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Provider Launches First Ever Digital Issue <p><em>Provider </em>today launched its first digital issue. Three timely articles center on the rise of technology innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Readers can click, tap, or swipe through and read the interactive issue right on their computer, tablet, or mobile device.</p><p>The first article, “The Telehealth Phenomenon,” follows providers’ abrupt initiation into virtual physician visits for their residents and patients and how they worked with vendor partners to establish routines that are now going smoothly.</p><p>In the next article, “Cyber Security Alert!” an expert shares all the ways criminals can worm their way into sensitive company data via phony emails. Tips are also offered for how employees can spot them.</p><p>The final article, “EMRs Assume Enhanced Role During Pandemic,” highlights a new boom in interest from providers for electronic medical records and the part they can play in safely monitoring patient care, tracking infections, and providing results quickly.</p><p>The article is the first in four digital issues planned for the year, with the remaining digital issues in February, March, and August. <br>Stay tuned throughout the month of January for more new features on Provider’s website.</p><p>Check out the new digital issue now at <a href="https&#58;//pagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=63330&amp;i=687740&amp;p=1">https&#58;//bit.ly/3q2t6iP.</a><br></p>2021-01-08T05:00:00Z<img alt="" src="/Monthly-Issue/2021/January/PublishingImages/0121_cover.jpg" style="BORDER&#58;0px solid;" />TechnologyJoanne Erickson and Amy Mendoza​In a brand-new format, readers can access reports on technologies aiding providers during the pandemic.
Cyber Security Alert!<p><img src="/Monthly-Issue/2021/January/PublishingImages/cybersecurity-0121.jpg" class="ms-rtePosition-1" alt="" style="margin&#58;5px 20px;width&#58;190px;height&#58;190px;" />Mega guru Steven Chies fills Senior Editor and Writer Patrick Connole in on all the ways criminals can worm their way into sensitive company data via phony emails. Chies also offers tips for how employees can spot them. <a href="https&#58;//pagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=63330&amp;i=687740&amp;p=10"><strong>See Page 8.</strong></a></p>2021-01-01T05:00:00Z<img alt="" src="/Topics/Special-Features/PublishingImages/2021/cybersecurity-0121.jpg" style="BORDER&#58;0px solid;" />Technology;Cyber SecurityPatrick Connole​Steven Chies says there is no let-up in the need for owners and operators to be on alert for attempts by criminal elements to hack into their computer systems.
EMRs Assume Enhanced Role During Pandemic<p>​<img src="/Monthly-Issue/2021/January/PublishingImages/EHR-0121.jpg" class="ms-rtePosition-1" alt="" style="margin&#58;5px;width&#58;150px;height&#58;150px;" />Mendoza reports a new boom in interest from providers for electronic medical records and the part they can play in safely monitoring patient care, tracking infections, and providing results quickly. <strong><a href="https&#58;//pagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=63330&amp;i=687740&amp;p=18" target="_blank">See Page 16.</a></strong><br></p>2021-01-01T05:00:00Z<img alt="" src="/Topics/Special-Features/PublishingImages/2021/EHR-0121.jpg" style="BORDER&#58;0px solid;" />Technology;EHRAmy MendozaReflecting on the past year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, vendor partners have seen a boom in interest from providers in EMRs, remote monitoring, and patient-family engagement. 
Innovative Training Program Open to Help Caregivers Combat COVID<p>​<br></p> <p><img src="/Topics/Guest-Columns/PublishingImages/1120_JaneDavis.jpg" alt="Jane Davis " class="ms-rtePosition-1" style="margin&#58;5px;width&#58;270px;height&#58;347px;" />I had little idea what I was getting into when I agreed to participate in an innovative pilot program to help nursing home administrators and frontline staff combat the spread of COVID-19.</p><p>But I was willing to try almost anything to prevent another wave of sickness, suffering, stress, and uncertainty like the one that hit our facility in April and May.</p><h2>All Are Welcome to Join</h2><p>Now that effort’s gone national. The AHRQ [Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality] ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network launched this month with training centers and nursing homes around the country joining new virtual communities of practice.</p><p>And, after participating in the pilot program, I’ve signed up again, because what the COVID-19 Action Network offers—not only education but mentoring and a peer community—is that valuable right now.</p><p>Working at nursing homes during this pandemic, so many of us feel like we’re carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders, with hardly any support. The stress takes a terrible toll. Even worse, because there’s so much still unknown about this virus, we worry that we’re missing things—things that could help keep our residents safe. </p><h2>Support and Mutual Respect</h2><p>Participating in the COVID-19 Action Network brought me to a new place—a place where I could share my perspective and experiences, where I could learn from the experiences of my peers, where I could hear new ideas and think differently. It was a place of collaboration and mutual respect where I didn’t just passively receive wisdom and best practices from the experts. I contributed my own, and it was valued.</p><p>And, perhaps most of all, it was a place where I felt supported. My staff and I were not alone—far from it. Being in the Network reinforced that we truly are all in this fight together.</p><h2>A Collaborative Approach</h2><p>The Network is led by three organizations&#58; the federal AHRQ, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and Project ECHO. Together, they created the initiative to prevent and reduce COVID-19 in nursing homes—not through regulation or compulsory programs but through voluntary, collaborative learning.</p><p>Here’s how it works&#58; Training centers across the country—mainly academic medical centers or large health systems—run virtual communities of practice on Zoom that are staffed by experts in infection control and gerontology. Staff from up to 35 nursing homes participate in these communities of practice.</p><p>Each Zoom session (there are 16) kicks off with a quick lecture on a topic like Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use and then moves on to real-life case presentations that spark a lot of hands-on discussion and problem solving.</p><p>Everyone participates in the sessions. Everyone’s experience, observations, and questions are honored and valued. That’s what made it so different. We weren’t just there to learn. We were there to share with each other, and even teach each other—as well as the experts, who wanted to know about our on-the-ground experiences to inform their own perspectives.</p><h2>More Than Worth It</h2><p>After only one or two sessions, I was hooked. I didn’t want to miss a single session because of what I was learning, the support I was receiving, and the relationships I was building. After the 16-session program ended, I found myself missing it.</p><p>People sometimes ask me what it was like when the pandemic peaked this spring. I tell them I never experienced anything like it before and never want to again.</p><p>That’s why I “re-upped.” As a nursing home administrator, I want to do everything in my power to beat this scourge and protect our residents and our staff. I’ve learned that when we come together to learn with and from each other, we can create something powerful&#58; the knowledge and support to move forward and succeed.</p><p>We are not alone—and we shouldn’t be. I urge others to join the COVID-19 Action Network now.</p><p>To learn more about the AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network, visit&#160;<a href="https&#58;//hsc.unm.edu/echo/institute-programs/nursing-home/pages/nursing-home-info.html" target="_blank">https&#58;//hsc.unm.edu/echo/institute-programs/nursing-home/pages/nursing-home-info.html</a>.&#160;</p><p><em>Jane Davis is administrator for Hyatt Family Facilities at Landmark Care &amp; Rehabilitation in Yakima, Wash. Starting out in assisted living in 1993, Davis has been a licensed nursing home administrator since 1998 with licenses in six states.&#160;She has practiced in Washington state, Texas, and South Carolina during her career. She can be reached at </em><a href="mailto&#58;Jane@hyattff.com" target="_blank"><em>Jane@hyattff.com</em></a><em>.</em></p>2020-11-23T05:00:00Z<img alt="" src="/Breaking-News/PublishingImages/740%20x%20740/nurse_computers.jpg" style="BORDER&#58;0px solid;" />Technology;COVID-19Jane DavisThe AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network launched this month with training centers and nursing homes around the country joining new virtual communities of practice.