Illinois Behavioral Therapy Pilot Shows Increased Service Efficiency: The Illinois Behavioral Health Workforce Center (BHWC) conducted and evaluated a pilot initiative of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) training and implementation for integrated care settings. These settings include colocation and coordination of medical and behavioral healthcare to promote timely access to behavioral health services when mental health-related needs are identified by medical providers.
View in browser
IHA-logo
IHA Emails_Daily Briefing

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Today's Top Stories

  • Illinois Behavioral Therapy Pilot Shows Increased Service Efficiency
  • Study: Medication Safety Risks for Discharged Older Adults
  • CDC to Streamline Bird Flu, Influenza Reporting
  • COVID-19 Information
  • Briefly Noted
  • Leading the News

Illinois Behavioral Therapy Pilot Shows Increased Service Efficiency
The Illinois Behavioral Health Workforce Center (BHWC) conducted and evaluated a pilot initiative of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) training and implementation for integrated care settings. These settings include colocation and coordination of medical and behavioral healthcare to promote timely access to behavioral health services when mental health-related needs are identified by medical providers. The recently released evaluation report details the major findings of the evaluation, including:

  • Behavioral health providers experience SFBT as a feasible and appropriate brief therapy model suited for the needs of integrated care settings;
  • Providers and agencies reported increased efficiency of services when using SFBT, including fewer sessions needed and shorter sessions compared to other approaches;
  • Clients indicated improved outcomes with a single session of SFBT; 
    Better fidelity to SFBT was associated with more improvement in distress, hope, confidence and goal clarity by the end of the session;
  • Providers expressed that ongoing consultation and support was important for supporting the implementation and sustainability of SFBT in integrated care settings. 

Further evaluation is needed regarding the best ways to provide consultation and support when implementing SFBT in integrated care settings, which is the subject of ongoing evaluation efforts. Click here for the full report. For more information on the BHWC’s support of integrated care agencies in Illinois and other initiatives, please visit https://illinoisbhwc.org/.

 

Staff contact: Lia Daniels

 

Study: Medication Safety Risks for Discharged Older Adults
A study published in BMJ Quality & Safety found that many older adults face challenges managing their medications after leaving the hospital. Researchers looked at what patients are expected to do when it comes to taking their medicines at home, how well they can handle those tasks, and how they actually take their medications. Among 376 patients age 65 and older, more than half were prescribed over 10 medications, and almost all had changes to their prescriptions because of their hospital stay. More than 80% had no caregiver to help, and over 40% felt uncertain about how to manage their medications on their own. Patients who had too much to keep track of and limited ability to manage it often felt overwhelmed and were more likely to take the wrong medicines compared to what was listed in their medical records. The study highlights the importance of checking in with patients before they leave the hospital to see what kind of help they might need to safely manage their medications at home.

 

To support hospital members with their commitment to quality and safety efforts, IHA's Institute for Innovations in Care and Quality is advancing person-centered healthcare in Illinois through evidence-based initiatives that can measurably improve patient safety and strengthen quality healthcare including the prevention of healthcare acquired infections. For questions about our programs and resources please contact IHA.

 

CDC to Streamline Bird Flu, Influenza Reporting
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this week that it has streamlined its H5NI bird flu updates with routine influenza data updates and it has modified its reporting cadences to reflect the low public health risk and lack of person-to-person spread. Data on the number of people monitored and tested for bird flu will be reported monthly. Bird flu detection in animals will no longer be reported on the CDC website and will now be found on the USDA website.

 

Illinois COVID-19 Data

 

The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) has a weekly Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard that is updated weekly on Friday. This report provides the public with the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data. 

 

Click here to visit the IDPH COVID-19 resources webpage. IDPH will continue to report the weekly number of people with COVID-19 admitted to hospitals from emergency departments, deaths and vaccinations, with COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information also reported through the dashboard of the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System. 

 

Briefly Noted

 

Sandoz, Inc. has initiated a voluntary recall of one lot of Cefazolin for injection due to a customer complaint indicating penicillin G potassium injection was incorrectly included in a carton of Cefazolin for injection. There is a reasonable probability that the inadvertent administration of penicillin G potassium injection, instead of intended cefazolin injection, may pose serious and potentially life-threatening adverse health consequences. To date, Sandoz has not received any reports of adverse events or injuries related to this recall. 

 

Novartis yesterday announced that it has received approval from Swissmedic for the world’s first malaria medicine for newborns and young infants. Eight African countries also participated in the assessment and are now expected to issue rapid approvals under the Swiss agency’s Marketing Authorization for Global Health Products procedure. Novartis said it plans to introduce the infant-friendly treatment on a largely not-for-profit basis to increase access in areas where malaria is endemic.

 

Leading the News

 

Here’s why 9 rural Illinois hospitals are deemed ‘at-risk’ of closing

The State Journal-Register

Nine rural hospitals in Illinois are defined as “at-risk” of closing, according to a reputable center for health services research. The list of the rural hospitals from each state was released after U.S. senators requested the information from the center and then attached it in a letter to President Donald Trump, among others. A rural hospital is labeled as at risk when it meets one or both of two criteria, according to the documents: the hospital is in the top 10% Medicaid payer mix of rural hospitals across the country, and that the hospital has experienced three consecutive years of negative total margin.

 

Researchers identify four distinct types of autism

AXIOS
There are four distinct varieties of autism, each linked to unique genetic profiles — a discovery that could offer new insights into the neurodevelopmental condition, according to a new study in Nature Genetics.

 

Trump’s spending bill cuts Medicaid: Here’s what it’s called in your state

AXIOS

President Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation, the “big beautiful bill,” is now law, and that means cuts to Medicaid spending.

IHA News
IHA Events

Questions or Comments?
Want to subscribe? Contact us at: iha@team-iha.org

Facebook
LinkedIn
X

www.team-iha.org

©2025 Illinois Health and Hospital Association

 PO Box 3015

Naperville, IL 60566

(630) 276-5400

 

Unsubscribe   Manage Preferences