Iowa news
Hy-Vee becomes joint owner of Exemplar Care
Hy-Vee has become a joint owner of Exemplar Care. As a result, Exemplar Care medical clinics in the Des Moines area will now be Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care. Under the agreement, Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care medical clinics will offer direct primary care and around-the-clock urgent care, where available. Locations are open in West Des Moines, Ankeny and soon Bondurant, Iowa. Hy-Vee’s Chief Medical Officer Daniel Fick, M.D., and Exemplar Care’s leadership team, including founder Jon Van Der Veer, D.O., will manage the clinics. (Drug Store News)
Mercy College of Health Sciences and Buena Vista University have announced a new partnership to offer a 3+1 program that allows students to earn two degrees in four years while remaining on the BVU campus in Storm Lake for the entire program. Students who enroll in this degree pathway will earn a bachelor’s degree from BVU and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing through an accelerated one-year pathway from Mercy College. This partnership not only allows students to earn two bachelor’s degrees from two prestigious institutions, but it will also do so with minimal disruption to the student’s educational experiences. (Buena Vista University)
Mercy Cedar Rapids nurses named among Great Iowa Nurses for 2024
The Great Iowa Nurses program honors Iowa nurses who routinely go above and beyond daily to ensure safe, compassionate patient care. These nurses share their experience and knowledge to improve the health of their communities. They also take on leadership and mentoring responsibilities, serving as role models, especially to those just entering the profession. They are nominated for this distinction by their peers and patients. Mercy’s 2024 Great Iowa Nurses are Kimberly Carmichael, RN, Mercy Gastroenterology Clinic; Joan Colston, B.S.N., RN, Patient Experience; Megan Iiams, B.S.N., RN, SANE, Organizational Development/Emergency Department; Jamie Larson, RN, Surgical Oncology and Sandy Walker, M.S.N., RN, CNE, Organizational Development. (KGAN)
National news
Kaufman Hall releases latest national hospital and physician flash reports
Following hospitals’ worst financial year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 presented a more promising trend for hospitals and health systems with general improvement across operational and financial measures. The median Kaufman Hall Calendar Year-To-Date Operating Margin Index reflecting actual margins was 2.3% in December. Provider productivity increased in Q4 2023, but expenses continued to outpace revenue growth. The median investment/subsidy per provider rose to $225,685 — an increase of 7% since 2021. (Kaufman Hall)
The No. 1 problem still keeping hospital CEOs up at night
Hospital CEOs ranked workforce challenges as their No. 1 concern in 2023. Financial challenges, which held the top spot for 16 consecutive years before 2021, were listed as the second-most pressing concern in the American College of Healthcare Executives’ annual survey. Behavioral health and addiction issues ranked third. This is the second consecutive year that hospital CEOs have ranked workforce challenges, financial challenges, behavioral health and addiction issues as the top three concerns, and the third straight year workforce or personnel challenges have been the top-ranked issue. (American College of Healthcare Executives)
Value-based care: Filling critical gaps in care and clinician leadership
The value-based care model was conceived in the early 2000s in response to spiraling health care costs and suboptimal health outcomes. Now sponsored by commercial and government insurers, the model ties the dollars health care providers earn for their services to the results they deliver for their patients, thereby holding providers more accountable for improving patient outcomes while giving them greater flexibility to provide the proper care at the right time. Oak Street Health, a national network of more than 1,750 primary care centers for adult Medicare beneficiaries, has been at the forefront of this movement — particularly concerning underserved populations. (MedPage Today)