Background: Although hospitals should be a place of healing and restoration, multiple studies demonstrate that hospitalized patients face acute sleep deprivation due to potentially modifiable disruptions (vitals, medications, tests). Acute inpatient sleep deprivation is also associated with worse health outcomes both in-hospital and post-discharge. While staff-directed sleep interventions show benefits, no study has tested whether [...]

Background: Although hospitals should be a place of healing and restoration, multiple studies demonstrate that hospitalized patients face acute sleep deprivation due to potentially modifiable disruptions (vitals, medications, tests). Acute inpatient sleep deprivation is also associated with worse health outcomes both in-hospital and post-discharge. While staff-directed sleep interventions show benefits, no study has tested whether [...]

Background: Low Health Literacy (HL) is associated with poor health outcomes (1), higher utilization of care, increased risk for hospitalization and increased risk for 30-day rehospitalization (2). HL is composed of three components which includes obtaining the information (reading), comprehending the information and applying it to one’s daily life (3). Patients may master one component, [...]

Background: Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) experience painful and life threatening vaso-occlusive episodes (VOE) that cause frequent hospitalizations, account for >80% of their >$1 million lifetime healthcare costs, and can be fatal. Yet, there is a dearth of evidence addressing inpatient VOE care leading to a stark absence of evidence-informed guidelines. As a first [...]

Background: Heatstroke is a life-threatening condition representing the most severe manifestation of heat-related illnesses. It is characterized clinically by extremely elevated body temperature, neurologic dysfunction, and multiorgan failure. Unmitigated fossil fuel use is increasing global average temperatures, which may impact the incidence of heatstroke admissions. Vulnerability to heat-related illness varies within communities based on exposure [...]

Background: Inpatient admissions for Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) represent a substantial economic burden within the US healthcare system with patients experiencing high rates of 30-day readmission and mortality. To more efficiently and effectively serve complex cardiovascular (CV) patients at a major cardiac care center, Intermountain Health created a dedicated CV hospitalist service which has expanded [...]

Background: Health-related social needs (HRSN) are social and economic conditions that adversely affect health. Housing instability, food insecurity, and unreliable transportation may influence decisions during hospitalization, including care transitions. Numerous screening tools have been implemented in ambulatory and emergency care settings to capture HRSN and guide coordination of care. However, disability, which has profound implications [...]

Background: Healthcare system high utilizers create a financial burden raising healthcare costs and quality improvement measures should be assessed to create a positive change. We aimed to characterize the high-utilizer patients in our system to create tailored interventions to address their specific needs and ultimately reduce recurrent admissions. Methods: A quality improvement project was implemented [...]

Background: Diabetes Mellitus is a growing concern in the USA, affecting around 10.5% of the population or approximately 34.2 million people. West Virginia has the highest prevalence of adult diabetes, with 16.2% of the population diagnosed in 2018. In noncritical care hospitalized patients, new-onset hyperglycemia and patient with diabetes make up 25-30% of the census. [...]

Background: Constipation is commonly encountered in patients admitted to the hospital, with a variety of possible treatments to choose from. Docusate is often prescribed to treat constipation, though evidence suggests it is ineffective. Utilizing an ineffective medication adds to patients’ pill burden, health care costs, and may delay the use of effective medications with downstream [...]