Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital
This honor reflects the data-driven work of our clinicians and employees to consistently bring quality and value to our patients.”
— Rob Allen, Intermountain Healthcare’s chief operating officer
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, USA, March 18, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A study by IBM Watson Health named four Intermountain Healthcare facilities to their annual Top 100 Hospitals list. These Utah hospitals were recognized as top industry performers:
• Intermountain Alta View Hospital in Sandy
• Intermountain Logan Regional Hospital in Logan
• Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital in Provo
• Intermountain Cedar City Hospital in Cedar City
The hospitals that make the list serve as examples of how innovation can lead to better value-based care for patients. Highlighting the achievements and goals of organizations on the list gives other hospitals around the country examples to strive for.
The Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals study uses independent and objective research to analyze hospital and health system performance in 10 clinical and operational areas.
“This honor reflects the data-driven work of our clinicians and employees to consistently bring quality and value to our patients,” said Rob Allen, Intermountain Healthcare’s chief operating officer. “Our programs like Zero Harm to protect patient safety and telehealth services — which link renowned specialists with clinicians and patients in rural areas — are becoming models for other health systems around the county.”
The study spotlights the top-performing hospitals in the U.S. based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational, and patient satisfaction data. Based on the results of this year’s study, IBM Watson Health extrapolates that if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities:
• More than 103,000 additional lives could be saved
• More than 38,000 additional patients could be complication-free
• More than $8.2 billion in inpatient costs could be saved
• Approximately 155,000 fewer discharged patients would be readmitted within 30 days
This is Intermountain Logan Regional Hospital’s seventh year in a row on the list, while Intermountain Utah Valley is making the top 100 for the first time. Intermountain Cedar City and Intermountain Alta View have each made the list at least six times.
The 10 clinical and operational areas examined in the study include: risk-adjusted inpatient mortality, risk-adjusted complications, mean healthcare-associated infections, mean 30-day risk-adjusted mortality rates, mean 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rates, severity-adjusted length of stay, mean emergency department throughput, case mix- and wage-adjusted inpatient expense per discharge, adjusted operating profit margin, and HCAHPS scores (patient ratings of overall hospital performance).
The study has been conducted annually since 1993. For more information, visit www.100tophospitals.com
Intermountain Healthcare is a Utah-based not-for-profit system of 23 hospitals, 170 clinics, a Medical Group with some 2,300 employed physicians and advanced care practitioners, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare through evidence-based best practices, high quality, and sustainable costs. For more information about Intermountain, visit intermountainhealthcare.org.
Glen Beeby
Intermountain Healthcare
+1 206-948-4849
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The Financial Storm On The Horizon:
4 Ways A Recession Might Play Out
Americans are becoming more pessimistic about what the coming year could hold for them financially, with a Gallup poll1 reporting that 48 percent say the economy is worsening, up from 45 percent in December and 36 percent in October.
But if bad news is what 2019 has in store for us, no one should be caught off guard completely, says Craig Kirsner, MBA (www.StuartPlanning.com)2, a retirement planner and author of Retire with Confidence: Preserve and Protect Your Wealth and Leave a Legacy.3
“Frankly, I find it surprising that people are shocked that the stock market went down substantially two times in 2018,” Kirsner says. “Do markets go up forever? No. Are 13.2 percent average annual S&P 5004 returns since 2009 normal? No.
“Hopefully, anyone who is in or near retirement is taking this opportunity to reduce the risk in their retirement portfolio to a level that they’re comfortable with.”
Unfortunately, Kirsner says he suspects not everyone is doing that.
“Our brains are designed to remember the good times and forget the bad times5,” he says. “This is why people believe that markets that are going up will keep going up, and may forget the impact of losing a portion of their portfolio like they might have was back in 2008-2009.”
Kirsner has predictions for how he thinks things eventually could play out, if not in 2019 then perhaps soon after that:
The next recession. The markets will go down drastically in the next recession and like with any other recession we do not know how far the markets will drop, Kirsner says. “Consumer spending generally slows down considerably as people tighten their finances.”
Deflation. Recessions can bring deflation, which is when prices go down year after year, Kirsner says. “Deflation may come as this credit-fueled bubble bursts and people spend less and borrow less,” he says.
Lower interest rates. The Fed likely will use its tools to try to fight the recession just like they did in previous recessions, meaning they will probably lower interest rates again, Kirsner says. “I believe that we may even see negative interest rates in the United States,” 6 he says. “Negative interest rates mean that, were you to put your money in a 10-year government bond, you might earn -0.5 percent interest per year. Indeed, 10 years later you would get slightly less than what you put in. Why would people buy negative interest rate bonds? Because they think that interest rates will go even lower, perhaps to -1 percent in the future – or even lower.”
More borrowing. The Fed’s goal for using negative interest rates would be to encourage people to spend money instead of keeping it in banks. “They want people to borrow more money – more mortgages, more corporate debt, more auto loans, etc. – and lower interest rates should encourage people to spend using debt,” Kirsner says. “That’s good for a debt-fueled bubble and our consumer-spending based economy.”
Despite the concerns, Kirsner says he’s still hopeful that 2019 will bring a good year in the market.
“But that does not mean that I would recommend a retiree throw caution to the wind and invest everything in higher-risk stocks,” he says. “If we do have a recession in 2019, you don’t want to lose half your portfolio.”
About Craig Kirsner, MBA
Craig Kirsner, MBA, (www.StuartPlanning.com) is a nationally-recognized author, speaker and retirement planner whom you may have seen on Kiplinger, Forbes, Fidelity.com, Nasdaq.com, U.S. News & World Report, AT&T, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money, Bankrate.com, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, Newsmax, Valuewalk and many others. Craig is the author of Retire With Confidence: Preserve and Protect Your Wealth And Leave A Legacy and creator of the Preserve and Protect Retirement System. He has an MBA in finance from Florida International University. He is an Investment Adviser Representative who has passed the Series 63 and 65 securities exams and has been a licensed insurance agent for 26 years.
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Spring is for Sampling
Ogden’s Second Spring Beer Fest to Rally the Best Craft Beers in Northern Utah
March 23rd – Ogden, Utah. Ogden Downtown Alliance is bringing back Spring Beer Fest for its second year! Ticketed and hosted inside Ogden Union Station on Saturday, March 23rd from 5 pm to 9 pm, Spring Beer Fest is an opportunity to sip and savor Northern Utah’s best craft beers and local bites! Part of a larger effort to celebrate and restore Ogden Union Station, Spring Beer Fest focuses on highlighting local brewers and producers in an amazing historic setting – celebrating the gritty side of O-Town pride.
Sample local libations from Roosters Brewing Company, Mountain West Hard Cider, Kiitos Brewing, Talisman Brewing Company, Red Rock Brewing, Uinta Brewing, Salt Fire Brewing Company, New World Distillery, Cerveza Zólupez Beer Company, Proper Brewing Company, Toasted Barrel Brewery, 2 Row Brewing and Epic Brewing Company.
Of course, no beer fest is complete without live music and delicious pairings! Enjoy DJ Bryson Dearden mixing up tunes with a classic old school feel throughout the night and pairings from Wimpy and Fritz, The Happy Hog, Lucky Slice and Daily Rise Coffee!
“I am happy to bring this event back for its second year,” Jessica McCowin, Special Events Coordinator for Ogden Downtown Alliance says, “the craft beer scene in Northern Utah is growing and it’s a great way to celebrate that by getting everyone together and encouraging our community to come out and sample their hard work.”
“We are excited about Spring Beer Fest because it is a chance to bring together some great breweries and spotlight the amazing community here in Ogden,” says Joann Williams with Talisman Brewing Company.
$20 admission tickets include 3 sample pour tokens and a $5 meal voucher. Additional sample pour tokens will be available for $1. Tickets include one souvenir sampling glass. Ogden Downtown Alliance encourages festival goers to plan a safe trip utilizing rideuta.com and offering a $10 designated driver ticket that includes a $5 meal voucher. Tickets can be purchased through the Spring Beer Fest 2019 Facebook event page. For event information follow Ogden Downtown on Facebook and Instagram.
Spring Beer Fest
Saturday, March 23rd
5 pm to 9 pm
Ogden Union Station
Must be 21+ to attend this event
Thank you to our incredible sponsors; Weber State University, Swire Coca-Cola, Ogden City Government, Standard-Examiner, Admiral Beverage- Pepsi Ogden, McKay-Dee Hospital, Golden Beverage Company, Young Hyundai, America First Credit Union and Wasatch Distributing Company.
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Spring Beer Fest is produced and managed by the Ogden Downtown Alliance.
About Ogden Downtown Alliance
Recently awarded Best of State in Community Development for 2018, the Ogden Downtown Alliance is a 501(c)(3) committed to increasing economic vitality and community vibrancy throughout Ogden’s Central Business District. We support local commerce through placemaking, destination marketing, focused community programming and events. We create and promote a dynamic epicenter for arts, entertainment, and cultural experiences in Ogden’s downtown.
