Mes: enero 2021

NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Many children need to take medication at home after being discharged from the hospital. Recent research conducted at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that 70 percent of caregivers either mismanage or don’t fully understand hospital discharge medication instructions, leading to problems such as wrong dosage or confusion about side effects. Now, the same CHAM investigators looked at ways to correct this issue and published their results in Pediatrics. They found medication-related failures can be reduced by almost 50 percent when there is a standardized approach to discharging patients with medications.

«When caregivers are responsible for giving their children medicines at home, it can be confusing and stressful,» said lead author Kaitlyn Philips, DO, assistant medical director of Pediatric Quality, CHAM, and assistant professor of pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. «We want children to continue to get better in the comfort of their own home, so it’s vital that caregivers can confidently and safely give medications. Our research shows that when we have a consistent way of educating caregivers, we can reduce the chance that mistakes will be made.»

Dr. Philips is part of a dedicated quality improvement team at CHAM, created to identify issues and implement sustainable fixes to reduce preventable harm and improve patient safety. Supported in part by National Institute of Health grants, she and several other CHAM and Einstein investigators are studying problems affecting patient-care delivery and developing solutions for them. Dr. Philips is also a scholar in the Learning Health System Center of Excellence at Einstein and Montefiore, which provides mentoring and training on how to use data to continuously improve the delivery of care.

For the Pediatrics study, Dr. Philips sought to improve parental knowledge about their child’s medication needs and create clearer instructions to follow at home. She developed and implemented a program called MEDRITES, which stands for: 

• Medication name
• Engagement with the family
• Dose, Route, Indications and Timing
• Expected Effects and side Effects
• Storage counseling and Syringe for accurate administration

Over the 12-month intervention period, caregivers received bedside medication counseling where the provider discussed each topic in MEDRITES in depth. The family also took home improved documentation with clear instructions. Within a week of being discharged, investigators held phone interviews with 249 caregivers, asking how well they understood and were able to follow the discharge instructions. Compared to the 157 patient caregivers interviewed before the program, people who discussed MEDRITES and received improved take-home documentation had better understanding of their child’s medication needs.

MEDRITES has been incorporated into another quality initiative at CHAM called «SAFER Care,» led by Audrey Uong, M.D., attending physician, CHAM, and assistant professor of pediatrics, Einstein. This initiative provides additional discharge guidance for families on topics including: how to prepare children to go back to school; when to follow up with their pediatrician; and what symptoms could indicate signs of relapse. Additionally, MEDRITES is incorporated into annual education for new doctors and several subspecialty providers are adopting a similar process for discharge medication counseling and documentation for their patients.

«The MEDRITES initiative demonstrates that making simple changes, like rounding medication doses to amounts that are appropriate and safe, but also easier to measure, can have a big impact on how children are cared for at home,» said Dr. Philips. «We believe this intervention could be used at hospitals throughout the country to help prevent medication-related errors for children.»

The manuscript is titled MEDRITES: A Project to Improve the Pediatric Inpatient Discharge Medication Process. It is co-authored by Roy Zhou, MD, Diana S. Lee, MD, Christine Marrese, MD, Joanne Nazif, MD, Constance Browne, PharmD, Mark Sinnett, PharmD, Steven Tuckman, BS Pharm, MBA, Anjali Modi, Michael L. Rinke, MD, PhD. The study was supported by the NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS).

About Montefiore Health System
Montefiore Health System is one of New York’s premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 10 hospitals, including the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2020-21 academic year, Einstein is home to 721 M.D. students, 178 Ph.D. students, 109 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 265 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,900 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2020, Einstein received more than $197 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States through Montefiore and an affiliation network involving hospitals and medical centers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and view us on YouTube.

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SOURCE Montefiore Health System; Albert Einstein College of Medicine

IRVING, Texas, Jan. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Vistra (NYSE: VST) today announced that its Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility connected to the power grid and began operating on Dec. 11, 2020. At 300 megawatts/1,200 megawatt-hours, the lithium-ion battery storage system, located on-site at Vistra’s Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County, California, will be the largest of its kind in the world. Furthermore, construction is already underway on Phase II, which will add an additional 100 MW/400 MWh to the facility by August 2021, bringing its total capacity to 400 MW/1,600 MWh.

«This is a keystone project and it is important in so many ways – it revitalizes an existing power plant site and utilizes active transmission lines, enhances grid stability, fills the reliability gap created by intermittent renewables, provides emission-free electricity, supports California’s sustainability goals and mandates, significantly benefits the local community, and ultimately provides affordable electricity to consumers,» said Curt Morgan, chief executive officer of Vistra. «A battery system of this size and scale has never been built before. As our country transitions to a clean energy future, batteries will play a pivotal role and the Vistra Moss Landing project will serve as the model for utility-scale battery storage for years to come.»  

Housed inside the power plant’s completely refurbished former turbine building and spanning the length of nearly three football fields, Phase I of the battery system can power approximately 225,000 homes during peak electricity pricing periods. The system is made up of more than 4,500 stacked battery racks or cabinets, each containing 22 individual battery modules, which capture excess electricity from the grid, largely during high solar-output hours, and can release the power when energy demand is at its highest and solar electricity is declining, usually early morning and late afternoon.

Phases I and II of the Vistra Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility are backed up by long-term resource adequacy contracts with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

«We appreciate the strong working relationship we’ve developed with PG&E on multiple projects and look forward to continuing to help meet its resource adequacy requirements and provide clean, reliable, and affordable power to Californians,» Morgan said.

Vistra’s Moss Landing site provides a unique opportunity for extensive future expansion of the battery storage system. With its existing infrastructure and the physical space for potential growth, this world-class industrial-zoned site can support up to 1,500 MW/6,000 MWh of storage capacity should market and economic conditions support it. With the development permit already in place and the site in condition for expansion, Vistra will be able to move quickly when that time comes.

Vistra is a market leader in utility-scale battery energy storage development and commercialization. Its Moss Landing project is the flagship of its 4,000-MW zero-carbon Vistra Zero portfolio, which includes a total of five battery projects in California and Texas:

• Upton 2 (10 MW/42 MWh) – online December 2018
• Moss Landing – Phase I (300 MW/1,200 MWh) – online December 2020
• Moss Landing – Phase II (100 MW/400 MWh) – expected online by August 2021
• Oakland (36.25 MW/145 MWh) – expected online 2022
• DeCordova (260 MW/260 MWh) – expected online 2022

Support for Vistra Moss Landing Energy Storage Project

California State Senator John Laird said, «As the largest of its kind in the world, the Vistra Zero Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility will store renewable energy, releasing it when it is needed most. It is meaningful, ambitious projects like these that will help to pave the way to a 100% clean energy future for California and the rest of the world.»

Monterey County Supervisor John M. Phillips said, «When people think about Moss Landing energy, they usually envision the landmark power plant and its two tall smokestacks. In fact, Vistra’s Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility will be the largest battery storage facility of its kind in the world and will provide a tremendous amount of reliable, clean energy. Vistra continues to be an outstanding community partner and reliable steward of the historic Moss Landing Power Plant.»

Electronic MEDIA KIT, including photos, b-roll, interviews, and more, is available here.

About Vistra
Vistra (NYSE: VST) is a leading, Fortune 275 integrated retail electricity and power generation company based in Irving, Texas, providing essential resources for customers, commerce, and communities. Vistra combines an innovative, customer-centric approach to retail with safe, reliable, diverse, and efficient power generation. The company brings its products and services to market in 20 states and the District of Columbia, including six of the seven competitive wholesale markets in the U.S. and markets in Canada and Japan, as well. Serving nearly 5 million residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers with electricity and natural gas, Vistra is the largest competitive residential electricity provider in the country and offers over 50 renewable energy plans. The company is also the largest competitive power generator in the U.S. with a capacity of approximately 39,000 megawatts powered by a diverse portfolio, including natural gas, nuclear, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. In addition, the company is a large purchaser of wind power. The company is currently constructing a 400-MW/1,600-MWh battery energy storage system in Moss Landing, California, the largest of its kind in the world. Vistra is guided by four core principles: we do business the right way, we work as a team, we compete to win, and we care about our stakeholders, including our customers, our communities where we work and live, our employees, and our investors. Learn more about our environmental, social, and governance efforts and read the company’s sustainability report at https://www.vistracorp.com/sustainability/.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The information presented herein includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the industry and markets in which Vistra Corp. («Vistra») operates and beliefs of and assumptions made by Vistra’s management, involve risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance, that could significantly affect the financial results of Vistra. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that are presented herein, or in response to questions or otherwise, that address activities, events or developments that may occur in the future, including such matters as activities related to our financial or operational projections, the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, projected synergy, value lever and net debt targets, capital allocation, capital expenditures, liquidity, projected Adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow conversion rate, dividend policy, business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, future acquisitions or dispositions, development or operation of power generation assets, market and industry developments and the growth of our businesses and operations (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases, or the negative variations of those words or other comparable words of a future or forward-looking nature, including, but not limited to: «intends,» «plans,» «will likely,» «unlikely,» «believe,» «confident», «expect,» «seek,» «anticipate,» «estimate,» «continue,» «will,» «shall,» «should,» «could,» «may,» «might,» «predict,» «project,» «forecast,» «target,» «potential,» «goal,» «objective,» «guidance» and «outlook»), are forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Although Vistra believes that in making any such forward-looking statement, Vistra’s expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any such forward-looking statement involves uncertainties and risks that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in or implied by any such forward-looking statement, including, but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions (including changes in interest rates) or changes in political conditions or federal or state laws and regulations; (ii) the ability of Vistra to execute upon the contemplated strategic, capital allocation, and performance initiatives and to successfully integrate acquired businesses; (iii) actions by credit ratings agencies; (iv) the severity, magnitude and duration of pandemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting effects on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows; and (v) those additional risks and factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Vistra from time to time, including the uncertainties and risks discussed in the sections entitled «Risk Factors» and «Forward-Looking Statements» in Vistra’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2019 and any subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only at the date on which it is made, and except as may be required by law, Vistra will not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all of them; nor can Vistra assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

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SOURCE Vistra Corp.

NUEVA YORK, 6 de enero de 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Muchos niños deben tomar medicamentos en casa después de ser dados de alta del hospital. Una reciente investigación realizada en el Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) y el Albert Einstein College of Medicine ha determinado que el 70% de los cuidadores de estos niños o no gestionan bien las instrucciones de medicación que reciben en el momento de recibir el alta o no las comprenden bien, lo cual genera problemas de dosificación incorrecta y confusión respecto a los efectos secundarios. Los mismos investigadores de CHAM y Einstein buscaron maneras de corregir este problema y determinaron que los errores de medicación se pueden reducir en casi un 50% cuando se da el alta de manera estandarizada a los pacientes con medicación. Los resultados de esta investigación han sido publicados en Pediatrics.

«La responsabilidad de los cuidadores de administrar medicamentos a sus hijos en casa puede generar estrés y confusión», dijo la autora principal de la investigación, Kaitlyn Philips, DO, Directora Médica Adjunta de Calidad Pediátrica de CHAM, y Profesora Adjunta de Pediatría en Einstein. «Queremos que los niños sigan recuperándose en la comodidad de su propio hogar y por tanto es vital que los cuidadores puedan administrar medicamentos con confianza y seguridad. Nuestra investigación muestra que si disponemos de un método estandarizado de educar a los cuidadores, se reduce la probabilidad de cometer errores».

La Dra. Philips forma parte de un equipo dedicado a la mejora de la calidad en CHAM creado para identificar problemas e implementar soluciones sostenibles que permitan reducir los daños prevenibles y mejorar la seguridad del paciente. Tanto ella como sus colegas de CHAM y Einstein contaron con una serie de subvenciones del Instituto Nacional de la Salud (NIH en sus siglas en inglés) para estudiar los problemas en la prestación de cuidados al paciente y para desarrollar maneras de solucionarlos. La Dra. Philips también es académica del Learning Health System Center of Excellence de Einstein y Montefiore, que da asesoramiento y capacitación sobre el uso de datos para una mejora sostenida de la prestación de salud.

Para el estudio publicado en Pediatría la Dra. Philips trató de incrementar los conocimientos de los padres sobre cómo medicar a sus hijos, y comunicar con más claridad las instrucciones que deberán seguir en casa. Desarolló e implementó un programa llamado MEDRITES, un acrónimo que viene a significar «medicar correctamente» y que corresponde a: 

• Nombre del Medicamento
• Enseñar a la familia e involucrarla
• Dosis, Ruta, Indicaciones y Tiempo (o sincronización)
• Efectos esperados y Efectos secundarios
• Consejos de Almacenamiento (Storage) y uso de jeringa (Syringe) para administrarlos con precisión 

Durante el periodo de intervención de 12 meses de duración, los proveedores de salud dieron a los cuidadores asesoramiento en administración de medicamentos, que consistió en tratar a fondo los temas integrados en MEDRITES.  El familiar del paciente pediátrico también se llevó a casa una documentación mucho mejor presentada y con instrucciones más claras. A la semana de dar de alta a los pacientes, los investigadores realizaron entrevistas telefónicas a 249 cuidadores, a quienes preguntaron qué tal entendieron y cumplieron las instrucciones que les dieron al recibir el alta. En comparación con los 157 cuidadores de pacientes entrevistados antes del programa, las personas que hablaron sobre los asuntos integrados en MEDRITES y que recibieron una mejor documentación para llevar a casa, demostraron tener una mejor comprensión de las necesidades de medicación de sus hijos.

MEDRITES ha sido incorporado a otra iniciativa de calidad de CHAM llamada «SAFER Care» («SALUD más segura»), dirigida por la doctora Audrey Uong, MD, Médico Adjunto, CHAM, y Profesora Adjunta de Pediatría en Einstein. Esta iniciativa da a las familias más orientación sobre cómo preparar a los niños para su regreso a la escuela; cuándo hacer un seguimiento con su pediatra; y qué síntomas podrían indicar signos de recaída. Los protocolos de MEDRITES han sido incorporados a la formación anual para nuevos médicos; además, proveedores de ciertas subespecialidades están adoptando un proceso similar para el asesoramiento y la documentación de medicamentos para el alta de sus pacientes.

«La iniciativa MEDRITES demuestra que hacer cambios simples, como redondear las dosis de medicamentos a cantidades que sean apropiadas y seguras, pero también más fáciles de medir, puede tener un gran impacto en cómo se cuida a los niños en el hogar», asegura la Dra. Philips. «Creemos que esta intervención podría usarse en hospitales de todo el país para ayudar a prevenir errores relacionados con los medicamentos para niños».

El trabajo se titula MEDRITES: A Project to Improve the Pediatric Inpatient Discharge Medication Process. (MEDRITES: Un proyecto para mejorar el proceso de medicación tras el alta hospitalaria pediátrica.) Los coautores son Roy Zhou, MD, Diana S. Lee, MD, Christine Marrese, MD, Joanne Nazif, MD, Constance Browne, Pharm.D., Mark Sinnett, Pharm.D., Steven Tuckman, BS Pharm. , MBA, Anjali Modi, Michael L. Rinke, MD, Ph.D. El estudio contó con el apoyo del NIH/Centro Nacional para el Avance de la Ciencia Traslacional (NCATS por sus siglas en inglés).

Sobre el Montefiore Health System

El Montefiore Health System es uno de los principales sistemas de salud académicos de Nueva York; es un líder reconocido en la prestación de atención médica personalizada de calidad excepcional, responsable de aproximadamente 3 millones de personas en comunidades del Bronx, Westchester y Hudson Valley. Consta de 10 hospitales, incluido el Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, el Burke Rehabilitation Hospital y más de 200 centros de atención ambulatoria. La investigación clínica y traslacional avanzada de su escuela de medicina, el Albert Einstein College of Medicine, recae directamente en la atención al paciente y mejora los resultados. Desde los Centros de Excelencia Montefiore-Einstein en cáncer, cardiología y cuidados vasculares, pediatría y trasplantes, hasta su destacado programa de salud escolar, Montefiore es un sistema de atención médica totalmente integrado que da servicios médicos integrales y coordinados tanto a los pacientes como a sus familias. Más información en www.montefiore.org. Síganos en Twitter y visítenos en Facebook y YouTube.

Sobre del Albert Einstein College of Medicine

El Albert Einstein College of Medicine es uno de los principales centros de investigación, educación médica e investigación clínica del país. Durante el año académico 2020-2021, Einstein acogió a 721 estudiantes de medicina, 178 estudiantes de doctorado, 109 estudiantes del programa mixto MD/Ph.D y 265 becados de investigación posdoctoral. El Albert Einstein College of Medicine tiene un profesorado de 1,900 miembros a tiempo completo distribuidos en el campus principal y en sus filiales clínicas. En 2020, esta institución académica recibió más de $197 millones en becas por parte del Instituto Nacional de la Salud (NIH en sus siglas en inglés). Esta cantidad cubre la financiación de los principales centros de investigación de Einstein dedicados al estudio del envejecimiento, a trastornos del desarrollo intelectual, la diabetes, el cáncer, la investigación clínica y traslacional, la enfermedad hepática y el SIDA. Este centro también centra sus esfuerzos en la investigación del desarrollo cerebral, la neurociencia y las enfermedades cardíacas, así como en iniciativas para reducir y eliminar las disparidades étnicas y raciales en la prestación de salud. Su asociación con Montefiore, el Hospital Universitario y el centro médico académico de Einstein, impulsan la investigación clínica y traslacional para acelerar el ritmo al que los nuevos descubrimientos se convierten en tratamientos y terapias con un impacto real en los pacientes. Einstein dirige uno de los programas de capacitación de residencia y becas más importantes de la profesión médica y dental de todos Estados Unidos; y lo hace a través tanto de Montefiore como de una red de filiales compuesta por hospitales y centros médicos del Bronx, Brooklyn y Long Island. Si desea más información, por favor visite www.einstein.yu.edu, lea nuestro Blog, síganos en Twitter, gústenos en Facebook, y véanos en YouTube.

Síganos en Twitter: @MontefioreNYC

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FUENTE Montefiore Health System; Albert Einstein College of Medicine