ASHHRA eNews Pulse

Employment at the nation's hospitals rose by 0.14 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted 5,119,400 people, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. That's 7,300 more people than in June and 87,300 more than a year ago. 

Rural hospital and health system leaders today received an update on their legislative and policy priorities at an AHA Rural Hospital Policy Forum before meeting with their representatives on Capitol Hill.

The AHA has elected eight members to its Board of Trustees for three-year terms beginning Jan. 1. The incoming board members are: Christina Campos, administrator of Guadalupe County Hospital, Santa Rosa, NM; Robert Casalou, regional president and CEO of Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, Canton, MI; Douglas Cropper, president and CEO of Genesis Health System, Davenport, IA; David Entwistle, president and CEO of Stanford (CA) Health Care; John Haupert, president and CEO of Grady Health System, Atlanta; Candice Saunders, president and CEO of WellStar Health System, Marietta, GA; Peter Wright, president and CEO of Valley Regional Healthcare, Claremont, NH; and Claire Zangerle, chief nurse executive of Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh.

It used to be that onboarding was a process of just a few days, but new research shows that spending as much as a year helping new employees get up to speed in the workplace is necessary to capitalize on the skills, knowledge, and excitement they bring to the organization. What’s more, companies with successful onboarding programs are not just more likely to retain their new hires but even report measurable profit growth.

Employee retention is one of the health care industry's most pressing problems, as well as one of its most expensive. Author and consultant Craig Deao said if you want to cure the high turnover rate plaguing the industry, engagement should be your key remedy.

Preoccupying the minds of health care financial executives are prevailing problems engulfing the industry's business climate: uncertainty about healthcare reform, declining public and private reimbursement, accelerating operating expenses and access to capital.

An agile mindset is one focused on flexibility and continuous learning. As you examine your own HR practice, the following three qualities are absolute must-haves for a 21st century organization to thrive and adapt.

The two biggest factors affecting the bottom line for providers center around evolving payment models tied to reimbursements and an increase a new study in consumer choice when it comes to attracting and retaining patients, according to a new survey.

Clinicians at safety net community health centers are reporting growing dissatisfaction with their jobs and researchers aren’t exactly sure why, a new RAND Corporation study finds.

On Aug. 1, employees at Three Square Market, a technology company in Wisconsin, can choose to have a chip the size of a grain of rice injected between their thumb and index finger. There is nothing illegal about this practice. Employees are providing their consent to the procedure, the implant is 100 percent voluntary and is reasonably safe. 

EmployeeChannel, Inc., a provider of mobile apps for employee engagement and communication, has released the findings of a new study exploring communication requirements of nondesktop, remote, and office workers. Despite their different work environments, all three segments share a common view of the importance, frequency and channels of communication. They also share remarkably similar expectations of both their HR teams and employers.

U.S. News & World Report 

The industry overall added 39,000 jobs, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with ambulatory health services leading the way by adding 30,000 positions. Nursing and residential care facilities added an additional 2,100 jobs. Over the past year, the health care industry has added 327,000 jobs, according to the bureau.