Commentary: Are National Parks Still Relevant?

On the occasion of the National Parks centennial comes an irreverent question: Are the parks still relevant? Famously christened as America\u27s best idea by writer Wallace Stegner and reaffirmed in Ken Burns\u27 2009 PBS documentary, it seems brazen, if not blasphemous, to pose the question. [excerpt

Implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Impacts on the Frontlines of Caregiving

The National Fund for Workforce Solutions and its implementation partner, Jobs for the Future, have conducted research examining the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the frontline health care workforce as part of CareerSTAT, an initiative to document and endorse the business case for investments in the frontline hospital workers based on health care leader recommendations. This report includes reviews of current literature and data sources, as well as interviews with executives and practitioners in hospitals, primary care clinics, and long-term care institutions. This report is intended to assist health care leaders, policymakers, and practitioners in gaining a greater understanding of the workforce implications of the ACA in general, and in particular, for frontline workers

Building Career Ladders in the Age of the Affordable Care Act

This report documents the steps taken by an urban teaching hospital to develop its frontline workforce and achieve the goals of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Responding to a host of challenges, including the ACA's "triple aim" -- better patient experience, lower costs of care, and improved health for populations -- Jersey City Medical Center/Barnabas Health (JCMC) has invested in the skills and career development of its employees to build a robust talent development effort targeting frontline workers, including patient transporters, receptionists, and housekeepers. This report uses the experience of Jersey City Medical Center to document how one health care employer is implementing frontline workforce development, and how workforce investment can advance business objectives and organizational mission in the post- ACA environment. The research is guided by these questions: 1. What frontline workforce development activities have been implemented at JCMC? Why were these chosen? How were they implemented? What are the outcomes? 2. Which activities that JCMC has undertaken to transform care affect frontline workers? 3. Why invest in the frontline health care workforce? What is the case for doing so, according to the chief executive, and the clinical, human resources, and workforce leaders? 4. Which impacts of workforce development are most relevant to the organization's mission and business objectives

Connecting the Dots: A Case Study of Transforming Care and the Frontline Workforce at UnityPoint Health-Des Moines

A growing number of health care employers have made substantial investments in the skill and career growth of their frontline staff -- many of whom spend the most time with patients, taking vital signs, bringing meals, changing linens, and registering them into or out of the hospital or clinic. Iowa's UnityPoint Health, a leader in developing frontline workers, is committed in transforming the way it delivers care. UnityPoint Health's Des Moines hospitals and clinics are showing that it is possible to connect the dots between developing a skilled workforce and delivering better care. While this process is far from finished, UPH offers valuable lessons in aligning talent development with business objectives in the age of the Affordable Care Act. This is a case study of UnityPoint Health and its effort to transform care, develop frontline workers, and fully align these objectives in its Des Moines hospitals and outpatient clinics

A Primer for Work-Based Learning: How to Make a Job the Basis for a College Education

Provides an overview of the Jobs to Careers model, in which employers and colleges collaborate to embed curricula and training in the work process, as a way to meet healthcare labor force needs. Includes grantee profiles, lessons learned, and worksheets

Review of \u3cem\u3eFlawed System/Flawed Self: Job Searching and Unemployment Experiences\u3c/em\u3e. Ofer Sharone. Reviewed by Randall P. Wilson

Ofer Sharone, Flawed System/Flawed Self: Job Searching and Unemployment Experiences. (2013). University of Chicago Press. $85 (hardcover),$27.50 (paperback), 240 pages

How the Federal Government Went From Realtor to Landlord in the American West

Disputes over public land rights have a long history in the United States. But the past 18 months have seen a growing number of confrontations over Western federal lands, culminating in the current standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. [excerpt

IMPORT DEMAND FOR RICE IN THE EEC: IMPLICATIONS OF U.S. MARKET PROMOTION

Demand and Price Analysis,