Will Humble Family Planning, Public Health Law, Wills Blog

What is Direct Care Planning and Why is it Important?

Direct care planning is a game-changer for families dealing with healthcare. Think of it like having a detailed road map when you’re on a road trip—you know exactly where you’re headed and how to get there. For families, this means having a clear plan for their loved one’s care, making things way less stressful.

With direct care planning, everyone involved—doctors, nurses, family members—knows what’s going on and what the next steps are. It’s like a playbook that ensures everyone is on the same team and working towards the same goals. This clarity helps avoid mix-ups and ensures that the care is tailored to what your loved one really needs.

Plus, it helps you feel more in control and informed about the care process. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, you get to focus on supporting your loved one, knowing that there’s a solid plan in place. All in all, it’s about making healthcare smoother and more personal for everyone involved.

Completing advance care planning documents is a proactive, responsible step towards ensuring that your healthcare journey aligns with your personal values and wishes.

Why it matters: It helps you take control of the unpredictable, offering peace of mind to yourself and those you love.

Here are the five steps to help you with advance care planning:

  1. Think about what matters most in life.
  2. Talk with your doctor and loved ones.
  3. Fill out the documents.
  4. Share your wishes and your documents.
  5. Review and update your documents.

Use this guide from the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association to start your advance care planning today.

Will Humble Environmental Health, Injury Prevention, Wills Blog

Maricopa County Public Health Launches Heat Illness/Death Data Dashboard

Maricopa County Department of Public Health launched an interactive, online heat-related illness and death dashboard to help provide more accessible and timely data around countywide heat-related hospital visits and deaths.

The publishing of this tool coincides with a multi-partner, countywide heat preparedness and response effort already underway to prevent another summer of record-breaking heat deaths.

The dashboard will help public health officials and other key stakeholders involved in heat response activities monitor health impacts of environmental temperature and help inform outreach and interventions needed to help residents stay safe from extreme heat.

It features:

  • Near real-time data on heat-related hospital visits in addition to data on heat-related deaths
  • Comparative data for heat-related deaths and hospital visits for 2023 and 2024
  • Patient characteristics by age, race, and sex to show who is at highest risk from heat and inform prevention efforts
  • Patient characteristics on housing status and substance use involvement in heat-related hospital visits and deaths

In addition to showing daily county-level heat-related illness and deaths reported, the dashboard also will feature daily maximum and minimum temperatures to help illuminate the impacts of extreme heat.

The dashboard is perfected for desktop viewing. MCDPH has prepared a guidance document to support users as they navigate different features of the dashboard.

In the coming weeks, the dashboard will include an interactive map that displays heat-related deaths by sub-county geography and information about the circumstances of each death, such as outdoor or indoor and whether air conditioning was available or not functioning in the home.

Will Humble Medicaid, Wills Blog

AHCCCS Launches Member Emergency Department & Inpatient Admissions Dashboard

AHCCCS quietly launched a couple of useful accountability tools last week that can also be used for research: their new Emergency Department Visits  and Inpatient Admissions Dashboards. Both data sets are populated with deidentified claims information among Medicaid members in AZ.

The Emergency Department Visits Dashboard allows users to explore and interact with AHCCCS member data pertaining to emergency department utilization. The data is broken down by ED Utilization, Demographic Comparison, and Primary Diagnoses.

The Hospital Inpatient Admissions Dashboard displays AHCCCS member data pertaining to hospital inpatient admissions. The dashboard allows users to explore and interact with the data in a more insightful and visual way, which better communicates trends and important information. This dashboard is broken down by Inpatient Admissions, Demographic Comparison, Primary Diagnoses, and Length of Stay.

So, why is this a big deal? For starters, transparency! These dashboards are a win for anyone who cares about where and how healthcare resources are being used. But remember – these are just dashboards…  they don’t provide the kind of detailed data that researchers would need to do detailed analyses – but they do provide bottom-line trend data.

Will Humble Professional Development, Wills Blog

Get Your Staff Training in this Summer with the Western Region Public Health Training Center

Summer is here, and with it comes a fantastic opportunity for health departments, managed care, and provider organizations to level up their staff training without breaking the bank. Enter the Western Region Public Health Training Center, your go-to hub for free, top-notch public health and management training.

Western Region Public Health Training Center Home: (arizona.edu)

WRPHTC offers a diverse range of training topics that cater to the needs of today’s public health & healthcare workforce. From epidemiology and community health to leadership and project management, there’s something for everyone. The best part? These training courses are completely free.

Health departments can benefit big time from their offerings. Your team can improve their insight into disease prevention, data analysis, and health promotion. The knowledge gained from these courses can directly impact the community by improving public health outcomes while providing employee engagement and professional development.

Managed care organizations can use the Center’s courses too. Training courses cover crucial topics like healthcare quality improvement, patient-centered care, and health equity. By empowering your staff with these skills, you’re not just enhancing their professional development; you’re also elevating the level of care provided to your members.

There are courses tailored to provider organizations too, with topics like clinical management, healthcare policy, and effective communication – transforming how your team interacts with patients and navigates the complex healthcare landscape. Training your staff in these areas can lead to better patient outcomes and a more efficient operation overall.

Training is available online, making it easy for your team to take part without the need to travel or disrupt their daily work schedules. This means you can integrate learning into the summer season, traditionally a slower period, allowing for maximum participation and minimal interference with day-to-day operations.

In short, the Western Region Public Health Training Center is a treasure trove of knowledge waiting to be tapped into.

Take advantage of these free training opportunities this summer and watch your organization thrive. Happy learning!

Visit: Western Region Public Health Training Center
1 2 3