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Retirement Planning for Small Businesses
No full textRetirement Planning for Entrepreneurs: Research Summary
Description:
Many entrepreneurs neglect retirement planning, either for themselves or their staff, due to time constraints, lack of structure in their small businesses, or lack of understanding of the available options. The focus of this study is on retirement planning for entrepreneurs and the strategies entrepreneurs use to establish effective retirement plans for their employees.
Problems Being Addressed:
Entrepreneurs and their employees are uneducated on their retirement planning options.
People are discouraged from working for small businesses because of uncertainty surrounding benefits and retirement planning.
BIG QUESTION:
What are small business employers doing for their employees in terms of retirement benefits and planning?
Possibilities:
Lack of plan
Lack of knowledge
Lack of resources
Objectives:
Understanding the current key challenges entrepreneurs face when setting up retirement plans for their businesses and employees.
Exploring the different types of retirement plans available to small businesses and how to evaluate the options with regard to the size of the business, levels of revenue, etc.
Assessing the level of awareness among entrepreneurs regarding their options for retirement planning, employee benefit plans, and tax benefits
Identifying best practices for educating entrepreneurs about the importance of offering retirement plans to improve employee retention and satisfaction
Developing recommendations for small business owners for retirement plans for themselves and their employee
The Tyranny of Rockefeller Center: Architecture and Infrastructure in Greater New York
Full text linkRockefeller Center has long been described as a city in miniature. The project’s aspirations to completeness have been discussed in a variety of terms, but most critics and historians focus on the contrast between the project’s cohesive visual language and the more varied urban landscape surrounding it. This preoccupation has led to blind spots in received understanding of this well-known project. This article focuses on little-known infrastructural and housing projects—some built, others not—that carry the Center’s history from the heart of Manhattan to the margins of the metropolis. To ensure financial viability, these projects mostly sought to pull wealthy, white commuters into the Center’s orbit, but they also reveal competing visions of urban and regional change among the Center’s architects and managers. Rockefeller Center provides a unique vantage point from which to consider the ways architecture exceeds the formal and visual preoccupations of most architects and architectural historians
Advancing Peripartum and Pelvic Health Rehabilitation at TriStar Centennial: Empowering Recovery Through Occupational Therapy
Full text linkThis capstone project, Advancing Peripartum and Pelvic Health Rehabilitation, was completed through the Peripartum Inpatient Program and Pelvic Health Outpatient Program at TriStar Centennial Medical and focused on empowering recovery through occupational therapy (OT). It addressed needs by revising educational materials, developing videos for at-home recovery, defining OT’s role alongside physical therapy and social work, and improving the OT presentation and packet for peripartum rehabilitation. Deliverables included educational materials, videos, and graphics to boost patient engagement, alongside an OT presentation clarifying interdisciplinary collaboration. Materials were prepared for dissemination to interdisciplinary teams, patients, and families, ensuring alignment with OT’s scope and promoting consistent care. Outcomes included refined intervention strategies, a peripartum OT program with an education packet, and streamlined interdisciplinary collaboration. This project aligns with TriStar Centennial’s mission of delivering high-quality, compassionate, patient-centered care through teamwork while advancing evidence-based rehabilitation to enhance function, reduce pain, and empower recovery after childbirth
Blind Early Services TN: An Inclusive Summer Camp
Full text linkThis doctoral capstone project was completed in partnership with Blind Early Services Tennessee (BEST), a non-profit organization with the focus on early intervention-based services for children with visual impairments. Currently, BEST serves over 200 families across the state of Tennessee with the following providers; teachers of the visually impaired (TVI), orientation & mobility specialists (O&M), and occupational therapists (OT). The focus of this project was to create BEST’s second annual summer camp, free of charge to participants, with activities specifically catered toward and adapted for children with low vision. Deliverables included a schedule of sensory, motor, and literacy activities, a detailed budget of camp materials, physical card activities with printed braille labeling, a mockup of camper and staff t-shirts, and parent information and registration documents
Lecture Series Supporting Maternal-Infant Health Population: Educating Parents and Training Occupational Therapy Students
Full text linkThis capstone project was completed in collaboration with both the Belmont University School of Occupational Therapy and Ella’s House, a nonprofit organization that supports pregnant and parenting college students finishing their education. A needs assessment was completed to identify what type of project would be most beneficial to both organizations, with a final decision to create a series of courses that support infant and maternal health and well-being. Course topics included basic newborn childcare skills; perinatal mental health; and caregiver roles, routines, and supports. With each presentation of a course, students reviewed the course to compare knowledge prior to and after receiving the education. Additionally, students and current educators provided feedback on ways to improve each course. Final versions of each course, including slides, pdf summaries, and educator guides were reviewed with and delivered to Ella’s House executive director to support sustainability of courses after length of capstone experience. Additional areas of focus beyond the course development and dissemination included developing a resource book and leading parent-student interactions through interprofessional events
Evidence Based Resource Creation: Building Knowledge and Supporting Curriculum Rationale for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at Friends Life Community
Full text linkThis capstone project was completed in collaboration with Friends Life Community (FLC), a nonprofit, community-based day program that serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A comprehensive needs assessment revealed a gap in evidence-based research supporting the purpose and impact of FLC’s daily curriculum. Additionally, there was a need for custom outcome measurement tools to better capture the growth and progress of program participants. In response, the focus of this capstone was to develop an educational resource tailored for multiple stakeholder audiences, including FLC staff, parents/caregivers, board members, and donors. The goal of the resource was to reinforce the daily curriculum with evidence-based support, while also integrating an occupational therapy perspective. Specifically, the project identified common client factors addressed through FLC’s curriculum and illustrated how these factors are being targeted to enhance participants’ overall quality of life and wellness. The findings highlighted that a wide range of client factors—physical, cognitive, emotional, and social—are actively engaged through FLC’s structured activities. These outcomes are supported by research, demonstrating that the program environment fosters meaningful opportunities for growth and well-being. Ultimately, FLC provides a space where participants, known as Friends, can thrive and maintain a healthy life—mentally, physically, and socially
Implementation of a Standardized Discharge Process at a Substance Use Disorder Inpatient Treatment Facility
Full text linkProject Title: Implementation of a Standardized Discharge Process at a Substance Use Disorder Inpatient Treatment Facility
Background and Rationale: Currently, millions of adults are suffering from substance use disorder. For those in recovery, 45-55% of these adults will relapse within the first 6 months of leaving rehab, and due to loss of tolerance to their preferred drug of choice, these clients are at higher risk of mortality. This transition of care phase is a critical time period for clients to avoid relapse while navigating recovery challenges independently, and evidence supports standardized, intentional, client-centered discharge planning to improve transitional care outcomes.
SMART Aim: To create a sustainable, empowering, evidence-based, standardized discharge process that will be implemented at Samaritan Recovery Community in 90% of the intensive residential program discharges to home by December 2024.
Methods: Three Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles were implemented, and one educational workshop was held. In-person reminders and preparation for each discharge were held once a week for staff. Compliance rates were measured using direct observation and audits from a standardized discharge checklist given to staff. Nurses, providers, and staff were interviewed to help identify barriers to regular performance of the discharge process.
Outcomes: From week 1 to week 6, 56%-86% of clients received the standardized discharge process. After 2 PDSA cycles, in week 7, 100% of clients received the implemented standardized discharge process. 66.67% of staff reported this discharge process increased their workload
Quality Improvement Initiative to Decrease Excessive Testing for Streptococcal Pharyngitis in Adults in an Outpatient Clinic Setting
Full text linkProject Title: Quality Improvement Initiative to Decrease Excessive Testing for Streptococcal Pharyngitis in Adults in an Outpatient Clinic Setting
Background and Rationale: Current guidelines recommend utilization of a clinical decision-making tool, like the Centor score, in conjunction with confirmatory diagnostic methods, such as a throat culture or rapid test, rather than either method alone. The existing practice at the clinic site was to test most adults with upper respiratory infection symptoms (e.g., sore throat, cough, fever, sinus congestion) with little discretion. With the reported prevalence of streptococcal pharyngitis or “strep throat” in adults being 5-15%, universally testing adult patients could result in a positive test due to being a carrier, despite the causative organism of pharyngitis likely being viral. This contributes to antibiotic misuse and potentially antimicrobial resistance.
SMART Aim: The aim of this project was to decrease unnecessary rapid testing for Group A pharyngitis by 40% in patients over the age of 18 who present with upper respiratory symptoms to a primary care clinic in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, by December 13, 2024.
Methods: The protocol for the QI initiative called for the provider to calculate a Centor score prior to performing a rapid test for strep throat and to document the score in the encounter note. Ideally, a rapid strep test should only be performed for a Centor score ≥ 2. Data collection and compliance rates were completed by a chart review during implementation.
Outcomes: This QI initiative resulted in a 56% reduction in unnecessary testing for streptococcal pharyngitis. Also, antibiotic prescriptions were reduced by 20%. There was no significant change in the length of visit in minutes or significant increase in point-of-care testing for other URIs, such as Covid-19 or Influenza A & B. There were no missed cases of strep throat during the implementation
Personality Traits and Self-Perceptions as Determinants of Health-Seeking Behavior
No full textPersonality traits and self-perceptions have long been recognized as critical psychological factors that shape health behaviors. Existing literature has found that extraversion, self-efficacy, and self-esteem are individually associated with health-promoting actions. Examining emerging adults, the current study investigated the potential relationship between extraversion and health-seeking behaviors, as moderated by self-efficacy and self-esteem. Seventy-one (N = 71) undergraduate college students were surveyed to gather information on health-seeking behaviors and extraversion, along with the possible moderators. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate how self-esteem and/or self-efficacy might moderate health-seeking behaviors and personality. Results indicated that self-esteem significantly moderated the relationship between extraversion and health-seeking behaviors. Specifically, at low levels of self-esteem, extraversion was positively associated with health-seeking behaviors. At medium- and high-levels of self-esteem, however, the relationship between extraversion and health-seeking behaviors was not significant. Implications, interpretations, and future directions of these findings are discussed
Computational Modeling of Post-TAVR Cardiovascular Dynamics Using Reduced-Order Models
No full textPatients with aortic valve stenosis often have calcified valve leaflets that impede blood flow. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) offers patients a minimally invasive option to replace their aortic valve by guiding a catheter through their blood vessels to deploy a bioprosthetic valve. We developed a 0-D model of the left heart to investigate TAVR performance in a patient-specific context. To achieve this, we constructed a lumped-parameter representation of cardiovascular dynamics, incorporating flows, pressures, resistances, and compliances of the heart chambers and valves. These physiological elements were represented through a system of differential equations, which we solved numerically using Backward Euler. We simulated flow and pressure dynamics upstream and downstream of the aortic valve to better capture post-TAVR behavior. By tuning the model to post-TAVR clinical data found in the literature, we demonstrated its ability to capture patient-specific hemodynamics. This tuning allows for more accurate simulation of post-TAVR cardiac dynamics, providing cardiologists with a tool to optimize patient outcomes