Last month, two Sheps researchers presented to the North Carolina General Assembly. During Q&A, one legislator reflected broadly on the reputation and assistance the Sheps Center brings to state health policy. I was overwhelmed by the kind words, and reflected on this responsibility and stewardship we all share. In this edition of the newsletter, you will read about other current projects where the reputation of the Center puts us in a position to help tackle some of the state’s most wicked problems. For these projects, Sheps draws on its decades of history as an objective, neutral party that deploys the best science to improve the health of our neighbors. But that’s a misnomer, really – the Sheps Center per se doesn’t do anything; everything that happens here is due to the Sheps Center’s people. People who prioritize public service, translation and dissemination, team-based science, and training the next generation of scholars. It can be easy to think of the Center as a living, breathing entity with its own identity. But it’s not the letterhead that recruits the patients or analyzes the data. It’s not the building that identifies the solution. It’s not a chartfield string that disseminates the findings. The Sheps Center’s strength is the people that contribute through it -- yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Over the past few years, we have seen where institutions may not always follow our values and may fall short of our expectations. When that happens, we need to recognize that institutions are collections of people whom we should hold accountable to the values and norms we demand. For my part, I am working to be mindful of you, my colleagues, and how every day each of you add another brick to the legacy of the Center. I am proud to work at the Sheps Center, but my joy stems from working with you, my colleagues and partners, and the last few years of Zooms and Teams have made it a little too easy to lose sight of this. Thanks for helping to build this wonderful place.
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George Pink and Erin Fraher present at
NC General Assembly
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At the Sheps Center, our faculty, staff, students, and policy research are changing the world and truly make Carolina a place like no other. Leave your mark by giving today! |
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Drs. Erin Fraher and George Pink were invited to discuss their work at a recent NC General Assembly meeting on February 18, 2022. Dr. Fraher presented on NC Nursecast, a data visualization tool examining our state’s nursing shortage, while Dr. Pink presented on Rural Hospital Closure and Overview of the Rural Emergency Hospital.
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Matt has been with Sheps now for 6 years and has rapidly grown his skills and expertise. Most recently, Matt has been interested in aiding investigators in sustaining products that come out of research, long after the study ends. Examples of this work from the Web and Database programming team are projects like eTMACT (Dr. Lorna Moser at the Dept. of Psychiatry), which is an assessment tool for ACT teams and PRISM (Dr. Amanda Holliday at the Dept. of Nutrition), which is an online platform that is used by all parties involved in the dietetic internship process. Some areas of focus for transitioning a research project into a product may include provisioning for multi-tenant support, distributed content (geographically), redundancy, automated configuration, establishing legal contracts and payment strategies. |
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Sheps researchers to conduct a first-of-its-kind clinical study to improve food security
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Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the UNC Department of Medicine and research fellow of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research will co-lead the collaboration between Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC and UNC Health with Dr. Darren DeWalt of the UNC Department of Medicine and Dr. Alice Ammerman, Director of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. The Sheps-based study will measure how to best help people who are food insecure achieve better health through nutrition. UNC-Chapel Hill researchers are leading the study, in conjunction with the UNC Health Alliance, UNC Health’s statewide, clinically integrated physician network and population health services organization. Read more
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Aging Program selected to evaluate NC assisted living accreditation |
When people think about long-term care for older adults, they typically think “nursing home.” However, the majority of long-term residential care is actually provided in assisted living communities, which are state-regulated and provide care to older adults who are commonly thought to be similar to nursing home residents from a decade ago in relation to their acuity and care needs. For this reason, the quality of care and outcomes in assisted living has become of widespread interest. One method to benchmark and potentially improve care is through accreditation; an organization that is accredited has demonstrated that it meets a defined standard of quality based on external review.
The State of North Carolina is undertaking a novel evaluation of accreditation for assisted living. In 2021, the legislature approved a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of an accreditation process for assisted living communities (also known as adult care homes) that would deem accredited communities exempt from routine state inspections if they meet required standards and requirements. The Program on Aging, Disability, and Long-Term Care, of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, is conducting the evaluation.
Beginning spring 2022, up to 150 assisted living communities will be recruited for the pilot program, half of which will participate in quality improvement accreditation activities, and all of which will provide benchmarking data for two years. Participating communities will be playing an important role helping to guide the future of assisted living in North Carolina and inform the efforts of other states.
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Pivotal Cancer Control papers archived at the NIH Office of History |
A trilogy of papers authored by long-time Sheps researcher Dr. Arnold Kaluzny and Donna O'Brien, president of Strategic Visions in Healthcare, have been archived at the NIH's Office of History. These papers were published over a three-year period around the 50th anniversary of the 1971 National Cancer Act. They address the role of cancer control in advancing the evidence base for improving clinical practice in the community.
Dr. Kaluzny shares his enthusiasm about this achievement:
"We are obviously excited that the NIH recognizes the importance of documenting and archiving the events and contributions described in the papers – both as a matter of historical record and perhaps to offer lessons from those early years to better understand the role of vision, leadership and institutional commitment required to meet the challenges in cancer control, research, and care. The lessons also are applicable to other areas, such as improving upon our ability to manage COVID, its subsequent variants, and other pandemics that occur in the years ahead."
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New Faces at the Sheps Center |
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Molly Lynch, MS-CCC-SLP
Project Manager, Aging
Molly works with Dr. Laura Hanson’s study team as part of the Aging program at Sheps. Molly primarily works on Dr. Hanson’s R01, “Palliative Care for Persons with Late-stage Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias and their Caregivers: A Randomized Clinical Trial”, which is a multi-site clinical trial focused on dementia-specific palliative care intervention for patients with late-stage dementia and their caregivers.
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Jasmine Weiss, MD
Research Fellow
Dr. Weiss is currently an Assistant Professor of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine and a new Research Fellow with Sheps. Her research is focused on physician workforce diversity, and the overall diversity of the healthcare workforce. She is also passionate about the intersection of health and education, and upward economic mobility of minority communities.
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Emily McCartha, PhD
Health Workforce Program
Dr. McCartha joined the Sheps Workforce team as a Project Manager / Research Scientist in September 2021 after working in a non-partisan research office of the NC General Assembly. She is currently working for the Carolina Health Workforce Research Center. She also works on a pediatric subspecialty supply model project, an evaluation of a value-based care initiative, and the NC Nursecast model.
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Ashley Avis, MS
Data Analytics
Ashley joined the Sheps Data Analytics team in January 2022. She previously worked with a start-up as lead analyst, analyzing claims data and pharmaceutical spend to identify savings opportunities. She is particularly interested in rural health and anything related to advanced analytics (simulations, predictive modeling, data linkage/text analytics, etc.).
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State Partner Shout-out: 3RNET |
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Many state and federal programs aim to reduce the inequitable distribution of health care professionals. Among the most important are loan repayment programs offered by states and the National Health Service Corps that incentivize primary care, dental, and behavioral health care professionals to practice in rural and underserved areas. These programs are most effective if participating clinicians are managed well, have positive experiences, and then continue to practice long-term in their underserved locations. Thus, 10 years ago Dr. Don Pathman and his Sheps colleagues including the Web Development team, partnered with states—now numbering 25—to create the Provider Retention and Information Management Systems (PRISM) Collaborative, a web-based survey and reporting tool that provides states with uniform, real-time feedback and outcome data to guide program improvements. PRISM data reports now draw on information from 50,000 completed questionnaires, and they have been key in gaining legislature support and additional funding for states’ programs. The National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network (3RNET; www.3rnet.org) now oversees this project, and has integrated PRISM’s data and Sheps analytics into its education programs. The federal Office of Rural Health Policy helps fund both PRISM and 3RNET.
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(Q&A) Catching Up With... |
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Priscilla A. Guild, MSPH
Priscilla "Pris" Guild, MSPH, was a Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director for Administration at the Sheps Center when she retired in 2008. In addition to her administrative responsibilities, while at the Sheps Center (1971-2008), she designed and implemented information systems for program management and evaluation at two community health centers, coordinated the evaluation of the Regionalized Perinatal Care Program, and was instrumental in the development of the Health Professions Data System.
What is your favorite Sheps memory?
I worked at the Sheps Center for over 35 years before retiring, so I have many wonderful memories and really don't have a favorite one. What I can tell you is the thing I miss most about working there are the wonderful people at the center and in the community, that I had the opportunity to work with all of those years. As the Sheps Center grew, it became more difficult to have center-wide events but some still continued, including my two favorites, the ACC Basketball Tournament Hot Dog lunch and the Holiday Party & gift exchange. I feel this aspect of life at the workplace is just as important as the projects we do. It makes the normal hassles that come along with the work much more tolerable.
What is your current hobby/interest at the moment?
When I retired, I decided that I wanted to continue my volunteer work with non-profits that began in the 1980s when I joined the Chapel Hill Day Care Center Board of Directors, at the urging of a Sheps colleague. I have joined the North Carolina Citizens for Public Health, which educates the state Legislature about what the "community" feels are the public health problems they should be addressing, and in the twelve years that I have been a member, our membership has grown to 221 members and counting representing 71 of NC's 100 counties. I also reconnected with the School of Public Health Alumni Association and became a Director on the their Governing Board and then President for a second time. Associated with this I was also on the Public Health Foundation Board and am still helping the Advancement Office with their fund-raising efforts.
What is the best thing about retirement?
Having more control over my time and NOT having to get up and go to work five mornings a week. This does not mean that I regret all those mornings I did get up and go to work. I know if I had been working from home all this time, I would have had nothing to miss.
This story was edited for brevity. Ms. Guild's complete answers are available on the Sheps Center website.
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Sandra Greene was appointed as Chair of the NC State Health Coordinating Council by Governor Roy Cooper.
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The Program on Health Workforce Research & Policy partnered with the NC Board of Nursing to create NC Nursecast - an interactive, web-based tool that forecasts the future supply and demand of RNs and LPNs in NC. Read more here and here.
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The RTI-UNC EPC team has published a new systematic review in JAMA regarding eating disorders. Read the evidence summary here.
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Saif Khairat is quoted and The Center's data is discussed in this article about medical deserts.
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The NCIOM launched a new task force on healthy aging in December, with meetings beginning in Spring 2022.
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Sheps Center research on rural hospital closures has been featured in a number of media outlets recently, including this New York Times article.
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Erin Fraher and colleagues received new $5 million award from HRSA to facilitate the development of training programs for physicians and dentists in underserved areas.
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In January the NCIOM welcomed a new board chair and four new board members.
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Sheps Center Primary Care Research fellow, Wade Harrison, MD, summarizes his recent publication in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
We analyzed 2017-2018 survey data from pediatricians enrolled in the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program in order to characterize the roles and responsibilities of pediatric hospitalists. Approximately one-third practiced pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) exclusively, a third PHM and general pediatrics, and a third PHM and another pediatric subspecialty. Over half reported spending at least some time caring for children in community hospitals, although only 35% of those in exclusive PHM practice reported any clinical time outside of children’s hospitals. The most common practice area after general inpatient pediatrics was neonatal care, with over half of pediatric hospitalists caring for these patients, especially for those practicing at community hospitals. Interest in quality improvement leadership was high, especially among those in exclusive PHM practice. All 3 groups reported similarly high levels of satisfaction (>80%) in the allocation of their professional time. As the newest ABP-recognized subspecialty, our study demonstrates how the clinical and professional responsibilities of PHM continue to evolve. In addition to general inpatient pediatrics, PHM-fellowship training, professional development activities, and certification should focus on ensuring competency to care for children in community hospitals and neonates in addition to leading quality improvement efforts.
To see a full listing of Sheps-affiliated publications from recent months, please click here.
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Have feedback on this newsletter or suggested content for future newsletters? Contact Lindsay McCall.
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