- Alaska: Providence Health & Services Alaska in Anchorage won the seventh annual Film Festival at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology's (APIC) annual conference with their hand hygiene music video titled "Look at Me." The video encourages people to wash their hands to prevent infections. "Utilizing a music video format to provide an overview of hand hygiene best practices is a great way to disseminate our most important infection prevention intervention," said Timothy Wiemken, the chair of the APIC 2017 Annual Conference (Punke, Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality, 6/15).
- Kansas: Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback allowed a bill to become law that permits public hospitals, mental health care facilities, and certain other health centers to prohibit concealed firearms without having to upgrade their security. A 2013 law had required public buildings to allow gun owners to bring their concealed guns into the building if it lacked heightened security, but health care facilities and universities had received an exemption from the law through July. Under the new law, state and public hospitals, as well as mental health facilities, nursing homes, and indigent clinics are permanently exempt from the 2013 law (Hanna, AP/Sacramento Bee, 6/15).
- New Hampshire: Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health have named Joanne Conroy as president and CEO. Conroy, who is scheduled to assume her new positions on Aug. 7, will succeed James Weinstein, who plans to retire when he steps down at the end of June. Conroy currently serves as the CEO of Lahey Hospital, and she has previously served in leadership positions at Atlantic Health System and the Association of American Medical Colleges (Vaidya, Becker's Hospital Review, 6/15).
The top investments to support best practice quality and efficiency
The list of competing investment priorities for population health managers is daunting. Ultimately, the most important investments fit into three key areas: care management, technology, and network development.
Download this executive briefing to learn prioritization strategies and explore how other organizations have driven population health success through their investments.