BY DR. MERCEDES WILLIAMS, DBH, MPH/ID, LMSW, CCM Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) initiation in 2010, case management has continued to evolve. State case managers are support coordinators in the intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) arena. I/DD are disorders that present at birth, specifically before the age of 18. These…
BY DR. SUZANNE RYBCZYNSKI AND DR. CARMEN LOPEZ-ARVIZU On October 19, 2021, faced with the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on an already strained pediatric mental health system, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association declared a “national emergency in children’s mental…
BY JANET COULTER, MSN, MS, RN, CCM, AND DR. CATHY CAMPBELL, DNP, RN, MBA, CHC, FACHE, CCM Receiving a cadaver organ transplant is a life-changing experience. Transplant recipients often experience a wide range of emotions from the highest high to the lowest low. The thrill of receiving a life-saving transplant is sometimes…
BY NICOLE DePACE, MS, APRN, GNP-BC, ACHPN Gerald is an 84-year-old man with Parkinson’s disease, a history of CVA, atrial fibrillation on anticoagulation, anemia and is hard of hearing. He has been hospitalized twice in the past 6 months due to severe anemia that is likely due to gastrointestinal bleeding, though…
BY MORGANNE SKINNER, RN, BSN Imagine this: You are going to your doctor’s office for a routine exam. You are allotted 20 minutes from start to finish, and you are using insurance as coverage. When you arrive, no one speaks your language and you are given an interpreter to assist during…
BY TEENA CHOPRA, MD, MPH, MATHEW LEPERA, DO, AND GLENN TILLOTSON, PhD BACKGROUND Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection is the number one cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea. Additionally, it is increasingly a cause of gastrointestinal illness in the community, with more than one-third of all U.S. infections occurring outside the hospital setting. There are approximately…
BY KYLE J. WALKER, MHA, ATP The term wearables paints a very broad stroke, even for a healthcare canvas. Wearable can be something as simple as a pedometer worn on the pant hip, or a fitness watch, to a highly sophisticated robotic device used to aid in the movement of an…
BY MELANIE A. PRINCE, MSN, BSN, NE-BC, CCM, FAAN I proudly hail from Louisiana, where great food is the DNA of the state. At a young age, children are taught to cook not only simple, but also complicated recipes. The fascinating part about the recipes is that often the ingredients are…
BY PAULA TAYLOR, BSN, RN, CCM Nutrition and physical activities are now recognized not just as incidental lifestyle habits but as important pillars of health. As case managers, we look for gaps in care and barriers preventing optimal health and healing. Nutrition and physical activity, though of paramount importance, are frequently…
CMSA FOUNDATION — 2020 CASE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE IMPROVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT BY COLLEEN MORLEY, DNP, RN, CCM, CMAC, CMCN, ACM-RN Early in my case management career, I was making follow-up telephone calls to patients who had been recently discharged from the hospital. One particular patient was a focus for me due to…