior in health care organizations by explicitly considering effective and ineffective leader behavior preferences across multiple job types in a health care organization. Such a study has not previously been done despite the multi-professional nature of health care organizations.

Balance outcomes from two small rural hospitals.

OBJECTIVES: To describe predicted and measured balance changes in patients receiving physiotherapy in two rural hospitals, and to explore the relationship among balance at discharge, carer availability and patients' discharge destination. DESIGN: Prospective measurement study. SETTING: Two rural Australian hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-nine inpatients with a median age of 84. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Berg Balance Scale (BBS) on admission and the treating physiotherapist's estimate at admission of individual patient's discharge BBS. Follow-up measures included discharge BBS, carer availability after discharge and patient discharge destination. RESULTS: Although change in measured balance of study participants had wide variability, balance measured by the BBS displayed a statistically and clinically significant improvement. A strong relationship was found between balance scores and discharge destination. However, no relationship was found between carer availability and discharge destination. Physiotherapists' estimates of discharge BBS displayed an average error of 7/56. CONCLUSIONS: The strong relationship between measured balance and discharge destination in these elderly study participants suggests that maximising their balance might minimise admissions to nursing home. The high variability of measured balance change suggests outcomes are difficult to predict. The study results suggest that premature assessment of patient's suitability for nursing home placement should be avoided. The accuracy of physiotherapist's estimates of discharge BBS suggests that greater weight might be placed on their input to facilitate the discharge planning process.