IHA's COMPdata Informatics has simplified analysis of critical performance data such as discharge counts, charges and length of stay in its newly available Guided Key Metrics Dashboards. The easy-to-use dashboards, part of COMPdata's Guided Analytics suite, offer a convenient way for C-Suite leaders to assess hospital performance and identify trends.

Designed to provide high-level overviews of data and trends, the dashboards feature discharge counts for all COMPdata patient settings; percent change for three-year trends and year-over-year comparisons; an automated peer selection tool; and customizable data tables.

The dashboards can reveal, for example, the patient care settings where discharges have either increased or decreased and whether peer facilities experienced similar shifts. Specific questions the dashboards can answer include:

• What is the average length of stay and case mix index for our ICU patients?
• Do our peers see a similar shift with their newborn births?
• Did our average charge for outpatient surgeries go up or down?

COMPdata dashboards are powerful tools to aid in planning, business development and quality improvement. IHA encourages hospital and health leaders and staff to explore the new Guided Key Metrics Dashboards. Training sessions will be held Dec. 2 from 2-3 p.m. CT and Dec. 10 from 11 a.m.-noon CT.

Please contact COMPdata at compdata@team-iha.org or 866-262-6222 with questions about the Guided Key Metrics Dashboards.

Healing Communities: Northwestern Medicine Supports Local Organizations
Northwestern Medicine is investing in mental health care, deploying clinicians to community health centers and inspiring the next generation of clinicians by collaborating with local organizations aligned with its mission to improve the health of communities.

Addressing Community Health Needs
Northwestern Medicine supports Bright Star Community Outreach (BSCO) to address the mental health needs of residents of Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood who have experienced trauma. The health system also helps fund Kelly Hall YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, which offers no-cost health screenings and education like Mental Health First Aid training to assist staff in identifying and taking steps to help individuals struggling.

Providing Accessible Health Care
Northwestern Medicine clinicians dedicate their time and services to Family Health Partnership and Erie Family Health Centers, organizations that serve communities with a high number of residents who are living in poverty and lack health insurance or are underinsured. 

Training Future Clinicians
The Northwestern Medicine GCM Grosvenor Scholars Program is helping build tomorrow's healthcare workforce by introducing high school students in Bronzeville to careers in medicine and science. Participants learn onsite from leading physicians and scientists at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. They also attend summer intensives, educational seminars and trips, and interactive learning experiences.

Westinghouse College Prep principal W. Terrell Burgess said, “We’re grateful for a partnership that invests in our students and gives them a sense of possibility and belonging in a field where they can make a real difference.”

IHA’s Healing Communities: Hospital Stories webpage features the good work of hospitals across Illinois. Submit your hospital’s or health system’s story to Valerie Culver, Assistant Vice Presidents, Corporate Communications and Marketing, at vculver@team-iha.org.

FREE Mental Health Resource – Illinois DocAssist
Need help with pediatric or perinatal mental health care? The Illinois Dept. of Public Health issued a recent SIREN Alert highlighting a free resource to assist with pediatric and perinatal mental health care. Illinois DocAssist offers free consultations and referral assistance for Illinois clinicians, providing healthcare providers and school-based clinicians access to free psychiatric consultations addressing the mental health and substance use problems of children, adolescents (through age 21), and perinatal women. The program offers the following services:

• Same-day psychiatric teleconsultation
• Treatment referral assistance
• Provider resources
• Continuing education

Click here to learn more about Illinois DocAssist and register. 

Report: Nonprofit Hospitals’ Value More Than 11 Times Federal Tax Exemption
An EY report prepared for the American Hospital Association shows that tax-exempt hospitals and health systems delivered $11 in benefits to their communities for every dollar’s worth of federal tax exemption in 2022, the most recent year for which comprehensive data is available. The report indicates that nonprofit hospitals forwent an estimated $13.2 billion in federal tax revenue, while providing $149 billion in benefits to their communities. This is an increase from prior-year analyses, estimating that community benefits were over 11 times greater than federal tax revenue forgone.