Infection control in pediatric extended care facilities.

Pediatric extended care facilities provide for the biopsychosocial needs of patients younger than 21 years of age who have sustained self-care deficits. These facilities include long-term and residential care facilities, chronic disease and specialty hospitals, and residential schools. Infection control policies and procedures developed for adult long-term care facilities, primarily nursing homes for elderly people, are not applicable to long-term care facilities that serve pediatric patients. This article reviews the characteristics of pediatric extended care facilities and their residents, and the epidemic and endemic nosocomial infections, infection control programs, and antimicrobial resistance profiles found in pediatric extended care facilities.     

The epidemiology of HIV and AIDS among Central American, South American, and Caribbean immigrants to Houston, Texas

A retrospective study with respect to demographics and clinical parameters was conducted of all HIV/AIDS patients born in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean region, presenting to the Harris County Hospital District (public facilities) between 1994 and 1998. The original case definition criteria were fulfilled by 240 patients, 168 (70.0%) of whom were from Central America (including Panama), 42 (17.5%) of whom were from the Caribbean, and 30 (12.5%) of whom were from South America. The Central America group contained the highest proportion of women (37.5% compared with 20.8% among the group from the Caribbean and South America, P = 0.01, chi-square). The mean age was significantly lower among those born in Central America (32.4 vs. 38.8 for those born in the other two areas). The most commonly observed opportunistic infections were toxoplasmosis (14.8%), pneumocystosis (19.9%), and tuberculosis (12.1%). These data confirm the distinct epidemiologic parameters among Central American residents compared to the non-Central American populations as the Central American patients present with HIV infection to our health care system at a younger age and are more often women. The high rate of toxoplasmosis, pneumocystosis, and tuberculosis among those immigrants from the areas assessed in this study are a reminder of the need for intensified prophylaxis against these infections when working with patients from these populations.     

Availability of pediatric services and equipment in emergency departments: United States, 2002-03

OBJECTIVES: This report presents estimates on the availability of pediatric services, expertise, and supplies for treating pediatric emergencies in U.S. hospitals. METHODS: The Emergency Pediatric Services and Equipment Supplement (EPSES) was a self-administered questionnaire added to the 2002-03 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). NHAMCS samples non-Federal, short-stay and general hospitals in the United States. The EPSES content was based on the 2001 guidelines for pediatric services, medical expertise, small-sized supplies, and equipment for emergency departments (EDs) developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Combined response rate for both years was 86 percent. Estimates were weighted to produce average annual estimates of pediatric services, expertise, and equipment availability in EDs. RESULTS: One-half of hospitals (52.9 percent) admitted pediatric patients, but did not have a specialized inpatient pediatric ward. One-third (38.3 percent) admitted pediatric patients and had a separate pediatric ward; the remainder did not admit pediatric patients. Among those that did not admit pediatric cases, 30.4 percent were in counties that had a children's hospital. One-quarter of EDs had access 24 hours and 7 days a week to a board-certified pediatric emergency medicine attending physician. Only 5.5 percent had all recommended pediatric supplies, but one-half had greater than 85 percent of recommended supplies. Most hospitals without pediatric trauma service (90.7 percent) or pediatric intensive care units (97.5 percent) transferred critical pediatric patients to hospitals with these services. EDs in hospitals with specialized inpatient facilities for children were more likely to meet the AAP and ACEP guidelines for pediatric ED services, expertise, and supplies.     

Availability, Utilisation and Quality of Basic and Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care Services in Malawi

Objective To establish a baseline for the availability, utilisation and quality of maternal and neonatal health care services for monitoring and evaluation of a maternal and neonatal morbidity/mortality reduction programme in three districts in the Central Region of Malawi. Methods Survey of all the 73 health facilities (13 hospitals and 60 health centres) that provide maternity services in the three districts (population, 2,812,183). Results There were 1.6 comprehensive emergency obstetric care (CEmOC) facilities per 500,000 population and 0.8 basic emergency obstetric care (BEmOC) facilities per 125,000 population. About 23% of deliveries were conducted in emergency obstetric care (EmOC) facilities and the met need for emergency obstetric complications was 20.7%. The case fatality rate for emergency obstetric complications treated in health facilities was 2.0%. Up to 86.7% of pregnant women attended antenatal clinic at least once and only 12.0% of them attend postnatal clinic at least once. There is a shortage of qualified staff and unequal distribution with more staff in hospitals leaving health centres severely understaffed. Conclusions The total number of CEmOC facilities is adequate but the distribution is unequal, leaving some rural areas with poor access to CEmOC services. There are no functional BEmOC facilities in the three districts. In order to reduce maternal mortality in Malawi and countries with similar socio-economic profile, there is a need to upgrade some health facilities to at least BEmOC level by training staff and providing equipment and supplies.     

Enterprise-wide patient monitoring improves care efficiency and lowers costs

The Mid America Heart Institute (MAHI), located at Saint Luke's Hospital and a member of the Saint Luke's-Shawnee Mission Health System (SLSMHS) in Kansas City, Missouri, has implemented a revolutionary enterprise-wide patient monitoring solution via a network that connects multiple hospitals to provide real-time patient monitoring--a lifeline of patient data. The underlying technical infrastructure creates the foundation necessary to link metropolitan and rural facilities with instant acute care patient information. The result is an electronic extension of the MAHI and its proven care expertise to several hospitals throughout the region. This approach has yielded MAHI/SLSMHS numerous efficiencies, including reduced costs and standardized monitoring quality across the enterprise. In the process, they have garnered some unanticipated benefits: unique marketing exposure and a new way to build alliances with other hospitals.     

Organization of therapeutic aid to pregnant women,delivering and delivered women

An experience on the organization of therapeutic care for pregnant women, women-in-labour and puerperants is presented by the example of the city of Tolyatti. An organizational model related with rendering such care is defined; the model envisages the continuity of obstetrics, therapeutic and pediatric complexes, the general therapeutic practice, the practice of maternity welfare clinics, the practice of day-time inhospital policlinic facilities as well as the practice of somatic maternity hospitals. "Therapeutic consultations" and "Passport of extragenital pathology" came to be principally new technologies in Tolyatti.     

Hospital-sponsored rural health clinics: an effective diversification alternative for rural hospitals.

Changes in rural health care are resulting in new challenges for the administrators of rural hospitals. The lack of available care, economic deterioration, and demographic changes in rural America are contributing factors to rural health care problems and are detrimental to the financial well-being of rural hospitals. Diversification is becoming commonplace in these hospitals as administrators seek strategies to gain financial viability for their facilities. The concept of hospital-sponsored rural health clinics is more than a decade old, yet there are fewer than 30 such clinics nationwide. Reasons for the underutilization of such clinics may include the lack of knowledge that such clinics exist as well as inadequate information describing the establishment, operation, and financial feasibility of the clinics. The hospital-sponsored rural health clinic "concept" will be introduced, including potential benefits of such clinics to both the hospital and the communities they serve, factors to be considered in developing such a system, and problems that may arise in this development. This article presents a case study of how one rural hospital incorporated such clinics into its long-range plans.     

How do Canadian hospitals do it? A comparison of utilization and costs in the United States and Canada

In 1990 Canadian hospitals provided more services at less cost than did acute care facilities in the United States. Canadians spent $2,720 less per discharge for 48 percent longer stays. If U.S. acute care facilities had achieved an average discharge cost comparable to that in Canada, the annual savings among hospitals in the United States would have totalled $84.3 billion. In a comparative study of volumes and costs in medium-size and teaching hospitals, it was found that U.S. hospitals had greater costs for delivering services than Canadian acute care facilities did in almost every department.     

Breaking the borders. Hospitals nationwide are targeting foreign consumers

While some healthcare marketing programs are geographically limited to a city, state or region, others are international in scope. Some U.S. hospitals are finding a receptive market in the Caribbean, South America, Central America and Mexico.     

A supervisory level self-directed work team in health care.

Nationwide changes in health care delivery precipitated shifts in management within health care facilities. Connecticut experienced growth of 24 percent in managed care contracting between 1992 and 1994, a result of private sector initiatives set in motion by the proposed Clinton Administration health care plan. The shift from fixed rate to capitated payment structures was expected to have a negative impact on health care facilities and hospitals in particular. Further, it was anticipated that managed care would push services out of hospitals and into price-competitive, freestanding facilities. The response of Hospital for Special Care included development of a supervisory self-directed work team.     

Canadian Nationwide Survey on Pediatric Malnutrition Management in Tertiary Hospitals

Background: Disease-associated malnutrition (DAM) is common in hospitalized children. This survey aimed to assess current in-hospital practices for clinical care of pediatric DAM in Canada. Methods: An electronic survey was sent to all 15 tertiary pediatric hospitals in Canada and addressed all pillars of malnutrition care: screening, assessment, treatment, monitoring and follow-up. Results: Responses of 120 health care professionals were used from all 15 hospitals; 57.5% were medical doctors (MDs), 26.7% registered dietitians (RDs) and 15.8% nurses (RNs). An overarching protocol for prevention, detection and intervention of pediatric malnutrition was present or “a work in progress”, according to 9.6% of respondents. Routine nutritional screening on admission was sometimes or always performed, according to 58.8%, although the modality differed among hospitals and profession. For children with poor nutritional status, lack of nutritional follow-up after discharge was reported by 48.5%. Conclusions: The presence of a standardized protocol for the clinical assessment and management of DAM is uncommon in pediatric tertiary care hospitals in Canada. Routine nutritional screening upon admission has not been widely adopted. Moreover, ongoing nutritional care of malnourished children after discharge seems cumbersome. These findings call for the adoption and implementation of a uniform clinical care pathway for malnutrition among pediatric hospitals.     

Organization and financing of mental health care in Poland

ORGANIZATION OF CARE: Health care is provided to patients with mental disorders by the state health care facilities as well as by social help agencies. Mental health care services are provided mostly by mental health facilities and partly by primary care units. Outpatient clinics, separate for psychiatric patients and substance abusers, are the most numerous mental health care units, amounting to a total of 1120. Intermediate care facilities include 110 day hospitals, 23 community mobile teams and ten hostels. The number of hospital beds amounts to 31913, i.e. 8.3 beds per 10000 population. 80% of beds are located in mental hospitals. TRENDS OF DEVELOPMENT: The trends in mental health care development are outlined in the Mental Health Programme and accompanying documents accepted by the Minister of Health and Social Welfare. The programme defines specific goals to be achieved by the year 2005 in the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of mental disorders. In the domain of mental health care accessibility the most important goals are the following: a significant reduction in the number of beds in large mental hospitals, a marked (nearly threefold) rise in the number of beds in psychiatric wards at general hospitals and a significant increase in the number of community-based forms of care (e.g. a fourfold rise in the number of day hospitals). FINANCING OF CARE: Before 1999, the health care system was financed from the state budget and the health care spendings were subject to a political auction each year. Allocation of funds among hospitals and health care centres was based on the total previous year budgetary spendings of particular facilities and did not take into account a detailed cost analysis. Such a financing approach, although giving a feeling of a relative financial safety, did not encourage health care facilities to introduce an organizational flexibility and to expand the scope of their services. In psychiatry, it manifested itself in a very slow development of some community psychiatry forms (mostly day hospitals, mobile community teams and hostels). The Health Care Institutions Act has created a legal framework for the financial management of health care units in their new, independent form. Conditions for health care financing through regional sickness funds were thus created. The financing is currently based on contracts made by sickness funds with health care facilities for specific health services. Both the quantity and price of services should be mutually negotiated. Some simplified measures of services offered were used during the first insurance financing year. In mental hospitals and day hospitals it was a person-day; in out-patient care it was a visit. Both cost indicators were aggregated, including all the components present so far in the functioning a given unit.     

Situation analysis for cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment in east, central and southern African countries

OBJECTIVE: To determine the factors influencing cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment in countries of East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA). METHODS: Data were collected from randomly selected primary health care centres, district and provincial hospitals, and tertiary hospitals in each participating country. Health care workers were interviewed, using a questionnaire; the facilities for screening, diagnosing, and treating cervical cancer in each institution were recorded, using a previously designed checklist. FINDINGS: Although 95% of institutions at all health care levels in ECSA countries had the basic infrastructure to carry out cervical cytology screening, only a small percentage of women were actually screened. Lack of policy guidelines, infrequent supply of basic materials, and a lack of suitable qualified staff were the most common reasons reported. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that there is an urgent need for more investment in the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in ECSA countries. In these, and other countries with low resources, suitable screening programmes should be established.     

上海市儿科床位资源配置利用现况与思考简

目的：掌握上海市儿科床位资源配置与利用现状,剖析存在的问题及原因,提出对策和建议。方法：采用问卷调查的方法,对2011年初上海所有设住院床位的医疗机构进行调查,对其中在2008—2010年间实际开放儿科床位的医疗机构,对其儿科床位的配置和利用情况进行调查分析。结果：上海实际开设儿科床位的医疗机构数有所减少,2010年为70家;全市儿科床位主要集中在儿童专科医院,占全市儿科床位总数的近50％,三级综合医院的儿科实际开放床位数逐年减少;约50％的儿科床位分布在中心城区;儿童专科医院的儿科床位使用率较高,3年累计值达到101．17％,而民营医疗机构的儿科床位利用率仅为29．43％。结论：三级综合医院实际开放儿科床位的数量呈萎缩态势,近郊区儿科床位配置总量显不足,儿童专科医院的床位利用效率趋于饱和,民营医疗机构儿科床位闲置状况严重;建议制定儿科医疗服务体系建设发展规划。加大对儿科住院医疗服务体系的投入,构筑分工合作的儿科诊疗格局,大力培育儿科专业人才队伍。     

Survey of infection control programs in a large national healthcare system.

In light of consumers' and regulators' increasing focus on infection prevention, infection control practices and resources were surveyed at 134 hospitals owned by the Hospital Corporation of America. Infection control practices and resources varied substantially among hospitals, and many facilities reported difficulty acquiring the data they needed to report infection rates.     

Closing of a state hospital: An overview and framework for a case study

This article introduces the trends in deinstitutionalization, the limitations of previous research, and the design and research questions of the Central State Hospital (CSH) closing studies. Previously, the central engine of deinstitutionalization has been the downsizing, and not the closing, of facilities to decrease available beds. Only 14 state hospitals closed between 1970 and 1990. However, since 1990, 40 hospitals have closed. Moreover, beginning in 1993, for the first time since deinstitutionalization began, funding for state psychiatric facilities was less than for community-based services. Previous research on both the downsizing and closing of hospitals has focused predominantly on relatively short-term clinical and social outcomes of patients. The current study is a multi-disciplinary, longitudinal, multiple-stakeholder study of the closing of a state-run, long-term care facility in Indiana. The articles that follow focus on the clinical, psychological, social, and attitudinal outcomes for patients, workers, families, and the public following the closing of CSH.He is also with the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research in Bloomington.he is also with the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research in Bloomington.she is also with the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research in Bloomington.     

Family-Centered Care: Current Applications and Future Directions in Pediatric Health Care

Family-centered care (FCC) is a partnership approach to health care decision-making between the family and health care provider. FCC is considered the standard of pediatric health care by many clinical practices, hospitals, and health care groups. Despite widespread endorsement, FCC continues to be insufficiently implemented into clinical practice. In this paper we enumerate the core principles of FCC in pediatric health care, describe recent advances applying FCC principles to clinical practice, and propose an agenda for practitioners, hospitals, and health care groups to translate FCC into improved health outcomes, health care delivery, and health care system transformation.     

Organization of workplace first aid in health care facilities

BACKGROUND: Laws D.Lgs. 626/94 and D.I. 388/03 attach particular importance to the organization of first aid in the workplace. Like every other enterprise, also hospitals and health care facilities have the obligation, as foreseen by the relevant legislation, to organize and manage first aid in the workplace. OBJECTIVES: To discuss the topic in the light of the guidelines contained in the literature. METHODS: We used the references contained in the relevant literature and in the regulations concerning organization of first aid in health care facilities. RESULTS: The regulations require the general manager of health care facilities to organize the primary intervention in case of emergencies in all health care facilities (health care or administrative, territorial and hospitals). CONCLUSIONS: In health care facilities the particular occupational risks, the general access of the public and the presence of patients who are already assumed to have altered states of health, should be the reason for particular care in guaranteeing the best possible management of a health emergency in the shortest time possible.     

Pain management. An executive's guide

Six years after the Joint Commission set standards requiring hospitals to establish pain management policies and regularly assess patients, there's still much work to be done. This executive guide examines various types of pain treatment facilities, and presents case studies of hospitals that have innovative management programs for common types of pain: pediatric, palliative and chronic.     

Home technological support network for technology-dependent children discharged from a state-run hospital

Due to major advances, life maintenance technology has improved remarkably over the past few years. Research and development in the field of intensive pediatric and neonatal care has prompted the appearance of a new type of patient: the Technologically-Dependent Child (TDC), a heterogeneous and loosely-defined group whose survival is dependent on technological and pharmacological artifacts. A Government pediatric hospital in Rio de Janeiro, the Instituto Fernandes Figueira (IFF/FIOCRUZ) cares for this group. When eligible patients return home, they are enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Home Care Program (PADI) run by this Institution. This paper discusses the life maintenance equipment purchase and maintenance network, analyzing how families absorb technology so as to become homecare givers and take decisions. Finally, it also examines how families, hospitals and funding agencies must cooperate in order to care for the TDC at home and at this Institution. This qualitative research project is based on observations and interviews conducted at hospital facilities and children being treated in their homes through the Interdisciplinary Home Care Program.