U.S. Workers Lack Basic Skills

Despite increased efforts by employers to educate and train workers, nearly nine in ten employers say they face a shortage of qualified workers. Many employees lack even the most basic skills, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Of the 4,500 manufacturers queried:

• 55% said their workers were deficient in basic writing and comprehension skills.
• 60% reported that their workers did not possess fundamental math skills.
• 96% reported providing some training to employees.
• 47% noted that they invest 2% or more of their payrolls to training. This is up from an average of less than 0.5% of payroll spent on training in 1991.
• 43% encourage employees to take courses not related to the job.

More than two-thirds of the manufacturers said they were having difficulty improving productivity and upgrading technology because of the lack of skills of employees. Some symptoms of an underskilled workplace are:

• customer complaints
• low employee morale
• high accident rate
• too few promotable employees
• difficulty in meeting certification standards
• high absenteeism
• employee difficulty in succeeding in various company training programs

Frequently, the need for additional training becomes obvious when a company is experiencing major changes. These include:

• introduction of new technology
• reorganization of the workplace
• institution of quality control or other certification processes
• new management

A period of change is an opportune time to assess training needs. Basic skills training can be introduced as an integral part of the entire spectrum of employee training opportunities.

CDC Guidelines Issued

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidelines for immunization of healthcare workers. The recommendations don't contain major departures from existing practices, but the tone used in the recommendations has become stronger to reflect the CDC's belief that immunization is important to facilities. The new guidelines break down into three groups:

• diseases for which all healthcare workers should be vaccinated unless they show documented immunity: hepatitis B, influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella;
• diseases for which vaccination may be indicated in certain cases or may be available in the future: tuberculosis, hepatitis A, meningococcal disease, pertussis (if vaccine becomes available for adults), typhoid, and vaccina;
• and, diseases for which healthcare workers do not face increased risk, but may warrant vaccination anyway: tetanus, diphtheria, and pneumococcal disease.

Healthy Communities on the Web

The American Hospital Association's Hospital Research and Educational Trust (HRET), has developed a new destination on the World Wide Web--Coalition for Healthier Cities and Communities Web page--www.healthycommunities.org. The Web page is designed to network thousands of communities, individuals, and organizations interested in achieving a better quality of life for their citizens. The site will collect stories from "Communities on the Move" and develop a "Community Library" of tools and resources that have helped healthy community efforts nationwide grow and flourish over the last 10 years. Individuals and organizations can search databases for contacts, stories, and resources, as well as access current and upcoming healthy community events.

Anyone interested in being involved in the Healthier Cities and Communities movement is encouraged to register themselves, their organization, or their community under the "Getting Connected" part of the Web page. Share what tools and resources have helped build a healthy community in your local area, contribute a story about your healthy community effort, or just keep visiting the site to see what you can learn.

Arkansas Hospitals:
Community Hospital Financial and Utilization Indicators, 1991-96

[ SEE CHART ]

Arkansas Hospitals Quiz
(Answers below. No peeking!)

l. How many Arkansans are employed by Arkansas hospitals?
2. The AHA Worker's Compensation Self-Insured Trust has returned __________ in dividends to its members since 1995.
3. True or False: Thirty-seven percent of Arkansas high school students had their first drink of alcohol before the age of 13.
4. What four awards will be presented at the AHA Annual Meeting in October?
5. True or False: Digital television should pose no problems for hospitals.
6. The number of outpatient encounters in Arkansas hospitals has grown by how much since 1986?
7. How many companies and/or partnerships own and/or manage Arkansas hospitals?
8. True or False: Vancomycin, a potent antibiotic, has proved 100% effective against all strains of staph infections.
9. Who is the new president of the Arkansas Association of Hospital Trustees?
10.    How many hours and how many dollars have Arkansas hospital auxilians contributed to the state's hospitals in the past year?

Answers:

(1) Over 44,000 (2) $6,261,776 (3) True (4) A. Allen Weintraub Memorial Award, Distinguished Service Award, Statesmanship Award, and Diamond Awards (5) False (6) 138% (7) 19 (8) False (9) John Collier of Wynne (10) One million/more than $2.3 million