Diabetes wellness care: a successful employer-endorsed program for employees.

OBJECTIVE: A 12-month wellness program was provided for employees of a major employer in the Orlando area. METHODS: The program involved screening and measurement of baseline indices, educational sessions, telephonic support, quarterly laboratory monitoring, and provision of glucometers and test strips. RESULTS: For the 73 enrolled employees with prediabetes, serum hemoglobin A1c levels-mean (standard deviation)-decreased from 6.10% (0.53%) to 5.42% (0.51%) (P < 0.0001). For the 151 enrolled employees with diabetes, mean serum hemoglobin A1c levels-mean (standard deviation)-decreased from 8.03% (1.91%) to 7.48% (1.52%) (P < 0.0001). In the 12 months before, during, and after the program, 27, 15, and 27 diabetic employees required hospitalization, respectively. Health insurance per member per month claims costs for employees with diabetes rose only 1.2% over the prior 12 months, and self-reported presenteeism increased (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This employer-endorsed program achieved favorable outcomes for employees with prediabetes and diabetes.

The effects of nurse staffing on hospital financial performance: competitive versus less competitive markets.

BACKGROUND: Hospitals facing financial uncertainty have sought to reduce nurse staffing as a way to increase profitability. However, nurse staffing has been found to be important in terms of quality of patient care and nursing-related outcomes. Nurse staffing can provide a competitive advantage to hospitals and as a result of better financial performance, particularly in more competitive markets. PURPOSE: In this study, we build on the Resource-Based View of the Firm to determine the effect of nurse staffing on total profit margin in more competitive and less competitive hospital markets in Florida. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: By combining a Florida statewide nursing survey with the American Hospital Association Annual Survey and the Area Resource File, three separate multivariate linear regression models were conducted to determine the effect of nurse staffing on financial performance while accounting for market competitiveness. The analysis was limited to acute care hospitals. FINDINGS: Nurse staffing levels had a positive association with financial performance (ß = 3.3, p = .02) in competitive hospital markets, but no significant association was found in less competitive hospital markets. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Hospitals in more competitive hospital markets should reconsider reducing nursing staff, as these cost-cutting measures may be inefficient and negatively affect financial performance.

Development of a food sensation and genotyping informatics system for the University of Florida Center for Smell and Taste (UFCST).

A web-based database system was created to collect patient data from taste and other food sensation tests from multiple sites. The tool was designed with the flexibility do add additional tests as desired. Additionally, it collects patient genotyping data which is imported from a genotyping repository. The database collects basic demographic, consent and referral information. It captures data from a spatial taste test, flavor perception test and viscosity test.

A regression approach to estimating the average number of persons per household.

In the housing unit method, population is calculated as the number of households times the average number of persons per household (PPH), plus the population residing in group quarters facilities. Estimates of households and the group quarters population can be derived directly from concurrent data series, but estimates of PPH have traditionally been based on previous values or estimates for larger areas. In our study, we developed several regression models in which PPH estimates were based on symptomatic indicators of PPH change. We tested these estimates using county-level data in four states and found them to be more precise and less biased than estimates based on more commonly used methods.