ECRI

In this episode, we talk with our guest, Tom McCormick, Vice President, Patient Accounting, at Penn Medicine, about adjusting staffing patterns in the patient accounting department during the COVID-19 pandemic. He shares his perspective on how staff roles changed, how the shift to remote work had expected and unexpected effects, and how all of it tied back to providing for patient and staff safety.

Tom McCormick was born and raised in Philadelphia and earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Temple University. He has worked in healthcare finance for 40+ years, all in academic medical centers. Tom is currently the Vice President of Patient Accounting at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. His responsibilities cover the Accounts Receivable operations for 6 hospitals, the faculty practice plan, the physician primary care group practice, home care services, and behavioral health. Tom is also a board member of the Philadelphia Chapter of American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management where he previously served as that organization’s president for 12 years.

Tom McCormick

Vice President, Patient Accounting, Penn Medicine

In this episode, we talk with our guest, Tom McCormick, Vice President, Patient Accounting, at Penn Medicine, about adjusting staffing patterns in the patient accounting department during the COVID-19 pandemic. He shares his perspective on how staff roles changed, how the shift to remote work had expected and unexpected effects, and how all of it tied back to providing for patient and staff safety. 


Nurse Retirement Leading to Continued Workforce Shortages

Each year, ECRI releases its Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns list identifying potential sources of danger for patients and staff. We believe these risks require the greatest focus for the coming year. This year, we named healthcare staffing shortages as the top item on the list.Concerns about staffing shortages and their effects on patient safety and healthcare operations aren’t limited to shortages among nurses. In this episode, we talk with our guest about adjusting staffing patterns in the patient accounting department during the COVID-19 pandemic. He shares his perspective on how staff roles changed, how the shift to remote work had expected and unexpected effects, and how all of it tied back to providing for patient and staff safety. Visit ECRI and the ISMP PSO to learn more or to request a demo. Download the executive brief of ECRI and the ISMP PSO's Deep Dive, Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health and Healthcare today.

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Welcome to Smart Healthcare Safety from ECRI, where we discuss real healthcare safety issues. The goal of this podcast is to bring ECRI's guidance to life. The recommendations are meant to help you get from being aware of an issue to assuring that your patients are safe.  Hear from our experts and guests on topics that affect your delivery of safe patient care.

Smart Healthcare Safety from ECRI

In this episode, our guests discuss their data-driven approach to identify and combat disparities and realize their vision of creating a Dallas County with equitable, accessible healthcare for all. Our first guest, Brett Moran, MD, is from Parkland Health &amp; Hospital System, one of the country’s largest and most progressive safety-net hospitals. Our second guest, Steve Miff, PhD, is from Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation, a leading, non-profit, data science, artificial intelligence and innovation organization affiliated with Parkland Health &amp; Hospital System.

Dr. Steve Miff is the President and CEO of Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), a leading, non-profit, artificial intelligence and cognitive computing organization affiliated with Parkland Health, one of the country’s largest and most progressive safety-net hospitals. Spurred by his passion to use next-generation analytics and technology to help serve the most vulnerable and underserved residents, Steve and his team focus on leveraging technology, data science, and clinical expertise to obtain unique social-determinants-of-health data and incorporate those holistic, personal insights into point-of-care interventions.

Steve Niff, PhD, MS

President and CEO of Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation​

Brett is the first ever Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) at Parkland Health & Hospital System and helped steward them from being a paper-based hospital to being a fully electronic institution within 3 years and ultimately being one of the first safety net organizations to win the Davies Award, for excellence in translating informatics to patient value. Graduating from UT Southwestern Medical School, and subsequently Internal Medicine Residency, he joined the General Internal Medicine Department in 1997, ultimately becoming a full professor. He is dual board certified in both Internal Medicine and Clinical Informatics, being the 2nd class to graduate with board certification in Clinical Informatics. 

Brett Moran, MD

Chief Medical Informatics Officer, Parkland Health and Hospital System

In this episode, our guests discuss their data-driven approach to identify and combat disparities and realize their vision of creating a Dallas County with equitable, accessible healthcare for all. 


Fighting Healthcare Disparities | Equitable and Accessible Healthcare for All

In this episode, we're taking another look at shortages in the nursing workforce. Healthcare has faced workforce shortages in the past, and even before the COVID-19 pandemic made things even worse. The American Nurses Association and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecast the retirement of more than half a million registered nurses by the end of 2022. Our guests are from the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing at Villanova University, located just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Brom teaches in the undergraduate curriculum and is a health services researcher interested in examining nurse and nurse practitioner workforce issues and contributions to improved health outcomes across a variety of patient populations. Her work utilizes a variety of data sources including electronic health records and larger administrative claims-based data sets. Dr. Brom has over 10 years of clinical, administrative, and educational experience in the oncology setting. Her current projects include examining the influence of nurse practitioners on diminishing racial and ethnic disparities in ambulatory care, implementing a clinical pathway to improve post-hospitalization outcomes for socially at-risk individuals, and the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare workforce.

Heather Brom, PhD, RN

Eastwood Family Endowed Assistant Professor of Nursing, Villanova University

Donna S. Havens, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Connelly Endowed Dean of the Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. She began in that role June 30, 2018. Her career in the nursing profession spans decades and has included a blend of roles in nursing practice, academia, administration and research in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Havens brings broad international experience to her role at Villanova. She has held several appointments abroad, including as a visiting international scholar at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. She also served as the Frances Bloomberg International Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and as a visiting professor in the National Nursing Research Unit at the King’s College Florence Nightingale School of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care in London. 

Donna S. Havens, PhD, RN, FAAN

Connelly Endowed Dean and Professor of the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, Villanova University

Healthcare has faced workforce shortages in the past, and even before the COVID-19 pandemic made things even worse. Our guests are from the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing at Villanova University, located just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


Shortages in the Nursing Workforce

In this episode, we're talking about ECRI’s number one Top 10 concern for 2022: staffing shortages and the potential dangers to both the patients and the staff. Prior to 2021, there was a growing shortage of both clinical and non-clinical staff, but the problem has grown exponentially. Our guest is Ernest Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN, the 36th President of the American Nurses Association (ANA).

Dr. Ernest J. Grant is the 36th president of the American Nurses Association (ANA). A distinguished leader, Dr. Grant has more than 30 years of nursing experience and is an internationally recognized burn-care and fire-safety expert. He previously served as the burn outreach coordinator for the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals in Chapel Hill. In this role, Grant oversaw burn education for physicians, nurses, and other allied health care personnel and ran the center’s nationally acclaimed burn prevention program. Grant holds a BSN degree from North Carolina Central University and MSN and PhD degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in 2014. He is the first man to be elected to the office of president of the American Nurses Association.

Ernest J. Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN

President, American Nurses Association 

In this episode, we're talking about ECRI’s number one Top 10 concern for 2022: staffing shortages and the potential dangers to both the patients and the staff.


Top Patient Safety Concern–Staffing Shortages

In this episode, we’re talking to our guest from Valleywise Health's Refugee Women's Health Clinic, serving more than 9,000 refugees since 2008 from over 60 countries and is located in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area; specifically, Maricopa County. The Refugee Women's Health Clinic has a long-established infrastructure of community partnership, engagement, and shared community leadership that through collaboration facilitate and coordinate culturally competent care, services, and support.

Dr. Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, an Obstetrician/Gynecologist at Valleywise Health, is Founding Director of the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic and Director of the Office of Refugee Health, in the Southwest Interdisciplinary Center at Arizona State University. Her research investigates strategies to advance sexual and reproductive health equity for newly-arrived refugee women, particularly those who have undergone Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) as well as Gender-Based Violence (GBV). She has led a federally funded effort to improve health care services, community engagement and provider cultural competency on FGM/C and has provided consultative expertise to the CDC and WHO on refugee women’s health and FGM/C. 

Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, MD, MSc, FACOG

Founder and Director of the Valleywise Health Refugee Women’s Health Clinic

In this episode, we’re talking to Dr. Crista Johnson-Agbakwu from Valleywise Health's Refugee Women's Health Clinic, serving more than 9,000 refugees since 2008 from over 60 countries.


Fighting Healthcare Disparities | Supporting the Refugee Community

In this episode, we're talking about wound care biologics—products used to treat all sorts of acute and chronic wounds in hospitals and other care settings. ECRI experts will review what wound care biologics are and some of the challenges that providers face in terms of purchasing and inventory management. Our guests will also discuss strategies to ensure that the right products are available to caregivers at the right time, taking into account some of the challenges that those providers will have in knowing which products will work for which patients.

Ayreece Mason has been with ECRI for 5 years, functioning as a medical supply specialist within Supply Guide group focusing on our Functional Equivalents offering. She has a Bachelor’s degree in biology. 

Ayreece Mason

Medical Supply Specialist II

Jillian Hillman has been with ECRI for two years, managing the development of Functional Equivalents with the Supply Guide team. She holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in Bioengineering and has over 10 year of research experience in drug delivery, biomaterials, wound healing and regenerative medicine. Recent Functional Equivalents categories where she has applied her expertise include SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostic Tests, Peripheral Stents and Tissue Bulking Agents.

Jillian Hillman

Manager, Functional Equivalents Technical Development, ECRI

In this episode, we're talking about wound care biologics—products used to treat all sorts of acute and chronic wounds in hospitals and other care settings.


Overcoming Challenges with Wound Care Biologics

This episode is part of a series regarding the ECRI and the ISMP Patient Safety Organization's (PSO) annual Deep Dive report.The 2021 Deep Dive report focuses on issues of racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. Research has repeatedly confirmed that members of racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to experience disparities in care, including having an increased risk of being uninsured or underinsured, lacking access to care, and experiencing worse health outcomes for treatable and preventable conditions.In this episode, we’re talking to guests from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the Frazier Family Coalition for Stroke Education and Prevention. They'll discuss an initiative, "Advancing Health Equity and Stroke Prevention through Collaboration," that is being conducted by the Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity and the Frazier Stroke Coalition in partnership with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Temple Hospital. We'll talk about how the collaborative's mission is to leverage health as a catalyst to help Philadelphians reach their full potential by addressing the drivers of health and health outcomes and how these efforts fit into larger programs to fight inequities.

Joining the Jefferson Health System just prior to the pandemic, Dr. Brooks quickly became integral to the Center City Division pandemic response as the Chief Medical Officer of the Center City Division of Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc./ Dr. Brooks is deeply engaged in quality and safety initiatives, and is a lead architect of Jefferson’s REAL TALK vaccine promotion campaign. Dr. Brooks was named the Executive Vice President, Chief Community Health Equity Officer, TJU, and is leading the Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity, while continuing to lead as Chief Medical Officer of TJUH, Inc. 

Sandra E Brooks, MD, MBA

Executive Vice President, Chief Community Health Equity Officer, TJU; Chief Medical Officer, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc.

Neva White serves as the Executive Director of the Frazier Family Coalition for Stroke Education and Prevention and Director Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity for Jefferson Health. In 2000, Dr. White joined Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Center for Urban Health (CUH). She developed the community based diabetes self-management education and support program that received accreditation from the American Association of Diabetes Educators in 2010. Dr. White created a distance-learning platform and has provided diabetes education via zoom video conferencing since 2016.  She is a Master Trainer for the National Diabetes Prevention Program and coordinates the CUH diabetes prevention program that received Center for Disease Control full recognition in 2017. Dr. White has served as nurse practitioner and lead instructor for Diabetes Information and Support for Your Health (DISH), group visit at the Jefferson Department of Family and Community Medicine for over 10 years.

Neva White, DNP, CRNP, CDCES

Executive Director of the Frazier Family Coalition for Stroke Education and Prevention

In this episode, we’re talking to guests from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the Frazier Family Coalition for Stroke Education and Prevention. They'll discuss an initiative, "Advancing Health Equity and Stroke Prevention through Collaboration," that is being conducted to leverage health as a catalyst to help Philadelphians reach their full potential by addressing the drivers of health and health outcomes and how these efforts fit into larger programs to fight inequities. 


Recent Episodes

SEASON 1

Fighting Healthcare Disparities | Equitable and Accessible Healthcare for All

Shortages in the Nursing Workforce

Top Patient Safety Concern–Staffing Shortages

Fighting Healthcare Disparities | Supporting the Refugee Community

Overcoming Challenges with Wound Care Biologics

Fighting Healthcare Disparities | Health Equity and Stroke Prevention

About The Show

Smart Healthcare Safety from ECRI

Paul Anderson

Director, Patient Safety, Risk, & Quality Publications