Dear ASHHRA Colleagues,

Welcome to the new ASHHRA! Last month, our new brand and website were unveiled, representing the evolution of our organization toward bigger innovation and better collaboration. Our new brand creates alignment among members, the American Hospital Association and our vision for the future. This is an exciting time for ASHHRA and our members.

Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2:00-3:00 p.m. CT
Managers are key to any organization’s success, especially in health care. In this webinar, learn to proactively initiate a management training program and how to keep that program energized and permanently ingrained into the organization’s culture. 

Tight schedule? No problem. One Day and Exhibit Hall Only registration options are available for any day of the 2019 ASHHRA annual conference in Chicago.

On Friday, Aug. 30, ASHHRA launched their new brand and new website, reflecting a continued commitment to the health care field and the members they serve. “As we look to the future and how to meet the health care workforce needs of tomorrow, we are building on our legacy and forging an innovative new path forward,” says ASHHRA Executive Director, Catherine Carruth.

American Hospital Association
Hospital mergers enhance quality for patients and reduce costs, according to a new Charles River Associates study. The analysis, which was an update to a 2017 report, found that mergers can lead to enhanced quality through the standardization of clinical best practices, as evidenced by significant declines in the rates of readmission and mortality rates following mergers.

Healthcare Dive
The health care sector added a seasonally adjusted 23,900 jobs in August, with the largest job gains in ambulatory care. Nursing care facilities, residential mental health facilities and offices of non-physician health care practitioners saw slight seasonally adjusted drop-offs.Those numbers are behind the trailing 12-month average for job creation.

STAT
Health care delivery in the U.S. is being led by practitioners who have ascended to leadership roles primarily through years of loyalty to their organizations. But as burnout worsens and affects the youngest clinicians to the detriment of the system, is this the appropriate cadre to shepherd us toward necessary system transformation?

Developing a health care workforce prepared for the complex needs of older adults — who have the highest use of health care services and increasingly live with chronic conditions and disabilities — requires engaging community-based providers and caregivers who attend to social and environmental health determinants. 

On the surface, the various settings and locations where nurse executives work may seem vastly different, yet nurse leaders across the nation face many of the same challenges and concerns.

Patient Engagement HIT
Patients are increasingly open to the idea of using telehealth to access care, but barriers to use still remain, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of American Well. Two-thirds of patients are open to care access through telehealth, with most citing faster and more convenient care as the top draw.

Becker's Hospital Review
The gender wage gap exists even in female-heavy specialties like pediatrics. Female pediatricians earn at least $8,000 less than male pediatricians per year, even after accounting for a range of factors, according to research published by Pediatrics.

More than 700,000 people had data exposed in healthcare breaches reported to the federal government in August.

Employees who work in health care regularly work round-the-clock shifts, which can have numerous positives for the company and the workers, but also can have many negative impacts on health — both physical and mental.