Mass Casualties and Case Management The mass casualty statistics in the United States is numbing. Case managers must be prepared for potential disasters. This Editorial speaks to a case manager's personal experience and calls for others who have been through an experience with mass casualties, so all may better prepare: preparation is the antidote to panic.

Leveraging Interprofessional Team-Based Care Toward Case Management Excellence: Part 2, Team Development, Interprofessional Team Activation, and Sustainability Health care teams are constructive and efficient ways to approach, assess, coordinate, plan, and facilitate the client-centric and population-based care. Some iteration of team is in place across most practice settings, comprising different professionals and specialists, from multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary to the most recent interprofessional model. This 2-part article series sets the tone for how interprofessional team-based care (IPTBC) empowers the care process. Part 1 focused on the history and fundamental concepts of interprofessional models, with outcomes to promote the value proposition for IPTBC implementation. This Part 2 article focuses on the identification of seminal group development and team processes. An original model, the Interprofessional Team Activation Cycle (ITAC), is presented, as well as defined tactics for professional case managers to promote successful implementation of IPTBC in their organizations. Purpose/Objectives: This article: Identifies deterrents to implementing IPTBC;Explores timely and successful IPTBC models across the industry;Discusses models of group and team development;Explores the ITAC for professional case management; andIdentifies 10 tactics for case managers to sustain successful IPTBC. Primary Practice Setting(s): Applicable to all health and behavioral health settings where case management is practiced. Findings/Conclusions: Shifts in reimbursement models, organizational cultures, and client populations have yielded emphasis on the swift IPTBC implementation. In addition, the recognition of team development as a fluid process endemic to achieve client-centric outcomes and organizational return on investment mandates a keen eye to the phases of a team implementation, especially those that are interprofessional in scope. Implications for Case Management Practice: With case management so closely linked to the fiscal imperatives of organizations, engagement in IPTBC is a necessity for every practice setting yet not always implemented properly or successfully. Poor team collaboration contributes to unsuccessful outcomes for clients, increased costs, and concerning quality and risk management issues for the organization. Models focused on group development serve to support how health and behavioral health organizations consider and implement interprofessional teams.

Leveraging Interprofessional Team-Based Care Toward Case Management Excellence: Part 2, Team Development, Interprofessional Team Activation, and Sustainability No abstract available

Advancing Complex Case Management Competencies in a Health Care System Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this literature review is to evaluate evidence to support advanced education for hospital-based nurse case managers to address the discharge needs of medically complex patients who have extended hospital stays. Primary Practice Setting: Acute care hospital and hospital systems. Findings/Conclusion: Studies on hospital length of stay are prevalent as are studies of effective case management and the importance of a comprehensive education program. Correlating effective case management to successful disposition of long-stay patients and efficacy of discharge planning education is the focus of this review of evidence. Creation of advanced case management competency education will benefit patients, staff, and the health care system by increasing the skill level to promote early recognition of discharge barriers in complex long-stay patients. Implications for Case Management Practice: Continued focus on affordability in health care will keep management of hospital length of stay high on the priority list. Pressure to create efficient patient management strategies leading to timely discharge disposition of medically complex patients through barrier mitigation and intervention requires effective case management tools.

Advancing Complex Case Management Competencies in a Health Care System No abstract available

Reducing Hospital Readmissions in Upstate New York: Teasing Out the Effective Programs Purpose of Study: The study's purpose was to identify hospital programs, organizational characteristics, and levels of nursing involvement in hospital programs that contribute significantly to reductions in readmission rates and reimbursement penalties for hospital systems in upstate New York. Primary Practice Setting: Hospitals located in upstate New York. Methodology and Sample: No sampling technique was employed because the cohort included hospitals located in upstate New York. Hospitals in upstate New York were selected (N = 94), representing 53 counties ranging between metropolitan and rural status. Using an ex post facto design within the framework of the ecological and synergy models, organizational characteristics of hospital systems and educational levels of nursing involvement in hospital programs were analyzed and coded. Independent-samples t tests, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation tests were conducted. Results: Organizational programs that reduce various hospital readmission rates and reimbursement penalties for hospitals in upstate New York are (1) certified home health agencies; (2) telehealth; (3) house calls; (4) advanced practice nurses on care management interdisciplinary discharge teams; and (4) increasing the number of hospital readmission reduction programs (HRRPs) utilized. Implications for Case Management Practice: Hospitals should: Encourage and provide support for their case management departments to increase utilization of certified home health agencies, telehealth, and house calls, which contribute to reductions in readmission rates and decreased reimbursement penalties.Incorporate advanced practice nurses into case management teams for improvement in the excess readmission ratio for pneumonia.Continue to support government and hospital policies that increase resources for evidence-based HRRP initiatives and that improve Medicare reimbursement formulas.

Professional Case Management: Promoting the Value of Case Management No abstract available

Planting the Seeds to Nurture Future Case Managers No abstract available

I'm Sorry: Laws That Support Apologies in Health Care No abstract available

“Boots-on-the-Ground” Advocacy: Field Case Management and Transitions of Care No abstract available