On Jan. 12, Kris Grayem, MSN, APRN, RN-BC, was named chief population health officer at Akron Children’s and executive director of Akron Children’s Health Collaborative (ACHC). In her roles, she is responsible for the overall operational and financial performance of ACHC and the hospital’s value-based care programs. Since Jan. 2021, Kris has served as interim executive director […]
Black History Month is time to pause, learn, reflect and look ahead
By Dr. Michael Forbes who is a pediatric critical care specialist and chair of the department of pediatrics at Akron Children’s. For me, Black History Month is a time to pause, learn, reflect, and look ahead. As a Black American in an immigrant family, I have come to understand that there are many Americas. My […]
Akron Children’s recognized by Joint Commission for fall prevention program
Akron Children’s was recognized by the Joint Commission, a voluntary accrediting organization, for its practical fall prevention practices in ambulatory settings. Since patient falls are one of the most preventable serious safety events that occur in hospitals, Joint Commission accredited hospitals are required to develop fall prevention programs for their patients, regardless of age. “The […]
Lending a hand: Helping Hands participants share why they volunteer
When Akron Children’s leadership first rolled out its voluntary paid program called Helping Hands in fall 2021 to address critical patient needs, no one really knew what to expect. Staffing shortages organization-wide needed to be addressed, and who better to turn to for help than the hospital’s own workforce. “We were overwhelmed by the response […]
No Surprises Act protects patients from unexpected medical bills
On Jan. 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act (NSA) went into effect to offer patient families new billing protections when getting emergency care, scheduled visits from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities and all scheduled visits for uninsured patient families. Specifically, the NSA protects out-of-network patient families from getting surprise medical bills for emergency services and […]
Emergency medicine physician Dr. Jessica Barnes plays medical detective when treating patients
Growing up, Dr. Jessica Barnes gravitated toward games that required solving puzzles. She enjoyed the challenge and, of course, the reward that often came with hard work: winning the game! So it’s no surprise as an adult she’d choose a career path she equates to a puzzle, where you have to employ good investigation skills […]