Friday,
Oct.10, 2008
CDC Documentary Informs Why Flu
Vaccination Matters
A short documentary from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC),
Why Flu
Vaccination Matters: Personal Stories of Families who Lost
Children to the Flu, can help
educate parents on the dangers of influenza. The flu takes a
large toll on young children. In the United States, an
average of 20,000 children younger than five are
hospitalized for flu-related complications each year.
Vaccination
is the best and most effective way to prevent the spread of
this disease. Those recommended for annual vaccinations
include children from six months to 19 years and adults
older than 50. For more information, view the CDC’s Web site
for
key facts
about the flu vaccine
or
OHA’s flu
Web site. (Carol
Jacobson)
Hospitals’
Heartbeat
A 2008 nominee for the
Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award.
OHA will solicit for 2009 nominations beginning in November.
A look
inside Cheryl’s nomination –
Cheryl is an organizer, developer and innovator. She thinks
of programs that improve the quality of care, provide great
customer service and improve the overall health of those
that she and others serve. Her drive and desire to help
others make healthy lifestyle changes have spurred the
development of policies and programs under Cheryl’s
direction. Cheryl is always tirelessly promoting health in
the small Ohio community she calls home.
Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008
Ohio Hospital Community Shows Commitment to Being ‘Fit-Friendly’
OHA and 58 OHA member hospitals and health systems made the American
Heart Association’s list of 2008 Start! Fit-Friendly Companies. This
is six times as many OHA members as last year. Four out of the 58
members achieved platinum recognition — the highest tier —because
they measure the outcomes of their wellness efforts. These include:
Ø
Humility of
Mary Health Partners,
Youngstown
Ø
Memorial Hospital of Union County,
Marysville
Ø
OhioHealth
Corporation,
Columbus
Ø
TriHealth, Inc.,
Cincinnati
OHA and the
other 54 hospitals and health systems, out of about 850
companies nationwide, were designated gold fit-friendly
companies. These participants, as well as the platinum
fit-friendly companies, implemented various options to encourage
physical activity and proper nutrition. They also put in action
workplace enhancements, such as on-site walking routes, healthy
food options in cafeterias and vending machines, annual employee
health risk assessments and online tracking tools. For more
information or to learn more about becoming a fit-friendly
company, view the
American Heart Association's news release or the
full 2008 list of Ohio fit-friendly hospitals and health
systems. (Stacey
Conrad)
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
A 2008 nominee for the
Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award. OHA
will solicit for 2009 nominations beginning in November.
A look inside
Amy’s nomination –
Amy’s first priority is to give each patient an excellent
experience and truly remains dedicated to putting the patient
first. Amy has been instrumental in organizing tai chi sessions
for patients, initiating our therapy garden and instituting a
“clothes closet.” She routinely goes above and beyond her job
description by serving the patients in a variety of ways. Amy
leads by example and expects a high level of performance from
her team because she is not willing to give anything less. Going
out of her way to make a patient more comfortable or at ease is
Amy’s true specialty.
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008
Limited Radioactive Material Disposal Options
Options for the disposal of sealed radioactive sources became
limited with the closure to Ohio licensees, including hospitals,
of the low level radioactive waste disposal facility in
Barnwell, S.C. Ohio licensees now have two programs that can be
used to dispose unwanted radioactive sources:
Ø
The Source Collection and Threat Reduction (SCATR) Program will
accept sources that are less than 0.5 millicuries of a
transuranic, less than 750 mg of radium or less than 10 curies
of other non-transuranic; and greater than 120-day half-life.
View
registration details for the SCATR Program.
Ø
The Off-Site Source Recovery Project (OSRP) will accept larger
sources. View
information and registration details for the OSRP.
The Bureau of
Radiation Protection at the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) encourages all Ohio licensees to register
any unwanted radioactive source in these programs. Contact the
bureau for any required licensing actions and to ensure that the
proper documentation is retained by
e-mailing Michael Snee at ODH or calling him at 614.644.2727. (Rick
Sites)
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
A 2008 nominee for the
Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award. OHA
will solicit for 2009 nominations beginning in November.
A look inside
Judy’s nomination –
Attention to detail can completely transform a patient’s
hospital experience. Judy approaches each screening with the
utmost care and concern, whether she is carefully positioning a
patient to achieve the best imaging results, or helping to ease
anxiety with comforting words or by simply providing a warm
blanket. Judy takes the concept of teamwork to heart, realizing
that it is extremely important to have adequate staff to meet
patient care needs.
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
A 2008 nominee for the
Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award. OHA
will solicit for 2009 nominations beginning in November.
A look inside
Patricia’s nomination –
Patti is the "gold standard" for the nursing profession. She is
caring, compassionate and consistently goes above and beyond her
normal scope of duties. She is knowledgeable and readily shares
this knowledge with fellow co-workers, students and patients.
Patti never takes herself too seriously and is humble. She is
able to keep her focus in a crisis and always puts her patient's
best interest as her number one objective. She consistently
provides quality care with the patient and family always at the
center of her focus. Patti approaches each patient and staff
interaction with the goal of treating others as she would want
to be treated.
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008
Ohio Supreme Court Holds Hearings in Cases Affecting Hospitals
The Ohio Supreme Court entertained oral argument today in a
negligent credentialing case in which OHA made an amicus curiae appearance.
In
Schelling v. Humphrey, a physician settled out of the
lawsuit without admitting that he committed medical malpractice,
leaving only the hospital to defend the claim that it negligently
credentialed the doctor. OHA argued that a physician must first be
found to have committed, or have admitted to committing, malpractice
before the hospital can be sued for negligent credentialing.
Justices Evelyn
Stratton and Maureen O’Connor—both up for re-election this fall and
endorsed by Friends of Ohio Hospitals—asked questions and made
comments related to the difficulty a hospital faces when accused of
negligent credentialing. They noted when a physician has
not previously been found negligent, or has not admitted
to being negligent, it forces the hospital to defend both itself
and the physician even though they have different interests.
Last Tuesday, OHA
also made an amicus curiae appearance in the case of
Fletcher v. University Hospitals of Cleveland. The case involved
the requirement in court rules that a plaintiff beginning a medical
malpractice lawsuit must attach—or request additional time to
provide—an affidavit from a medical expert saying the plaintiff was
injured because of substandard care. Justice O’Connor noted during
the hearing that the reason for the rule is to avoid frivolous
lawsuits. For more on health care legal proceedings and other
information, visit
OHA’s Web site. (Rick
Sites)
Tobacco Seminar:
Helping Patients Stop Smoking
McConnell Heart Health Center is hosting two half-day seminars,
Helping Your Patients Stop Smoking: Enhancing Counseling,
Pharmacotherapy and Office Practice, on Nov. 1 and Dec. 6 from 8
a.m. to 12 p.m. The program is designed to deliver practical skills
to help motivate tobacco users to quit. It will teach participants
to use the best approaches to pharmacologic treatment of nicotine
dependence and organize offices to deliver effective tobacco
treatment services. After completing the training, participants
should be able to perform motivational interviewing with
tobacco-dependent patients, guide users to develop a treatment plan
and identify ways for the office team to expand tobacco treatment.
To reserve a seat,
call 614.4.HEALTH (614.443.2584). The seminar fee is $20 and space
is limited. For more information,
view the flier or
e-mail Dr. Houston.
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
A 2008 nominee for the
Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award. OHA will
solicit for 2009 nominations beginning in November.
A look inside
Tracie’s nomination –
Tracie shows a great deal of commitment to co-workers. She shares in
everyone’s joy and sorrows. Tracie is not satisfied until she has
satisfied someone else. She guards privacy and confidentiality. Her
co-workers trust her advice on conflict resolution and believe that
it is not her intention to leave anything unresolved. When
physicians enter the department, they ask for her and feel confident
in her abilities. She is a name you can trust.
Monday,
Oct. 6, 2008
CMS Names
Regional Recovery Audit Contractors
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) named the
four regional Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) this morning.
The RAC for Region B, which includes Ohio, is CGI Technologies and
Solutions, Inc. CMS confirmed that the earliest Ohio would start RAC
reviews is August 2009. RACs will begin education and outreach to
Ohio providers in August.
According
to the American Hospital Association (AHA), Ohio hospitals
may not begin receiving demand letters on complex reviews or
requests for medical records until January 2010. View AHA’s RAC
education series schedule. OHA is also finalizing a
series of educational opportunities that will be announced
soon. Look for updates on
OHA’s finance Web site. (Charles
Cataline)
Call for
Nominations: Spirit of Excellence Awards
The deadline for
nominations for Modern Healthcare’s 16th
Annual Spirit of Excellence Awards, co-sponsored by Sodexo
Health Care, is this Friday, Oct. 10. The awards honor
organizations and individuals that go beyond what is
expected in serving their patients and communities.
Hospitals are encouraged to submit individuals or teams in
the following categories:
Ø
Service
Spirit Award, for excellence in service and patient
satisfaction
Ø
Quality
Spirit Award, for quality, safety and performance
improvement
Ø
Community
Spirit Award, for community education, support and outreach
Ø
Team Spirit
Award, for employee recruitment and retention
Ø
CARES
Spirit Award, for a team or group of individuals whose
collective actions, attitudes and behaviors personify
compassion, respect, enthusiasm and service
In addition
to recognition, award winners will receive cash prizes. A
winner and honorable mention will be awarded in each
category with $5,000 and $1,500, respectively. For questions
regarding the program, please
e-mail Rebecca Mielcarski or call 312.397.5511.
Hospitals’
Heartbeat
A 2008 nominee for the
Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award.
OHA will solicit for 2009 nominations beginning in November.
A look
inside Ginnie’s nomination –
Anyone who has had the fortune of crossing Ginnie' path
instantly knows there is something special about her. Few
have the level of talent, creativity, passion and compassion
that Ginnie has. She has worn many hats in her professional
life including pediatric nurse, hospice caretaker, champion
for those in need, social worker, and now, coordinator for
organ donation. No matter the role, Ginnie always put those
she is caring for first, whether it’s helping a lost patient
find his way home or so compassionately caring for a woman
in her passing that the patient’s family publicly thanked
her. To most of us, these talents are extraordinary — to
Ginnie, it comes naturally.
