Ascension is one of the largest private healthcare systems in the United States, ranking second in the United States by number of hospitals as of 2019. It was founded as a nonprofit Catholic system.In 2018, it was the largest Catholic health system, with 165,000 employees, 151-hospitals, and $552.69 million in income from operations on revenue of $22.63 billion. As of 2018[update], Ascension's CEO was Anthony Tersigni. By the end of 2021, Ascension had 142,000 employees and 142 hospitals.Ascension has $15.5 billion in cash and operates a venture capital fund.
Healthcare and religion are deeply intertwined facets of human experience. Each has existed as long as the other, and influences between them are accordingly protean. This is true globally and especially in the USA, one of the most religiously diverse industrialised nations but, ironically, also one plagued by a paucity of religious literacy (RL). This paper will argue that US healthcare settings are particularly treacherous areas regarding the lack of RL. Although recent decades have witnessed increased awareness of the importance of religion/spirituality (R/S) for patients, the ability of healthcare providers to incorporate R/S in the care of their patients is lacking, due largely to a lack of RL. This paper will examine how work in this area has been limited by a lack of agreement on how to define RL, by several barriers to the religiously literate provision of spiritual care, and by the lack of a quantitative instrument with which to measure RL. Reviewing four prominent notions of RL-based on (1) Knowledge, (2) Understanding, (3) Faith and (4) Practice-this paper will further argue that one of these (understanding) is most amenable to application to healthcare but is informed in important ways by the other three, which function better together with the one.
Behavior change interventions are widely used, but for whom are they most effective? We examine whether past behavior shapes the effectiveness of interventions designed to either (1) provide information to shift intentions or (2) help people follow through on existing intentions. We focus on encouraging flu vaccinations. In online experiments (Study 1; N=2,602), a video correcting misconceptions about flu vaccines increased vaccination intentions more effectively among people who had not been vaccinated in the prior flu season than those who had. In a field experiment with health systems (Study 2; N=14,760), the same information intervention increased vaccination intentions and uptake for people who had not been vaccinated in the prior season but it did not have a significant impact on those previously vaccinated, though the difference between these subgroups was not statistically significant. In contrast, in the same field experiment, a follow-through intervention designed to make vaccination salient and convenient increased vaccine uptake only among those previously vaccinated. In a large-scale field experiment where streamlined adaptations of these interventions were delivered by a pharmacy (Study 3; N=2,980,249), the follow-through intervention was again more effective for prior adopters than for previously unvaccinated individuals, while the information intervention had no impact for either subgroup. Collectively, these findings suggest that people’s past behavior may indicate whether insufficient intentions or follow-through challenges are the more relevant impediments to behavior change. Organizations can use this insight to decide whether and how to invest resources in behavior change interventions.
Introduction: Racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes, particularly in maternal mortality, have been highlighted in recent times. This issue demands a thorough analysis due to its profound social and medical implications. Evidence from public data in obstetrics and gynecology highlights a systemic bias that affects patient care. Beyond the well-known racial disparities, ethnic disparities in maternal mortality are also evident, as demonstrated by data from the National Center for Health Statistics in 2024. These disparities suggest that implicit biases, possibly linked to skin color, may influence healthcare outcomes. It is crucial to explore these biases to understand their impact on perinatal care Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using the PubMed database, focusing on articles published between January 2020 and December 2024. The search targeted English-language manuscripts addressing racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality. A total of 243 articles were identified, and 64 were selected for detailed review based on their relevance and conclusiveness. Results: Analysis of the reviewed manuscripts revealed critical insights into maternal mortality disparities. Contrary to widely held beliefs that Black women face a three-fold greater risk of mortality during childbirth, the intersection of ethnicity and race (i.e., women of color) actually reveals a four-fold increased risk compared to white women. Furthermore postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) emerges as the leading cause of maternal mortality. The data also indicate that Black women are more frequently delivered via cesarean section than White women. Additionally, the increasing rates of cesarean deliveries have led to a higher incidence of uterine scarring, contributing to the development of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), which may be exacerbating the rising incidence of PPH. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to address these disparities and improve maternal outcomes. Discussion: It has been well-recognized that race and ethnicity, as social constructs, have little to do with any biological cause of maternal mortality. Reports suggest that disparities in maternal mortality, particularly among women of color, may be best explained by delays in providing optimal therapy for conditions like postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Instead of biological differences, these disparities may be more closely related to implicit biases among healthcare providers, though research in this area is still developing. Therefore, it is crucial to focus our efforts on educating all healthcare professionals, including practicing physicians, nurses, and medical students, to address and rectify these disparities. By fostering a more equitable healthcare environment, we can work towards significant improvements in maternal health outcomes across diverse populations.
Stroke has become the single leading neurological illness that results in neurological disability and is the second most common cause of death worldwide. Approximately 85% of strokes are ischemic, whereas the remaining 15% are hemorrhagic. With the advent of increasingly effective treatment modalities, such as intravenous thrombolytics and endovascular mechanical thrombectomy, there has been a growing disparity in the ability to provide standard of care, despite substantial efforts made in lower- and middle-income countries. substantial effort in high-income countries to provide the current standard of care to patients with stroke, with the hope of improving outcomes. Extensive research has shown that the disparities in treatment among various countries stem from multiple sociocultural barriers and the lack of robust healthcare infrastructure. The societal influences in play include the lack of knowledge of stroke symptoms, cultural beliefs, health, and spiritual fatalism, which are then associated with delayed healthcare-seeking behaviors. As a result, it is imperative to increase access to treatment for patients with stroke to address inequities in stroke care and diminish the global burden of stroke. This narrative review highlights causes of major gaps in stroke treatment infrastructure in several global communities and examines the pertinent sociocultural factors that impede progress in stroke treatment.
Abstract Objective: We examined five common targets for diagnostic stewardship that have been associated with improved patient outcomes. For each, we estimated the financial and reputational impact of each intervention on a typical 200 bed community hospital. These estimates can be adjusted for individual hospital estimates. Results: We found consistent savings and potential improvements in hospital metrics associated with these different diagnostic stewardship interventions. Clostridioides difficile (CDI) diagnostic stewardship showed ＄125,617 expected savings plus a likely additional 75% reduction in the hospital-acquired condition (HAC) CDI metric. Urine culture stewardship showed ＄34,111–＄92,361 in savings with an additional 30% reduction in the HAC catheter-associated urinary tract infection metric. Procalcitonin de-implementation showed ＄78,938 expected savings from test discontinuation. Expanded respiratory pathogen panel stewardship showed ＄383,650–＄668,000 in savings, depending on degree of reduction and replacement with focused viral testing. Blood culture stewardship showed ＄1,860,800 in savings with an additional 33%–80% reduction in HAC central line associated bloodstream infection and MRSA bacteremia metrics. Conclusions: In total, a 200-bed hospital implementing all five interventions could expect an approximate ＄2,482,616–2,825,216 in laboratory and clinical savings. These interventions would also improve many HAC metrics, providing an additional ＄200,000–＄600,000 in savings, depending on baseline performance. Finally, reputation metrics, such as Leapfrog grades, would also improve.
