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…
Our New Work Group Will Support Mental Health in New Jersey Communities
The months of fear, isolation, and deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have created a mental health emergency in our towns and cities. The trauma of the pandemic — along with economic uncertainty, social unrest, and environmental catastrophes — is affecting our emotional well-being. If you cannot sleep at night, you’re not alone. The…Read More…
Take Five Interview with Daniel Finch
Daniel Finch, MD, PMH-C is Chief Medical Officer at CarePlus NJ, a member of the Quality Institute’s Provider Council. The non-profit organization provides recovery-focused integrated primary care, mental health care, and substance abuse rehabilitation services. The pandemic created great momentum for the use of telehealth. How has CarePlus used telehealth to provide mental health…Read More…
Op-Ed: Birth Control Is Healthcare — Why don’t we treat it that way?
MedPage Today by Brittany Stapelfeld Lee, MSW August 31, 2020 Birth control has been long applauded as one of the biggest public health advancements of our time. According to the Guttmacher Institute, over 99% of sexually active women ages 15–44 have used at least one contraceptive method in their lifetime. So, why, 60 years after the first FDA-approved oral contraceptive,…Read More…
Take Five Interview with Charles Wayland
Charles Wayland is the new CEO of the UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of New Jersey, a member of the Quality Institute’s Plan Council. Can you tell us your priorities when you took this position — and have they changed? When I started, our top priority was really about taking care of our members in New Jersey. In…Read More…