MEDICA@MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina)
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Closure of Nursing Homes in Rural Texas during 2022-2023 a Three-County Case Study
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the healthcare system, particularly for nursing homes. In this study, the impact of the acute 2022 epidemic on the closure of nursing homes in rural Texas was examined. The objective was to identify the factors that contributed to the closure of these nursing homes during the epidemic which eventually led to limited bed availability and closures over an 11-month period. Data was collected on the number of nursing homes that closed, their location, and the reasons for closure. The target. Criteria for measuring adequate bed availability was Based on review of literature used; 30 beds per 1,000 residents age 65+ in a county as our “benchmark” for being underserved regarding nursing home access.
Results show that the closure of nursing homes in rural Texas during the 2022 epidemic was primarily driven by financial challenges. Many nursing homes were unable to secure adequate funding to cover the increased costs associated with the epidemic. Furthermore, the finding indicates that state systems to monitor patient access to nursing home care are notable to provide timely warnings to policy makers on severe shortages that are emerging.
In conclusion, the acute 2022 epidemic had a profound impact on the closure of nursing homes in rural Texas, primarily due to financial challenges. My findings suggest that policymakers and healthcare providers should prioritize measures to ensure the financial stability of nursing homes during epidemics followed by clear, prompt and concise data reporting within rural healthcare setting
Waring Library Society Newsletter, Winter 2023
Get PDFIn this issue, Waring Library Society President Dr. Jacob Steere-Williams rethinks Francis Peyre Porcher\u27s role in medical history and the study of botany; Dr. Brian Fors discusses the history of the Medical College of South Carolina from when its doors opened in 1824 through the Civil War; and Dr. Gabriella Angeloni analyzes Isabella Porcher\u27s plantation prescription book through a new lens. This issue also features the Waring\u27s Spring calendar of events and updates on the Archives materials returning to campus, the progress of the Pharmacy History Museum project, and the fundraising efforts of the Waring Library Society for the Waring\u27s restoration project.https://medica-musc.researchcommons.org/wls-newsletters/1000/thumbnail.jp
Improving Scheduling for Diagnostic Imaging and the Effect on Hospital Revenue: An Ex Post Facto Study
Get PDFBackground and Need: Outpatient diagnostic radiology can be a substantial driver for revenue growth in health systems but without proper processes in place, health systems may not be optimizing patient access within their radiology departments health systems who are having difficulty getting patients to obtain care at their departments/centers and retain loyalty (Lu et.al 2011). To evaluate radiology patient access, patient retention, and market analysis, in 2018, Berkeley Research Group, LLC (BRG) engaged with a six-hospital faith-based health system in New York State to evaluate, create, and implement a variety of different performance improvement (PI) initiatives with the goal of optimizing diagnostic radiology patient throughput/retention to better treat the patient population, improve volumes, while increasing revenue. A key initiative was to review one of the outpatient diagnostic imaging centers owned by the health system and identify opportunities to improve financial performance through a combination of technology updates, centralized scheduling, and volume enhancement/growth strategies.
Problem Statement: Outpatient diagnostic imaging centers at this health system is operating capacity constraints. Improvements in scheduling may improve the timeliness of patient care, decrease wait times and improve the facility’s profitabilit
Afferent Contribution to Plantarflexor Muscle Activity Towards Propulsive Force Generation During Walking
No full textPropulsive force generation by ankle plantarflexors is important for human locomotion. The production of muscle force involves the coordination of inputs from the tripartite system of locomotion: the central pattern generator-like network, supraspinal descending centers, and peripheral sensory afferents acting on motoneurons. Previous work suggests that during stance phase, sensory afferents contribute significantly to generating and reinforcing plantarflexor activity. Therefore, this project includes three separate studies which aim to investigate muscle afferent contributions to plantarflexor activity towards generating propulsive force during walking at various speeds, additional weight loading, and with restricted knee joint motion. To do this, indirect approximations of each muscle afferents’ firing was examined using ankle joint rotation and ground reaction forces during and prior to peak propulsive force to examine the length- and velocity-sensitive afferents (Ia and II) and load-sensitive afferents (Ib), respectively. In all studies, speed was a factor for each study design as a way of encouraging additional propulsion. Across all studies, as walking speed increased, ankle joint rotation generally decreased its amount and maintained its rate of rotation during mid-late stance. Conversely, ground reaction forces increased in both amount and rate during the same phase. Taken together, these findings may suggest a significant role of the load sensitive Ib pathway in the generation and/or enhancement of plantarflexor activity across various submaximal speeds and during a variety of locomotor tasks. The functional implications of these studies could suggest that enhanced loading of the plantarflexors may be an important strategy for rehabilitation protocols
