Organizational, Regional, and Community Factors Determining Protocol Compliance for Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction.

This study examined factors determining hospital compliance to Hospital Quality Alliance's protocol for patients with myocardial infarction. Using a spatially matched sample of 132 Magnet and 264 non-Magnet hospitals, multivariate regressions determined significant hospital characteristics associated with compliance per Hospital Quality Alliance protocol. Adherence to the Hospital Quality Alliance protocols varied widely by hospital characteristics.

Organizational and Community Factors Associated With Magnet Status of U.S. Hospitals.

The Magnet Recognition Program for healthcare organizations promotes excellence in nursing services and professional practices. However, organizational and community characteristics that contribute to the adoption of Magnet status remain unexplained. Investigating organizational and community factors will help determine systematic structural and contextual dimensions of Magnet hospitals previously shown to be more cost-effective in comparison with non-Magnet hospitals.

Monitoring unmet needs: using 2-1-1 during natural disasters.

Background: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast forcing unprecedented mass evacuation and devastation. Texas 2-1-1 is a disaster communication hub between callers with unmet needs and community services at disaster sites and evacuation destinations.

Purpose: To describe the location and timing of unmet disaster needs collected in real-time through Katrina-Rita disaster phases.

Cost-benefit analysis of childhood asthma management through school-based clinic programs.

Asthma is a leading chronic illness among American children. School-based health clinics (SBHCs) reduced expensive ER visits and hospitalizations through better healthcare access and monitoring in select case studies. The purpose of this study was to examine the cost-benefit of SBHC programs in managing childhood asthma nationwide for reduction in medical costs of ER, hospital and outpatient physician care and savings in opportunity social costs of lowing absenteeism and work loss and of future earnings due to premature deaths.