Op-Ed: Pandemic must drive nursing-home transformation
FRED A. KOBYLARZ | NOVEMBER 13, 2020 | CORONAVIRUS IN NJ, OPINION COVID-19 presents an opportunity to transform nursing-home care. Residents and staff have been overlooked for too long Fred A. Kobylarz When the floodwaters receded after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, they revealed disastrous conditions and losses of life at nursing homes across the Gulf region. In the…Read More…
Trying to avoid a repeat of COVID-19 disaster in NJ nursing homes
LILO H. STAINTON, HEALTH CARE WRITER | NOVEMBER 9, 2020 | CORONAVIRUS IN NJ, HEALTH CARE Training program underway to improve infection control, keep residents and workers safe Credit: (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)File photo: March 25, 2020, a resident of St. Joseph’s Senior Home, Woodbridge is helped on to a bus after an outbreak of COVID-19 there. Health care…Read More…
How to ensure equal access in NJ to maternal health care and family planning services
The full spectrum of reproductive health — from decisions about conception through maternity care and birth — was the subject of a lively discussion among the panel of clinical and policy experts NJ Spotlight News brought together for an online roundtable last week. The event — titled Maternal Health and Family Planning in New Jersey:…Read More…
Take Five Interview with Teresa Hursey
Teresa Hursey is President of Medicaid Health Plan NJ, Amerigroup, an Anthem Company. Amerigroup is a member of the Quality Institute’s Plan Council. How is Amerigroup supporting its members during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are there particular programs or resources you want to highlight? This public health emergency has tested our local plan and…Read More…
Rutgers Project Echo Provides Critical Support for New Jersey Nursing Homes
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing home residents and the staff who care for them have been in the eye of the storm. In New Jersey, more than 4,000 of the residents have died from the virus. Nationwide, the number is more than 61,000 individuals, which is over a quarter of all COVID…Read More…
Increase and Improve Pregnancy-Related Care for All
Today I’m turning my blog over to Kate Shamszad, MS, MPH, who is a Senior Program Officer in the Quality Institute’s Medicaid Policy Center. The Medicaid Policy Center delivers independent research, analysis, and policy solutions to improve health outcomes while also controlling health care costs. New Jersey is stronger when we can all make decisions…Read More…
Keep Driving Quality — Despite the Challenges of 2020
I recently re-read the blog that I wrote in January, which outlined the Quality Institute’s priorities for 2020. Of course, there’s no mention of PPEs, masks, or COVID-19. But our overall goals and ideas to drive quality, community health, and affordability have not changed during this turbulent year. I’d like to update you as we…Read More…
Take Five Interview with Calvin H. Knowlton
Calvin H. Knowlton, BScPharm, Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of Tabula Rasa HealthCare, a long-time member of the Quality Institute’s Purchaser Council. The company provides patient-specific, data-driven technology to optimize medication regimens. As a leader in medication safety, what have you discovered about the risk of adverse drug events associated with drugs repurposed…Read More…