December 2023- The Journal of Healthcare Contracting
Cleveland Clinic announced plans to expand its Center for Community Health Workers by doubling its staff over the next month.
Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Community Health Workers is one of the first programs of its kind at an academic medical center, and the only one to be led by a certified community health worker.
Community health workers collaborate with patients who experience barriers to accessing medical care and daily essentials such as food, housing, employment and childcare. They play a valuable role as facilitators, translators and advocates, connecting individuals to needed resources.
Cleveland Clinic’s community health workers are part of the clinical teams within emergency medicine, primary care and women’s health.
Established in November 2021 by a multimillion-dollar gift from the Jones Day Foundation, the program continues to sustain and grow with support from philanthropic gifts of all sizes. The program has trained 10 community health workers and aims to recruit an additional 10 people from the community to meet the needs of more patients.
Premier joins alliance to end drug shortages
Premier, Inc. announced it has joined the End Drug Shortages Alliance, a coalition of diverse stakeholders to address drug shortages in the United States. The Alliance provides a forum for key stakeholders to take strategic aim at one of healthcare’s more pressing and enduring issues: drug shortages that disrupt patient care.
The End Drug Shortages Alliance was launched in late 2021 to bring together industry stakeholders, including providers, group purchasing organizations, manufacturers, distributors and other industry thought leaders and champions. Efforts will focus on improving access to medications through greater transparency across market participants, leading to improved quality manufacturing of medications and production of additional supply.
For more than two decades, Premier and its members have been leaders in preventing and resolving drug shortages. Through commitment and aggregated demand, Premier’s drug shortage programs give manufacturers proper demand signaling, predictable revenue and the surety needed to ramp up and maintain production. As a result of Premier’s innovations, the company has successfully contributed to the resolution of 15 drug shortages, resulting in their removal from the FDA shortage list.
UPMC announces Heart Institute expansion
UPMC will construct a new Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, elevating care and technology in pediatric cardiology for patients and their families.
The Heart Institute will be home to state-of-the-art clinical space with new cardiac catheterization labs, an interoperative MRI, inpatient and outpatient procedural and diagnostic and consultation spaces, plus waiting and reception rooms. The new 50,000-square foot, three-story addition will be built on the UPMC Children’s Lawrenceville campus.
UPMC Children’s is a leader in cardiology and heart surgery, ranking in the top 10 by U.S. News & World Report. Each year, UPMC Children’s provides comprehensive care to over 18,000 patients with congenital conditions throughout their lives, from prenatal through adulthood. As a comprehensive pediatric heart transplantation center, and a national leader in the use of pediatric heart-assist devices, the Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s continues to advance the field of cardiovascular medicine.