An Interactive Manpower Planning and Scheduling System for a Health Facility

This study assessed trends in provision of trauma-specific services, defined as dedicated programming for persons with a history of trauma, in US Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and other Mental Health (MH) facilities. Facility level data from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services and the National Mental Health Services Survey (2015-2019) were used to examine trends in provision of trauma specific-services. Trauma specific service provision trended up significantly between 2015 and 2019. In 2019, they were more commonly offered at MH facilities (49.9%) than SUD facilities (42.7%). Licensing by state SUD authorities were associated with provision of trauma-specific services at both MH (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.23, 95% Confidence interval (CI) = 1.18-1.47, p < .001) and SUD (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.04-1.37, p = .012) facilities. The proportions of facilities that offer trauma-specific services were correlated within states (Pearson's r = .44, p = .001). State policies to implement trauma screening at public facilities were associated with higher odds of offering trauma-specific services in MH (AOR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.04-1.64, p = .021) and SUD (AOR 1.51, 95% CI = 1.19-1.12, p = .001) facilities; whereas, state implementation of trauma-specific CBT at public facilities was associated with higher odds of this outcome only in MH facilities (AOR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.01-1.51, p = .043). Although trauma-specific services trended up significantly, fewer than half of treatment facilities offer such services nationally. Certain facility characteristics, such SUD authority certification, are associated with trauma-specific services. Variability among states in these services is linked to state policy. Increased efforts by states may be an effective point of intervention to further disseminate trauma-specific services.

This paper presents an optimum workforce-size model which determines the minimum number of excess workers (overstaffing) as well as the minimum total recruitment cost during a specified planning horizon. The model is an extension of other existing dynamic programming models for manpower planning in the sense that it strikes a balance between overstaffing and understaffing at each stage of the computations. The model also considers a manpower planning system in which the employment level has upper and lower bounds. The employment level varies from one period to another while the cost incurred in each period depends only on recruitment size and the overstaffing cost from an earlier stage. A mathematical problem is formulated and solved to illustrate the model numerically.KEYWORDS: Workforce-size, dynamic programming, Optimum, Overstaffing and Understaffing.

The study examined temporal and geographic trends in telehealth availability at U.S. behavioral health treatment facilities and risk factors for not offering telehealth. Longitudinal data on 15,691 outpatient behavioral health treatment facilities were extracted daily from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator between January 20, 2020, and January 20, 2021. Facilities operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs were excluded. Bivariate analyses were used to assess trends in telehealth availability in 2020 and 2021. Multivariable regression analysis was used to examine facility- and county-level characteristics associated with telehealth availability in 2021. Telehealth availability increased by 77% from 2020 to 2021 for mental health treatment facilities and by 143% for substance use disorder treatment facilities. By January 2021, 68% of outpatient mental health facilities and 57% of substance use disorder treatment facilities in the sample were offering telehealth. Mental health and substance use disorder treatment facilities that did not accept Medicaid as a form of payment were less likely to offer telehealth in 2021, compared with facilities that accepted Medicaid. Mental health and substance use disorder treatment facilities that accepted private insurance were more likely to offer telehealth in 2021, compared with facilities that did not accept private insurance. Although 2020 saw a dramatic increase in telehealth availability at behavioral health treatment facilities, 32% of mental health treatment facilities and 43% of substance use disorder treatment facilities did not offer telehealth in January 2021, nearly 1 year into the pandemic.

Older age is a major risk factor for many neurocognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease. While there are limited treatment options for improving memory in this population, research has shown that special psychotherapeutic modalities like Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT), especially when coupled with psychosocial and vocational rehabilitation(PSR and VCR respectively), benefit older adults. This study examines the availability of these services in US mental health (MH) facilities serving older adults and compares the characteristics of the facilities providing these services. Our study includes 1216 MH facilities using the 2022 National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS) data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Descriptive statistics were used to determine availabilities, while multivariable logistic regression was used to compare facilities that offer the services compared to those that do not. Of the total facilities included, 78 (6%), 634 (52%), and 381 (31%) offered CRT, PSR, and VCR respectively. Facilities that provided only MH services compared to those providing substance use and MH services, those that offer special services for veterans, and special Alzheimer's programs compared to those that do notwere more likely to have CRT services. MH facilities that provide supplemental employment services, housing services and recovery housing were more likely to offer PSR and VCR compared to those that do not. Compared to facilities in Midwest states, facilities in East South-Central were less likely to offer PSR and VCR. This study highlights the relative unavailability of CRT, indicating a need for more interest in evidence-based nonpharmacological treatment options for cognitive decline in the aging population.

Outbreaks of influenza B infection and pneumococcal pneumonia at a mental health facility in Japan.

Background Mental health is considered the Cinderella of any healthcare system. There is a European target that the 5% of the healthcare service budget goes to mental health and most countries have reached that target. Yet, this might not be enough to cover the inequity between health and mental health provision. Aim ‘The social invisibility of mental health facilities’ is a multi-disciplinary, innovative, research-through-arts project, involving a School of Architecture, a Division of Psychiatry and a School of Art. The aim is to detect if there are elements demonstrating inequality demonstrated from place and space related to the facility provision. Methods It compares healthcare vs mental health facilities of the same catchment area, raising awareness of inequalities between the two and the social exclusion of mentally ill people through a visual, multimedia perspective. It juxtaposes (mental) healthcare facilities in terms of access, condition and status compared to their surroundings. The exhibits were created from both art and architectural schools postgraduate students. The exhibition took place close to Bentham’s auto-icon, the designer of Panopticon custodial facility, demonstrating inverse links between his Panopticon, and the concealment/invisibility that NIMBYism produces towards the mentally ill that resulted in their exclusion, within deprived, under-funded, isolated facilities ‘in the community’. Conclusions The exhibition with the satellite actions, such as the mapping of the facilities and the picture-rich book demonstrated the under-budgeting of mental health facilities and their stigmatization as expressed by the centrality of locations and the overall projected image of the building exteriors. This outlined the path for integrated, transdisciplinary research in the future involving architecture, arts and psychiatry.

Increased operational constraints on spacecraft and ground station operations have led to stricter ground software management and better performance throughput. For Mission Planning and Scheduling Systems, the ability to process numerous scheduling and planning input requests from multiple systems, applying high-level logistical rules, and providing export capabilities to all external entities, including the spacecraft itself, must be balanced against system performance. The constraint on the processing time of the schedule comes from a mission-defined need-by time, which is driven by execution or contact time. flexplan, an operational Mission Planning and Scheduling (MPS) system, has addressed the balance of performance and system capabilities. flexplan utilizes a combination of a relational database and soft-algorithm scheduling to maximize system performance. This paper demonstrates the method for the design of the internal database processing and maintenance. Performance methodologies and capabilities are presented to demonstrate software strength in two case studies: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) low lunar-orbit science mission currently operational and the Ground Network Schedule System (GNSS) multi-mission, multi-stations study of NASA’s infrastructure.

Purpose: Currently meaning and the needs of the times for the mental health are extensively changing. Contemporary needs for mental health has led to a change in the mental health policy and mental health facilities. But Change on Most of the mental health facilities have been focused on quantitative increase. So, changes in mental health facilities due to changes in mental health policy are needed for the study. This study investigate to the mental health facility system through this changes. Methods: In order to determine the flow of Mental health policy in Korea the mental health laws and reports were investigated Results: the result of this study can be summarized into two points. Korea's mental health policy has changed from the rehabilitation of the mentally ill to the prophylaxis of all the people. So, mental health facilities are changing form rehabilitation facilities in the private sector to public mental health center. Especially, mental medical institutions and mental health center are changing to requirement for the needs of the times. Mental medical institutions are changing from inpatient to outpatient and mental health center are changing from the rehabilitation of the mentally ill to the prophylaxis of all the people. Implications: Understand the flow of mental health policy, mental health facilities and the corresponding need.

The emergence of uncertainty factors will exert a strong influence on the accuracy of workshop scheduling. Digital twin’ technology and planning and scheduling are integrated to form a planning and scheduling system based on digital twin, which can effectively use the concept of twin to carry out all-around management and control of the uncertain factors in production activities so that the planning and scheduling scheme in the production process can accurately guide the actual production. Firstly, the system establishes management and control mechanism of planning and scheduling system based on digital twin. Second, it establishes a digital twin model of the planning and scheduling system for the management and control mechanism. Finally, the key technology of the planning and scheduling system is expounded, which mainly includes the perception and collection of total production factor information and the planning and scheduling prediction. In order to verify the validity of the scheme, the planning and scheduling system suited for the enterprise is designed and developed in combination with the frame workshop.

Aiming at the design and development of integrated production planning and scheduling system(PPSS) of rare metal manufacturing, the goals and main functions of the integrated production planning and scheduling system were analyzed and designed based on the analysis of rare metal manufacturing enterprise’s main characteristics and management status. Through analysis of the present situation and trend of production planning and scheduling, an integrated system architecture was proposed. Key technologies of system integration and system developing were delivered, and some key functions of production planning and scheduling system which include annual plans management, monthly plans management, MRP management, production scheduling management and production Kanban management were developed based on JSP technology and WEB platform. The practical applications in some rare metal manufacturing enterprises were proved that the integrated production planning and scheduling system could enhance the manufacturing management level effectively.

Markov models are being extensively used for analysis of manpower planning systems. Most of these models concentrate either on estimating the gradewise distribution of future manpower structure, given the existing structure and promotion policies, or on deriving policies towards promotion, given the required future structure. However, in many large organizations, agreements between employee unions and management result in the framing of policies towards promotion based either on seniority (length of service in the grade) or on performance (as in the case of 'high fliers'). In the paper these two criteria are considered in a bivariate distribution framework. The transition probabilities for promotion obtained from the Markov model are further translated into required seniority and performance rating. The procedure is illustrated through an example.

The quality of care provided for patients in mental health-care facilities remains a challenge for health-care providers in general and for nurses in particular. Identifying the level of quality of care provided for patients in mental health-care facilities as perceived by nurses and patients may help health-care providers improve the quality of care and improve patients' outcomes. The purpose of the study was to assess the perceptions of nurses and patients of the quality of nursing care, and explore the differences in their perceptions of quality of care in mental health-care facilities in Jordan. A cross-sectional study was conducted using two convenience samples of 123 nurses and 150 patients. The nurses completed the Karen-personnel instrument, a self-administered questionnaire; One hundred and fifty patients from several mental health-care facilities in Jordan were interviewed using the Karen-patient instrument. The interviews were structured. Sixtyfour percent of nurses rated the quality of psychiatric nursing care as satisfactory, and 47.6% of patients perceived the quality of nursing care as satisfactory. Male nurses, who attended courses in mental health nursing, chose to work in a psychiatric unit, committed to work in the future in a psychiatric unit, and were providing indirect care have significantly higher perception of quality of psychiatric nursing care than their counterparts. Patients in military hospitals have significantly higher perception of quality of psychiatric nursing care than those in governmental ones (p < .05). To improve the quality of care in psychiatric units, patients and nurses need to be educated about the quality indicators set by Joint Commission international standards related to mental health-care facilities.

In this paper, we present and reflect upon the process of evaluating two residential mental health facilities in Thessaloniki, Greece, through the WHO QualityRights tool kit. The QualityRights tool kit is a structured process for assessing quality of care and human rights in mental health and social care facilities, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), introduced by the World Health Organization in 2012. We have piloted the use of the Toolkit in two supported accommodation facilities, a hostel and a service supervising independent living in apartments, for individuals with long-term severe mental health problems in the region of Thessaloniki. In this paper, we present the methodology and process of evaluating the facilities, including the challenges posed to the evaluation process by restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We showcase the outcome of this evaluation through presenting a summary of the results and the ensuing recommendations for improvement. Finally, we reflect on the usefulness, appropriateness and relevance of the Toolkit for evaluating mental health care facilities in the particular context of contemporary Greece.

The organization of mental health care is undergoing a transformation from an institutionalized model to a community-centered model. Due to the critical specialist workforce shortage, insufficient funding, and the large number of children in crisis, its implementation presents a challenge. The aim of this study is to analyze the current situation regarding access to system-based care under contracts with the National Health Fund in various provinces in Poland. Based on an analysis of data, resources available to patients were assessed-specifically, information was obtained from the National Health Fund website entitled "NFZ Treatment Waiting Times." From this, the waiting times for appointments in child and adolescent mental health care facilities, the availability of mental health care facilities under contracts with the National Health Fund in Poland, legal acts, and data from the Central Statistical Office were extracted. Then, an analysis of the current accessibility to child and adolescent mental health services was conducted. The inclusion criteria for data sources were as follows: accessibility-the data had to be openly available to researchers without restrictions; credibility-the data had to be verified by individual health care facilities; usefulness-the data had to accurately reflect the actual availability of services and the needs within the child and adolescent psychiatric care system. There are significant differences and deviations from the average number of facilities and waiting times when comparing the 16 provinces. Notably, some of the analyzed facilities are already operating within the framework of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centers, where the mean waiting period for inpatient care is 105 days, the mean waiting period for day-care units is 61 days, and the mean waiting period for outpatient clinics is 257 days. The number of facilities is increasing under the reform, with new level I reference centers being opened, which ensures prevention and early support is provided by a pedagogue, psychologist, and non-medical staff, providing enhanced accessibility to care without the need for a visit to a child and adolescent psychiatrist, of whom there are only 579 for the entire child population in Poland. This metric primarily refers to first-time appointments in public institutions, with notable disparities between urban and rural areas. The development of the reform offers hope for quicker access to mental health support for children and adolescents. With the consistent implementation of the reform and further support from non-governmental organizations, there is a high chance of building an effective community-based model with a short waiting time for help and reducing ineffective hospitalizations, among other things, in terms of costs.

BackgroundIn Rwanda, many people are still mentally affected by the consequences of the genocide and yet mental health care facilities are scarce. While available literature explains the prevalence and consequences of mental disorders, there is lack of knowledge from low-income countries on health care seeking behavior due to common mental disorders. Therefore, this study sought to explore health care professionals’ acquired experiences of barriers and facilitators that people with common mental disorders face when seeking mental health care services in Rwanda.MethodsA qualitative approach was applied and data was collected from six focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted in October 2012, including a total of 43 health care professionals, men and women in different health professions. The FGDs were performed at health facilities at different care levels. Data was analyzed using manifest and latent content analysis.ResultsThe emerging theme “A constant struggle to receive mental health care for mental disorders” embraced a number of barriers and few facilitators at individual, family, community and structural levels that people faced when seeking mental health care services. Identified barriers people needed to overcome were: Poverty and lack of family support, Fear of stigmatization, Poor community awareness of mental disorders, Societal beliefs in traditional healers and prayers, Scarce resources in mental health care and Gender imbalance in care seeking behavior. The few facilitators to receive mental health care were: Collaboration between authorities and organizations in mental health and having a Family with awareness of mental disorders and health insurance.ConclusionFrom a public health perspective, this study revealed important findings of the numerous barriers and the few facilitating factors available to people seeking health for mental disorders. Having a supportive family with awareness of mental disorders who also were equipped with a health insurance was perceived as vital for successful treatment. This study highlights the need of improving availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of mental health care at all levels in order to improve mental health care among Rwandans affected by mental disorders.