BY COLLEEN MORLEY, DNP, RN, CCM, CMAC, CMCN, ACM-RN
I hope you are enjoying this beautiful summertime! The aftereffects of the CMSA National Conference in June still have me invigorated and excited about our profession. I am honored to take the reins as CMSA National President from the inimitable Melanie Prince. Melanie has been a passionate advocate and fearless leader for our organization. The profession of case management and this organization are the better for having her at the helm for the past 2 years. Thank you, Melanie, for your service to this organization!
The theme for this month’s edition of CMSA Today is Pediatric, Maternal/Child Health Case Management. When I was asked to write the opening article, I said to myself, “Well, there is something I know absolutely NOTHING about. What am I going to write?” As always, when I get into a bind writing something, it’s CMSA to the rescue!
The fabulousness that is the CMSA membership responded to my outreach. Locally, in my own backyard, case managers from Lurie Children’s Hospital responded to give me some perspective from pediatric acute care. In April, I was thrilled to present at the CMSA Inland Northwest chapter in Spokane, Washington, and met a phenomenal team of pediatric case managers from Shriners Children’s Hospital there who are doing incredible work with children with chronic conditions. In my own personal network, I reached out to Dr. Brenda Jones, DHSc, who is my personal go-to for all things maternal/child health. She has been the deputy director of women’s health and perinatal administrator for the state of Illinois Department of Public Health and currently serves as a hospital surveyor for the same through The Joint Commission.
From a maternal/child perspective, there has long been a focus on high-risk obstetrics management and reduction in non-medically necessary/elective cesarean sections. This area has grown to include assessment and interventions for gaps in socials determinants of health, domestic violence, maternal addiction management and mental health management. One study I found, published in 2018, discusses “interconception care,” a strategy to “improve birth outcomes by modifying maternal risks between pregnancies.” An innovative way of thinking that provided the opportunity for assessment, education and intervention to address risks that could lead to future poor birth outcomes (Srinivasan, et al, 2018).
I attended the CMSA Chicago Conference in March 2022 and was treated to two incredible presentations from a pediatric perspective: “Partnering to Safely Transition Medically Fragile Technology Dependent Children from Hospital to Home” and “Pediatric Palliative Care Act: Advocacy in Action.” I often say that case management is the best kept secret in all of healthcare. These two educational opportunities opened my eyes to worlds I had not explored, and I was overwhelmed by the great work being done!
Upon reflection, I realized that while I have never professionally practiced case management in either of these subspecialties, personally, I have, as the advocate for my own child, who was diagnosed with a lifelong condition at the age of 8 years old. He turns 21 this year, and I recall the navigation involved in the early days of determining the mystery diagnosis that evaded us for quite a while through the years of management, age-appropriate patient education that evolved over time, the frequent medication adjustments and now, the transition from pediatric to adult management. Reflecting on that journey simply highlights the absolute need for case managers for these patient populations. I look forward to reading the offerings in this issue to learn about an area that I have not yet professionally experienced.
Kudos to all case management professionals working with these patients! Please enjoy this issue as we shine a spotlight in the excellent work case managers do in the pediatric/maternal child arenas! They are truly “Setting the Standard for Patient Centered Care,” the theme of Case Management Week 2022.
Reference
Srinivasan, S., Schlar, L., Rosener, S., Frayne, D., Hartman, S., Horst, M., Bruback, J & Radcliffe, S. (2018). Delivering interconception care during well child visits: an IMPLICIT network study. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 31(2), 201-210.
Dr. Colleen Morley, DNP, RN, CCM, CMAC, CMCN, ACM-RN, is the regional director of case management for Pipeline Health Systems/Chicago Market. Her current passion is in improving health literacy. She is the recipient of the CMSA Foundation Practice Improvement Award (2020) and ANA Illinois Practice Improvement Award (2020) for her work in this area. Dr. Morley also received the AAMCN Managed Care Nurse Leader of the Year in 2010.
IMAGE CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/KEMAL YILDIRIM
