Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1489485
26 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Where are the 14 Leapfrog 'F' hospitals? By Mackenzie Bean e Leapfrog Group gave 14 hospitals failing grades in its fall 2022 Hospital Safety Grades released Nov. 16. e organization assigned letter grades to hospitals based on more than 30 measures of patient safety. In the latest update, grades were assigned to nearly 3,000 hospitals. Among the hospitals evaluated, fewer than 1 percent received an "F." Here are this fall's "F" hospitals: California Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (Valencia) Pacifica Hospital of the Valley (Sun Valley) San Joaquin General Hospital (French Camp) San Mateo Medical Center Illinois South Shore Hospital (Chicago) Louisiana Ochsner American Legion Hospital (Jennings) Ohio Knox Community Hospital (Mount Vernon) Texas Carrollton Regional Medical Center United Memorial Medical Center (Houston) United Memorial Medical Center Sugarland Washington, D.C. Howard University Hospital West Virginia Beckley ARH Hospital CAMC General Hospital (Charleston) CAMC Teays Valley Hospital (Hurricane) n Public health failures spurred RSV surge, nurses say By Mackenzie Bean T he notion that rising cases of respiratory syncytial virus are due to children's lack of exposure amid masking and stay-at-home orders is "flawed conjecture that is not based on science," National Nurses United said Nov. 14. Instead, NNU contends that the uptick in virus activity is due to a "complete abandonment" of public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. The nation's largest nurses union said there is no evidence that an "immunity debt" is causing the jump in RSV cases and cited CDC data showing that positivity rates for RSV were actually higher in 2021 than they are now. "Promoting the idea of 'immunity debt' is not only unscientific, it is harmful to the public's health," NNU President Deborah Burger, RN, said in a news release. NNU has been advocating for heightened infection control efforts since the start of the pandemic to protect nurses and the public. "We know that we are not safe until everyone is safe," Ms. Burger said. "We continue to fight for the strongest protections for healthcare and other front-line workers. We need the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a permanent Covid standard to protect nurses and other healthcare workers." n Another pandemic surge: Demand for CMOs By Erica Carbajal F rom healthcare companies to government employers, the demand for chief medical officer roles has grown tremendously since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to a Nov. 13 report from Yahoo News. The news outlet cited data from job posting site ZipRecruiter showing CMO job listings hit a record at 5,000 in 2021 . So far in 2022, there have been 2,900 CMO listings. In 2019, there were just 767 CMO jobs posted. Non-health companies saw the need for a clinician leader to oversee operational and employee health management needs. The new demand created opportunities for physician leaders who never thought they would work outside of the traditional healthcare setting. Henry Ting, MD, for example, is the chief health and well- being officer for Delta Air Lines. After joining the company from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, he worked with other Delta executives to make decisions about how the company should operate amid falling revenue and passenger rides. He led decisions that included blocking the middle seat on flights, changing HEPA filters and organizing employee COVID-19 testing and vaccination. "I don't think employers today are going to move away from chief physician executive or chief medical officer roles if they can add them at this point, just because of the uncertainty moving out of the pandemic," Marc Watkins, MD, Kroger's CMO, told the news outlet. n