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Private Agencies (private + agencies)
Selected AbstractsCurrent Status of Surge ResearchACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2006Sally Phillips RN The dramatic escalation of bioterrorism and public health emergencies in the United States in recent years unfortunately has coincided with an equally dramatic decline in the institutions and services we rely on for emergency preparedness. Hospitals in nearly every metropolitan area in the country have closed; those that remain open have reduced the number of available beds. "Just in time" supplies and health professional shortages have further compromised the nation's overall surge capacity. Emergency departments routinely operate at capacity. These circumstances make evidence-based research on emergency preparedness and surge capacity both more urgently needed and more complex. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and other government and private agencies have been rapidly widening the field of knowledge in this area in recent months and years. This report focuses primarily on the work of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. [source] Establishing a Case-Finding and Referral System for At-Risk Older Individuals in the Emergency Department Setting: The SIGNET ModelJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 10 2001Lorraine C. Mion PhD Older emergency department (ED) patients have complex medical, social, and physical problems. We established a program at four ED sites to improve case finding of at-risk older adults and provide comprehensive assessment in the ED setting with formal linkage to community agencies. The objectives of the program are to (1) improve case finding of at-risk older ED patients, (2) improve care planning and referral for those returning home, and (3) create a coordinated network of existing medical and community services. The four sites are a 1,000-bed teaching center, a 700-bed county teaching hospital, a 400-bed community hospital, and a health maintenance organization (HMO) ED site. Ten community agencies also participated in the study: four agencies associated with the hospital/HMO sites, two nonprofit private agencies, and four public agencies. Case finding is done using a simple screening assessment completed by the primary or triage nurse. A geriatric clinical nurse specialist (GCNS) further assesses those considered at risk. Patients with unmet medical, social, or health needs are referred to their primary physicians or to outpatient geriatric evaluation and management centers and to community agencies. After 18 months, the program has been successfully implemented at all four sites. Primary nurses screened over 70% (n = 28,437) of all older ED patients, GCNSs conducted 3,757 comprehensive assessments, participating agency referrals increased sixfold, and few patients refused the GCNS assessment or subsequent referral services. Thus, case finding and community linkage programs for at-risk older adults are feasible in the ED setting. [source] Quality of Life Outcomes for People with Intellectual Disabilities Living in Staffed Community Housing Services: a Stratified Random Sample of Statutory, Voluntary and Private Agency ProvisionJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 1 2003Jonathan Perry Background, Small scale, community-based, staffed housing is a significant form of residential provision for people with intellectual disabilities. Such services are provided by health and local authorities, and voluntary and private agencies, yet little is known about how provision varies between provider sectors. Methods, This study compared sectors in terms of the processes operating within residential services, and objectively and subjectively assessed quality of life (QOL) resident outcomes. Measures of setting structure and processes and resident outcomes were undertaken on a stratified random sample of 47 small scale, community-based residential settings which accommodated a total of 154 people with intellectual disabilities. Results, In general, provider agencies did not differ in terms of the characteristics of the residents they served, the structure of settings, the processes underlying service operation or resident outcomes. However, across agencies there was considerable variation in residents' life conditions when they were measured objectively. Better outcome tended to be significantly correlated with the ability of residents. This was not the case with results on subjective measures (which were also higher than those on objective measures). Conclusions, The results reinforce the need to design services which effectively support people across the ability spectrum. Also, an argument is made for the continued utility of objective measurement in the assessment of service quality. [source] Diversity in academic medicine no. 3 struggle for survival among leading diversity programsMOUNT SINAI JOURNAL OF MEDICINE: A JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2008A. Hal Strelnick MD Abstract Since efforts to increase the diversity of academic medicine began shortly after the Civil War, the efforts have been characterized by a ceaseless struggle of old and new programs to survive. In the 40 years after the Civil War, the number of minority-serving institutions grew from 2 to 9, and then the number fell again to 2 in response to an adverse evaluation by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For 50 years, the programs grew slowly, picking up speed only after the passage of landmark civil rights legislation in the 1960s. From 1987 through 2005, they expanded rapidly, fueled by such new federal programs as the Centers of Excellence and Health Careers Opportunity Programs. Encompassing majority-white institutions as well as minority-serving institutions, the number of Centers of Excellence grew to 34, and the number of Health Careers Opportunity Programs grew to 74. Then, in 2006, the federal government cut its funding abruptly and drastically, reducing the number of Centers of Excellence and Health Careers Opportunity Programs to 4 each. Several advocacy groups, supported by think tanks, have striven to restore federal funding to previous levels, so far to no avail. Meanwhile, the struggle to increase the representation of underrepresented minorities in the health professions is carried on by the surviving programs, including the remaining Centers of Excellence and Health Careers Opportunity Programs and new programs that, funded by state, local, and private agencies, have arisen from the ashes. Mt Sinai J Med 75:504,516, © 2008 Mount Sinai School of Medicine [source] THE EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL FORM IN THE MIXED MARKET FOR FOSTER CAREANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2010Jeremy Thornton ABSTRACT,:,This paper uses proprietary quality of care data to examine the consequences of organizational form in privatized US foster care services. The contract failure hypothesis generically proposes that nonprofits should provide higher quality services, relative to for-profits, when output is costly to observe. Advocates argue that the nonprofits offer important consumer protections when public services are contracted to private agencies. Contrary to expectations, we find that nonprofit firms do not offer higher quality services. We explore the possibility that monitoring efforts by state regulators or competition among foster care agencies effectively mitigate the influence of organizational form in this particular mixed market. [source] | ||||||||||