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Currently, more than 1.1 million Americans live with HIV. Every year, another 56,000 people contract the virus: a figure that has been relatively constant over the past decade. The Obama administration announced a new strategy to combat this epidemic with the goal of reducing the rate of infections by 25 percent over the next five years and getting treatment to 85 percent of HIV patients within three months of their diagnosis.

Case managers, social workers and other front-line HIV service providers play a vital and often challenging role in linking people living with HIV to the resources they need to stay healthy.

To update listeners on this topic and a new resource, Dorland Health Editor in Chief, Anne Llewellyn sits down with Vincent Lynch, MSW, Ph.D to discuss the state of HIV/AIDS today and about a new resource that can assist with resource management.

Vincent Lynch, MSW, Ph.D  is founder of the Annual National Conference on Social Work and HIV/AIDS, now in its 23rd year.  He has been in AIDS-care since 1988.  He works at Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.

Next, take a minute to listen to an interview from the Takeaway Talk Radio Show that took place on July 13, 2010 with Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, on what the Federal Government is doing to meet the needs of this at-risk population.

Last, take a minute to explore the HIV Case Manager Portal, a new easy to use online resource.

Case In Point Editor in Chief Anne Llewellyn sits down with Sheryl Oakes Caddy, RN, JD, to discuss the Office of the National Nurse. Caddy sheds light on the background of the movement, the progress on getting the bill introduced in Congress, and the ongoing discussion surrounding the views and challenges to this important movement. (Pictured from left are Debbie Orre, MSN, RN; Sheryl Oakes Caddy, JD, RN; Teri Mills, MR, RN, CNE; Alisa Schneider, MS, RN; and Terri Polick, RN.)

Listen to the interview below. Or click on the links to read more about the National Nurse.

For questions, comments or feedback, contact Sherly Oakes Caddy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Teri Mills at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit the National Nurse website.

Mentoring: An Opportunity to Improve Recruitment and Retention

Today, recruitment and retention is essential in hospitals, managed care organizations and other settings. The HSM Group and the Institute for Healthcare Leadership report that the national average cost of replacing one nurse is between $30,000 and $145,000, while the national average salary of a medical-surgical nurse is $46,832. Therefore, the cost of replacing just one nurse would be as high as $92,442. To replace a specialty area nurse, the cost can increase to $145,000. Replacement costs include human resources expenses for advertising and interviewing, overtime, temporary replacement costs for per diem nurses, lost productivity, and terminal payouts.

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To address this, mentoring has become an important concept that can be used pre-employment and extend into the work environment. Editor in Chief Anne Llewellyn sits down with a team that has implemented such a program:
 

	Wendie Rains, BSN, RN Community Nurse Mentor Program Coordinator This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
	Mary Lushina, RN, BSN, MBA, CCM, CPHQ Senior Vice-President, Employers Occupational Health, Inc. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
	Savannah Gonsalves Student Nurse Truckee Meadows  Community College This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To learn more about the program, visit the Truckee Meadows Community College Nurse Mentoring Program’s website or call Wendi Raines at 775-673-7056.

Jon Seymour

Anne Llewellyn, editor in chief of Dorland’s case management products, talks with Dr. Jon Seymour from the Reed Group for an update on how disability management guidelines assist professionals in understanding the time and treatment guidelines required to treat complex conditions. By using guidelines, care is more efficient, effective and cost effective. Dr. Seymour joined Reed Group in 2008 to develop MDGuidelines, a powerful new Internet health care information platform built around The Medical Disability Advisor, Reed’s leading reference on disability durations.

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Read Jon Seymour's full bio

For more information on information on Disability Management  Guidelines, visit Reed Group and MDGuidelines.

Rebecca Perez

In 2009 the Case Management Society of America launched the Integrated Health Management Program to help case managers and care coordinators address the behavioral as well as the physical needs of medically complex patients. A trainer with the Integrated Health Management Program, Rebecca Perez, RN, CCM, CPUR, CPUM, sits down with Robin Jay with Behavioral Health Central to discuss the importance of integrated medical management, and specifically case management.

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Special thanks to Robin Jay, editorial director with Behavioral Health Central, a premier news, resource and interactive online community for mental health and addiction-treatment decision makers.

Ferdinand Richards and Patty Collier

Dr. Ferdinand Richards and Patty Collier from Florida’s Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (FMQAI) discuss the Case Management Assignment Protocol (CMAP), a program developed in 2003 designed with the following goals in mind: reducing denials and write-offs; streamlining utilization review, case management, and discharge planning; strengthening collaboration for improved patient care; documenting, analyzing and profiling each step of the case management process. Today, CMAP, if implemented correctly, serves to assist hospitals in reducing their risk for repayment of Medicare funds as a result of the Recovery Audit Contracting program established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Hospitals committed to using CMAP have been shown to reduce inappropriate admissions by 91 percent.

Listen to the interview