Latest news with #VirginiaMasonFranciscanHealth
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health files notice of layoffs including in Tacoma
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is eliminating more than 100 jobs systemwide, including in Tacoma, tied to virtual-care services. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed Thursday, the layoffs will commence July 28, affecting 116 workers. A VMFH media representative told The News Tribune via email that the layoffs are across the health care system, and 'not limited to Tacoma.' Chad Melton is Interim president, Puget Sound Market, for VMFH. In a statement, Melton said the cuts were part of 'critical but necessary steps to remain financially sustainable so we can continue delivering high-quality care to the communities we serve.' 'This includes transitioning several virtual services and administrative functions, which will impact approximately 200 team members. Affected employees have been notified and are receiving personalized support, including placement assistance and access to open roles within our organization.' Melton noted that VMFH, 'like health care systems across the country,' is facing significant financial pressures 'including rising labor and supply costs, increasing claim denials and chronic underpayment from government programs.' 'These challenges have only intensified in Washington state, where a new budget introduces new taxes that directly affect hospitals and reduces reimbursement, most notably by capping payments for care provided to state and school employees. These changes are expected to cost VMFH an additional $30 million each year.' Melton said that the system as a result was 'realigning resources and improving operational efficiency.' 'These are difficult and necessary decisions to ensure we can continue meeting the needs of our patients — today and into the future,' he added. No further details were available Thursday night.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Heath care for mothers, kids expanding in South Sound with enhanced partnership
A local health care system and Seattle hospital have announced plans to bring their two entities closer together and reduce the need to drive to Seattle for South Sound families in need of care. Tacoma-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and Seattle Children's on Tuesday announced a strategic affiliation 'to advance clinical excellence and expand pediatric and mother-baby care for patients in the Puget Sound region,' according to a joint news release. The two have worked together for years in specialized neonatal care within VMFH Family Birth Centers, with neonatologists available on site and by phone 'so the most vulnerable newborns can receive advanced, expert care without leaving VMFH facilities,' it noted. The joint news release offered an example of collaboration. At the St. Joseph Medical Center Level III neonatal intensive care unit, Seattle Children's pediatric cardiologists and its infection-prevention team already aare vailable to assess 'complex diseases for mother and baby.' 'The agreement, built on nearly 15 years of collaboration and a shared commitment to exceptional patient care, will strengthen access to expert physicians and care teams and ensure seamless coordination of care for young patients and their families by extending the current longstanding affiliation and expanding it to new areas,' it continued. With this new strategic affiliation, VMFH and Seattle Children's 'will leverage resources and an expansive footprint across both organizations to serve more patients closer to home,' the release added. VMFH, with 10 hospitals and hundreds of care sites in the state, is part of CommonSpirit, one of the nation's largest health systems. Seattle Children's serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, and includes its hospital, research institute and foundation. Along with improving access to specialists, the move is set to expand perinatal, neonatal and related specialty services across VMFH Birth Centers in King, Pierce and Kitsap counties, according to the release. An oversight committee, with representatives from both organizations, will guide the implementation of the strategic affiliation. Tom Kruse is VMFH chief strategy officer and Mark Salierno is Seattle Children's chief strategy and business development officer. The two spoke to The News Tribune Tuesday about the enhanced affiliation. Both emphasized how the move will bring more specialized services south of Seattle. 'Seattle Children's has the region's leading quality specialty program and platform, and VMFH has over 300 sites of care,' said Salierno. 'So our goal is to deploy specialists together in different geographies that allow us to keep moms and babies together and allow kids to stay in their local community wherever possible.' 'It really is going to bring new services to the community — much needed services,' said Kruse, acknowledging the move is going head to head with Tacoma-based MultiCare's Mary Bridge Children's Hospital to bring more competition to MultiCare's home turf. Mary Bridge Children's is in the midst of construction of a new medical campus and hospital in Tacoma, which will bring a new inpatient hospital tower, ambulatory building with specialty clinics and urgent-care services. It is set to open early next year. 'Franciscan, years and years ago, decided not to create a duplicative service to Mary Bridge,' Kruse said. 'It's not that there's anything wrong with Mary Bridge. It's just not sufficient for what we find ourselves needing with the high acuity births that we deliver and unfortunately, the very sick kids that we see.' To that end, Kruse said, it's 'likely' to see expansions at sites such as St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale. 'There's very specific specialties that we're trying to deploy together on the pediatric side,' said Salierno. 'So, if there's a prenatal anomaly diagnosed at week 20, it would allow a fellowship trained specialist who's part of a top 10 US News-ranked hospital to come down or use telemedicine, like we're doing now, to meet with the obstetrician and help build a care plan within 24 to 48 hours of that prenatal diagnosis. 'And as Tom alluded to, we are exploring over the next several months, ways to expand at St. Joe's and St Michael's and other sites of care models such as that,' Salierno added. Kim Deynaka is director of NICU and NICU operations at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. In an interview Tuesday, she told The News Tribune that St. Joseph had benefited from years of working with Seattle Children's neonatal team. 'They're mission driven like us, and they're family centered and collaborative,' she said. 'We have an annual reunion that the families come back to see the doctors and the nurses that help care for their babies and help them graduate from the NICU, and it's grown so big that now we're over 300 invites per year.' She offered another example of the benefit of virtual care collaboration. 'If a newborn baby has a rash that the pediatrician can't identify or understand, just getting that consultation virtually, and being able to see the baby and the family and talk to them and examine the baby with the local pediatric has been just amazing,' she said. 'In the past, without that virtual support, that baby would have either had to been transported to a higher level of care, or the families would have had to drive them to a specialty appointment and things like that. But now it can be done here at the hospital right in their own community.' she said. 'What really is impressive is that they come to us. We're not having to leave our communities and our families to go to them,' she added. So, now would be the time for patients to add their two cents, Kruse noted. 'What we have to look at, is where our families are at, what do they need, and where do they need it, and then figure out where we can put that service that makes the most sense,' Kruse said. 'Our commitment to the long term to the South Sound, which Seattle Children's has made over the years, is now doubled down,' Salierno added. 'We're committed for the long term to reduce that drive time by using technology to do that, and to deploy brick and mortar capabilities to do that.' Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and Seattle Children's are soliciting input from the South Sound on what services residents would like to see. Send comments via email to vmfh-sch@
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and Seattle Children's expand pediatric, neonatal partnership
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) and Seattle Children's announced Tuesday they have expanded their longstanding partnership to enhance pediatric and mother-baby health care services across the Puget Sound region. The new strategic affiliation builds on nearly 15 years of collaboration between the two organizations and aims to improve access to expert physicians, specialized care teams, and seamless coordination for families, according to a joint statement. Access to high-quality health care remains a significant challenge in the Puget Sound region, VMFH and Seattle Children's noted. By joining resources and leveraging their combined network of care sites, both groups say they hope to bring advanced medical services closer to home for more patients. 'This affiliation marks a significant step forward in our mission to improve health care access for mothers, babies and children,' said Ketul J. Patel, CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and President of CommonSpirit Health's Northwest Region. 'Seattle Children's is a globally recognized leader in pediatric medicine, and we're honored to work alongside them to further elevate the standard of care in our communities.' Seattle Children's consistently ranks among the top ten children's hospitals in the United States, while VMFH hospitals are also nationally recognized for quality care. Their partnership has already brought neonatologists to VMFH Family Birth Centers, offering 24/7 onsite and remote support to care for the region's most vulnerable newborns without the need to transfer them to different facilities. The collaboration has also connected patients at VMFH's St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma to Seattle Children's pediatric cardiologists and infection prevention teams, allowing for on-site assessments of complex maternal and newborn conditions. Jeff Sperring, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Seattle Children's, said the expanded affiliation aligns with the hospital's broader mission. 'We are proud of our long-standing reputation for excellence in pediatric and neonatal care,' Sperring said. 'Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is a recognized leader in quality care and clinical excellence, and we're excited to work together to continue fulfilling our vision of helping every child live their healthiest and most fulfilling life possible.' As part of the expanded affiliation, perinatal, neonatal, and specialty services will grow across VMFH Birth Centers located in King, Pierce, and Kitsap counties. The goal is to support thousands of families while minimizing the separation of mothers and their newborns after delivery. The partnership will also focus on improving access to pediatric specialists across VMFH's nearly 300 care sites, strengthening connections between primary, specialty, ambulatory, and urgent care services. Officials said this effort will ensure children can get the right care at the right time, with seamless referrals to Seattle Children's specialists when needed.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What's one small thing to help your sleep? A real alarm clock
One Small Thing is a new series to help you take a simple step toward a healthy, impactful goal. Try this one thing, and you'll be heading in the right direction. Phones have replaced many things: computers, calculators, cameras and maps. But returning to an old-fashioned alarm clock instead of your phone might help you get up and go in the morning. 'Keeping the phone in another room will likely decrease the opportunity for distraction from sleep, and also decrease opportunity for sleep procrastination,' said Dr. Shalini Paruthi, sleep medicine attending physician at John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital in St. Louis and adjunct professor at St. Louis University School of Medicine. A phone by your bed could mean easy access to scroll at night and an easy snooze button in the morning. If you're planning to sleep better or wake up earlier to implement new routines in the new year, a small and helpful step may be trading your phone for an alarm clock. The best-case scenario is that you wouldn't need to hit snooze. 'Ideally, a person has gotten enough sleep that by the time the alarm rings, they are well rested and actually ready to get up,' Paruthi said. Hitting the snooze button once might help you psychologically by allowing you to ease into waking up, she added. But more than once isn't recommended because you aren't getting good sleep with the extra minutes. At the end of a night of sleep, people usually go in and out of a cycle called REM, or rapid eye movement sleep, said Dr. Brandon Peters-Mathews, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle, in an earlier CNN article. This stage is important for memory processing and creative sleeping, and fragmenting that sleep could affect brain function. Instead of setting an alarm for earlier than you need and hitting snooze, he recommends allowing deep, uninterrupted sleep until you absolutely must wake up. 'When you didn't get enough sleep or didn't get good quality sleep, the likelihood that an extra 5 to 10 minutes of sleep could make a meaningful impact is pretty low,' Dr. Joseph Dzierzewski, senior vice president of research and scientific affairs at the National Sleep Foundation, said via email. 'When we wake in the morning and aren't feeling refreshed, it is best to get up, start the day, and be intentional about taking steps that can set us up for success in the coming night.' With a phone alarm on your bedside table, it is easy to reach over and hit the snooze button. But dedicated alarm clocks have many ways to get you up and out of bed. 'Alarms come with a variety of features such as vibration, lights, noises, puzzles,' Paruthi said. Another benefit of not using your phone as an alarm is that you have an easier time removing it from your bedroom, which is helpful for sleep, Paruthi said. 'Ideally, a bedtime routine includes winding down, relaxing, and helping the brain transition from a 'go-go-go' state to a more calm, ready to fall asleep state,' she said. 'Having a phone at the bedside makes it really easy to roll over and start scrolling.' The bright light and content on your phone might make you more alert instead of drowsy, and screens can also lead to procrastinating about sleep and getting less than you originally intended, Paruthi said. And having your phone close by makes it more likely that you will use it, Dzierzewski said. 'Having a phone in close proximity could increase feelings of curiosity. … What might be happening that you aren't seeing?' he said. 'These feelings could be enough to entice you to roll over and check your phone, thus interfering with going to sleep, staying asleep or sleeping soundly.' If you aim to sleep for eight hours but then reach for your phone to scroll, two hours can fly by quickly, leaving you without the necessary amount of sleep. 'If my phone is in another room, I am less likely to get out from under my warm covers, and thus sleep those 2 hours between 10 and midnight, i.e., getting the 8 hours my brain and body thrive on,' Paruthi said in an email. The only way to wake up earlier or more easily is to get good quality sleep, Dzierzewski said. Most adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep a night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. But population research from the foundation has shown that 60% of adults are not meeting that recommendation. 'Getting too little sleep or too much sleep can both be problematic and impact how well we function throughout the day,' Dzierzewski said. For better sleep, the National Sleep Foundation recommends some more small steps. You should get bright light in the daytime; exercise for at least 30 minutes five days a week; eat meals at consistent times; avoid heavy meals, nicotine, caffeine and alcohol before bed; use a consistent wind-down routine; sleep in a quiet, cool and dark place; and put electronics away an hour before bed. If you are getting enough sleep at night consistently but are still not sleeping well or waking up feeling rested, it may be time to get evaluated by a board-certified sleep physician for possible sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome or insomnia, Paruthi said. Ready to do more? Sign up for our LBB Sleep newsletter to get better sleep in 2025. If you need help setting and sustaining your sleep goals, try these tips for building habits.
