BY SUSAN CURTIN MCDONNELL, RN, BSN At no other time in modern history have the effects of stress and anxiety on medical and behavioral health been so clearly realized and documented as they are now during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every human being on the planet is having to face a new…
BY JENNY QUIGLEY-STICKNEY, RN, MSN, MHA, MA, CCM, ACM-RN, CPHM, THERESE M. QUINN, RN, BSN, CRRN, CCM, JD, LAURA CURTIN, RN, MSN, AND AMY CHARTIER, MSN, BA, RN-BC The CMSNE Public Policy Committee developed our 2020 poster entitled “Opioid Legislation in Action for Professional Case Managers” as a follow-up to our 2018-2019 poster, “Legislation…
BY JANET S. COULTER, MSN, MS, RN, CCM, AND MARYANN OTT, BSN, RN, CCM, CPC, CEAC INTRODUCTION Teen suicide is a serious public health problem that can have lasting harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities. The rate of teen suicide has increased over the last decade. According to the Centers for…
BY ALAN BOARDMAN, LMSW, ACM-SW The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging our nation’s healthcare delivery system in unprecedented ways. Healthcare workers on the front lines compare the conditions to a war zone.1 The psychological burden of the pandemic affects all segments of our society. The intensity and duration of the COVID-19 emergency require…
BY DENNIS ROBBINS, PhD, MPH, PATRICK DUNN, PhD, AND ROGER ORSINI, MD Uncertainties attendant to COVID-19 surrounding what to do and not to do, how to be safe and protect have been infused with distraction, confusion, and chaos on multiple fronts. Uncertainty is exacerbated by the high degree of uncertainty spawned by fragmentary…
BY DINA WALKER, RN, MSN, ACM-RN, RN-BC The role of a case manager has changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Effectively managing a patient caseload in inpatient rehab isn’t easy under our normal conditions. Case managers are accustomed to “managing during a crisis.” They often have patients who have…
BY MELANIE A. PRINCE, MSN, BSN, NE-BC, CCM, FAAN The theme of this issue of CMSA Today is “case management and COVID-19.” As I thought about how COVID-19 has impacted our lives in so many ways, I realized that few conversations occur without COVID-19 peeking through…like the last bit of daylight forcing its…
BY JONATHAN J. MORELLO, MSN, RN, CCM, AND ERICA W. OBERMAN, BSN, RN, CCM In September 2019, as a part of our contract with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), our New Hampshire (NH) Healthy Families Medical Management Leadership team developed and went live with a transitional care…
BY KATHY DRISCOLL, RN, CCM As a growing body of research continues to point to the increasing impact of external factors on people’s health, the healthcare industry is also evolving in the way it delivers care.1 Case managers stand at the forefront of this evolution. Case managers understand how often-overlooked factors such…
BY SUSAN STERN, RN, CCM, MHA HOW THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC STARTED Near the start of the year 2020, public health officials reported the first COVID-19-positive cases in the U.S. and the onset of the pandemic. The first major problem the hospitals faced was expanding ICU bed capacity for COVID-19-positive patients. In…