Our Ideas
Our Ideas blog
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Entering the New Era of Housing
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It is unsurprising to anyone reading this that we face a multi-layered housing crisis. An individual making a median annual income cannot afford the price of a median-cost home. Dante Haywood of Cape Fear Collective gives us facts about the affordable housing crisis.
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Social Issue Advocacy: The Next Level of Employee Engagement
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It has become more accessible and increasingly crucial for organizations to interact with their local and federal policymakers. Abby Emanuelson shares insights from her 20 years of running advocacy campaigns for national nonprofits.
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The Big Question: Is there Harm Reduction in Healthcare?
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There’s no denying it: healthcare is full of bureaucracy (even spelling “bureaucracy” feels bureaucratic). We’re told that red tape is about quality and cost containment. But is it really?
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Fundraising Is Advocacy: Building Awareness & Action for Community Causes
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What comes to mind when you think about “fundraising?” Kathleen Peters, Director of Charitable Giving at A Safe Place, challenges what many have come to believe when they hear “fundraising.” It is about more than the money; for Kathleen, fundraising is advocacy.
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A Spotlight on Competition: Reflections on Adam Smith, Alain Enthoven, and Winston Churchill
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In the United States, we rely upon free market principles of competition, supply, and demand to provide efficient pricing related to healthcare services. This reliance has led to excessive market concentration in health care. While Americans have spent the past 50 years resolutely resisting proactive regulation to correct this market failure, Atrómitos Principal Tina Simpson shares why she is hopeful that recent “course corrections” applied via an Executive Order and agency action from the FTC and DOJ are not too little too late.
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Challenging Nostalgia and the Fallacy of “Return”
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Almost immediately after we began addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, we began talking about a “return” to pre-COVID times. That conversation is still happening. Peter Freeman reflects on what a “return” really is, and whether or not we should be clamoring to go there.
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Post-Public Health Emergency: Don’t Forget the Importance of Telehealth
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The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) moved us to provide and receive telehealth services. As the PHE comes to an end, many of us are reluctant to give up the flexibilities and access telehealth providers to achieve and maintain health. This week, Principal Tina Simpson reminds us about our pre-COVID telehealth experience and advocates for continued (and maybe increased?) access through telehealth.
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Where is the Healthcare Support for Our Aging Population?
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As we age, we face an increased risk of disease and decrease the capability to manage daily activities independently and effectively. Nancy Duzick, RN of Community Care Lower Cape Fear, shares the importance of patient education and support, patient disease self-management, and accessible resources through Medicare.
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It’s Pride, Y’all: From Pride to Trauma and Back Again
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On May 31, 2022, President Biden signed a proclamation announcing June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Pride Month in the United States. Peter Freeman reflects on Pride Month through the lens of identity-based trauma. He also reminds us that Pride isn’t just about who is here now but about who has yet to arrive.
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North Carolina’s Tailored Plan: To Contract or Not to Contract
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Are you ready for North Carolina’s Tailored Plan contracting? If not, get a quick definitional run down of the Tailored Plans and key aspects of the program to help evaluate your contracting strategies and decisions. This is particularly timely because one key date is coming up very quickly – July 16, 2022 – providers must have executed contracts with Tailored Plans to be included in the initial beneficiary choice period.
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Understanding Cybersecurity and Sutton’s Law: Where the Money Is
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There is no shortage of reasons why it is imperative for healthcare providers to improve their cybersecurity insurance. But, recently, doing so has become harder and more costly. Principal Tina Simpson breaks down the causes of these challenges and discusses why coverage is still important. (And if you don’t think the coverage is important, just ask Willie Sutton.)
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A Conversation We All Need To Have.
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It keeps happening: Domestic terrorism waged with military-grade weaponry against our children, our families, our communities, and our sense of safety. And we – by and through our government – have done exactly zero to stop it. Because this will keep happening, it is a conversation that we all need to have.
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SCOTUS: Denying the Essential Humanity and Equality of Women
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Atrómitos Founder, President, & CEO Michealle Gady, reflects on the implications of the leaked draft SCOTUS opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade and deny the essential humanity and equality of women.
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State Directed Payments: Part II– Medicaid Supplemental Payments
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In the second installment of the series on State Directed Payments, Sarah Jagger shares the good, the bad, and the really (really) stupid about Medicaid Supplemental Payments.
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#ANFSD: Making That Change Stick with Elizabeth Varones of Anthos
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Atrómitos Principal, Tina Simpson, talks with Transformational Coach and Change Management Consultant, Elizabeth Varones, Founder and President of Anthos Consulting. This article highlights key takeaways from those conversations and provides important insight for leaders as they prepare for change, and persist in making that change “stick.”
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State Directed Payments: Part I—Medicaid Financing 101
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Atrómitos Vice President of Operations, Sarah Jagger, kicks off a new 3-part series on Medicaid State Directed Payments. This first article provides an important primer on key constructs of Medicaid financing. And a brief introduction of state-directed payments that play an important role in state Medicaid financing strategies and are the focus of upcoming policy recommendations to Congress by the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC).
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Entrepreneurs Think They Are Responsible for Everything, So They Are
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Entrepreneurs aim to fix and better the world but thinking they are the best ones for the job can restrict their impact. To scale up, they need to delegate. Sara Auld from Upper explains how entrepreneurs can become comfortable delegating.
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The Cost Of An Underfunded Mental Health System
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Our mental health system is in crisis and requires meaningful strategies to address its sustainability and access challenges. S. Ryan Estes from Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth explains how we got the mental health system and how we can build the one we need.
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Say Yes To Making Good Things Happen
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April is National Volunteer Month in the U.S. and there are a lot of wonderful organizations that could use a helping hand. You can find opportunities within the organizations and communities you are already engaged.
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Thinking about Technology in Health Care – The Gap Between Use-Case and Usability
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Lack of EHR usability is related to patient safety and quality concerns as well as provider burnout. Tina Simpson discusses the importance of integrating user centered design principles as it relates to the development, implementation and regulation of EHR platforms.
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Funding for Female Founders and Other F Words
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In recognition of Women’s History Month, Principal Tina Simpson narrows in the single most important limiting factor to the establishment and growth of women (and minority) owned businesses: access to capital. She calls out the hypocrisy of “safe” investment bets, challenges women leaders and entrepreneurs to ask for more, and demands that investors and funders rise to the challenge. After all, #thefutureisfemale.
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Standing with Ukraine – A Personal Reflection
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This week, we reflect on the war Russia brought to Ukraine and what standing with Ukraine means to us.
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Understanding Stability, Agility, and Distribution of Our Healthcare
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Healthcare is more than the prevention, treatment, or maintenance of clinical conditions. It also plays a role in how governments establish legitimacy in the eyes of their citizens. Peter Freeman asks the question: how is the current health infrastructure of the United States impacting the perception of our government?
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Change is Great! Now, You Go First.
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Change is hard, and we are biologically programmed to avoid it. Creating and sustaining a “positive workspace” is crucial to supporting your teams through inevitable change. Stephanie Adams of WNY People Development shares the eight components of a group she looks for when coaching leaders on optimizing their teams.
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#ANFSD: Understanding the Why: Change as Loss
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In the second installment of her Now For Something Completely Different series on change management, Principal Tina Simpson lays out a fundamental truth about change: it is associated with loss. But who is experiencing the loss, and how is that loss best addressed? As a leader, Tina argues, it is your responsibility to know the answers to those questions.
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National Patient Recognition Week: Building Trust and Improving the Doctor-Patient Relationship
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In health care, we are all seeking to make some big, positive changes. This week, as we celebrate National Patient Recognition week, Atrómitos’ Vice President of Operations, Sarah Jagger reminds us why that doesn’t happen without recognizing patients and the role they play in transformation – and how we can tie it all back to the lessons of Groundhog Day.
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Recognizing Data Privacy Week & Transparency
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Data Privacy Week is upon us and requires us to take a crucial look at the data privacy infrastructure (or lack thereof) within the United States. Atrómitos Principal Tina Simpson lays out where we are, where we could be, and the responsibility each of us has to better protect all of our data.
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Marketing 102: Three Ways To Approach Marketing If You Are Not A Marketing Expert
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Effective marketing is crucial to the success of your business. But what if don’t have a background in marketing? What should you consider and how do you begin?
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#ANFSD: And Now for Something Completely Different (or so we hope)
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The new year is traditionally a time for new beginnings, new ways of doing things, and new adventures. But starting the “new” (or, in some cases, stopping the “old”) is not easy. Change is hard, both for us as individuals and for the organizations and companies we work in. So Atrómitos Principal Tina Simpson has set out to help us navigate change management through her new series: And Now for Something Completely Different.
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The 1, 2, and 3 of Policy Engagement: How To Stay Current With Limited Resources
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Everything we do is dictated by a policy (or the lack thereof). By extension, that means everyone is impacted by policy. But not everyone engages with the policy process: some of us never learned how, some of us do not have the resources to do so, and some of us think it is not our responsibility. For those of you interested in becoming more involved, we talk through some ways to get started.