Monday, September 17, 2001
Health Alliance, Miami U Form Nursing Education Partnership
The Health Alliance in Cincinnati and Miami University have partnered to increase enrollment and retention of nursing students at the Miami University Hamilton and Middletown campuses. Tuition award opportunities, a family/counselor position and a mentoring program for nursing students will begin in the 2001-2002 academic year in an effort to increase the pipeline of nursing students. Twenty nursing students will be chosen to receive a $3,000 tuition benefit award after they complete their first clinical rotation in the nursing program. Recipients will agree to work for 18 months for the Health Alliance.

This is one of the many outreach efforts hospitals across Ohio are using to attract more individuals to health care. OHA applauds every hospital’s efforts to attract and retain talented health care workers and medical staff, which is an integral part of OHA’s strategic directions plan. Contact Jean Scholz at OHA, jeans@ohanet.org or 614/221-7614, if your hospital is engaged in similar recruitment and retention efforts. Also, see OHA’s online Hospital Workforce Forum at www.ohanet.org/workforce/ for more information about recruitment and retention. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

For your daily health care news digest, go to the Hannah News Service's StateHealthClips.com.

Hospitals cut some 1,200 jobs in Cincinnati
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Monday, September 17, 2001
Cincinnati - Area hospitals have cut more than 1,200 jobs since April, and additional reductions are likely.

EDITORIAL: Nursing-home minimum-care standard wins a surprise boost
Columbus Dispatch
Monday, September 17, 2001
Nursing-home residents, along with their families and advocates, won a surprising victory in the halls of state government a week ago -- although it was not all they sought.

Invisible attack more lethal
Akron Beacon Journal
Monday, September 17, 2001
As devastating as Tuesday's terrorist attacks were, national security and public health experts know this much:
Something even worse could happen. There are weapons that are invisible and next-to-impossible to trace.  

Tuesday, September 18, 2001
Organ Donation Bill Introduced
Introduced last week was a bill to ease the process by which individuals become organ donors. Senate Bill 158, introduced by Sen. Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon), would do away with the requirement for adults over the age of 18 to have two people witness and sign the form for becoming an organ donor when they renew or obtain their driver’s licenses at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). Registering to become a donor at any other time will still require witnesses. The legislation is expected to move fast through the legislature so it can be enacted by the end of the year to coincide with Senate Bill 188, which was passed last year. That legislation set up a statewide organ donor registry, and it provided that the wishes of a donor are legally binding even over the objections of a relative. OHA is not opposed to SB 158, and is working with the legal community to ensure that the language to be used on the BMV form will be recognized as a legal declaration of anatomical donation. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

For your daily health care news digest, go to the Hannah News Service's StateHealthClips.com.

Concerns arise over standard requiring health-care providers to provide more information
Columbus Daily Reporter
Tuesday, September 18, 2001
New standards issued by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations recently have became effective, including one that could raise liability issues by requiring health-care professionals to inform patients or their families of all outcomes of care.

Blood donations skyrocket after terrorist attacks
Canton Repository
Tuesday, September 18, 2001
In the days after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon, local hospitals took in more than 1,300 units of blood, the highest number of donations Aultman Hospital and Mercy Medical Center have ever seen. The American Red Cross of Northern Ohio collected more than 7,000 units through the week.

Rumors proliferate in Cleveland, but very few of them are true
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Tuesday, September 18, 2001
The Cleveland Clinic suspended a Middle Eastern medical resident for making an inappropriate gesture last Tuesday after the attacks at the Pentagon and World Trade Center. A decision on the physician's status may be learned today.  

Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Tobacco Prevention Trust Fund Sets Benchmarks
At a meeting today of the Tobacco Oversight Accountability Panel, a representative of the Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Trust Fund (TUPC) presented the group’s established benchmarks for reducing tobacco use through the year 2007. William Wilkins, Chief Executive Officer of OhioHealth and chair of TUPC, said the benchmarks include the prevention of middle and high school students from using tobacco, reduction of youth tobacco use, reduction of tobacco use among diverse and underserved populations and reduction of tobacco use by pregnant women. Hospitals may wish to keep these priorities in mind once tobacco settlement dollars become available through TUPC, which was created out of the National Tobacco Settlement, and hospitals begin the process of applying for grants. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)

Meigs County Bans Public Smoking
The Meigs County Board of Health last week voted to ban smoking in all public places in southeastern Ohio including bars, restaurants, elevators, restrooms, lobbies, hallways, retail stores and bingo halls. The regulation, which is based on one passed by the Board of Health in Lucas County in April, will take effect in 60 days. The vote followed surveys of 1,000 community members conducted at the Meigs County Fair that found 81 percent of residents were in favor of the regulation.

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

For your daily health care news digest, go to the Hannah News Service's StateHealthClips.com.

Another, more difficult threat
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
With a dusting of anthrax spores from a helicopter or a mist of nerve gas in a subway ventilation system, terrorists could carry out a stealthy chemical or biological strike as lethal as the World Trade Center suicide mission.

Health forums planned
Cincinnati Enquirer
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Greater Cincinnati's biggest health care system plans to hold a series of town meetings starting tonight to respond to public concerns about the status of the organization.

Parma hospital to build $24 million addition
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Parma - Facing a nearly 70 percent increase in surgeries in five years, Parma Community General Hospital will build a $24 million addition that will include an outpatient surgery center.  

Thursday, September 20, 2001
Resource Available to Answer Questions of Reservists, Employers
As the federal government prepares to call the military reserves for service, hospitals, which are likely to be among those organizations impacted most as employers, may have questions regarding their responsibilities. The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), operated through the U.S. Department of Defense, is available to help employers and reservists understand their obligations when employees are called to service.

Ohio Hospital CEO in Women’s Hall of Fame
An Ohio hospital top administrator is one of 18 women to be inducted into the 23^rd Annual Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame. Gov. Bob Taft announced this week that Farah M. Walters, president and chief executive officer of University Hospitals Health System and University Hospitals of Cleveland, will be inducted into the hall of fame during a ceremony coinciding with the dedication and opening of the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame Regional Gallery. Walters is the first woman in America to head an independent academic medical center with a national reputation as a health care visionary, a dynamic executive and a compassionate leader.

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

For your daily health care news digest, go to the Hannah News Service's StateHealthClips.com.

Area health leader decries low payments
Cincinnati Enquirer
Thursday, September 20, 2001
Greater Cincinnati risks losing the high-quality medical care its citizens have come to expect if hospital reimbursement rates continue to stay below national averages, the chief executive of the Tristate's biggest health-care system said Wednesday night.

Experts fear terrorist attack a step toward biowarfare
Columbus Dispatch
Thursday, September 20, 2001
Four years ago, Richard Price was convinced that even terrorists had moral qualms about using chemical and biological weapons.

TMH nurses approve new Forum pact
Warren Tribune-Chronicle
Thursday, September 20, 2001
WARREN ­­ Nurses at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital overwhelmingly approved a three-year contract that by its end will give them salary increases competitive with other nurses in the area.

Friday, September 21, 2001
Hospitals Coalesce Regional Efforts into Statewide Bioterrorism Preparedness Plan
A statewide hospital workgroup is turning its focus to hospital preparedness for terrorist attacks. The metropolitan allied hospital associations and OHA this week discussed the hospital community’s preparedness for acts of terrorism, including those employing biological agents. Since the days of the Cold War, hospitals have been required to have plans in place for dealing with disasters, and these plans now encompass terrorist attacks. Attendees of the meeting focused on discussing how the various local and regional plans already established can be pulled together into a statewide effort. OHA and the metros are planning to host regional meetings with the Ohio Department of Health on the topic early next year at the latest. Hospitals’ goal in a bioterrorist attack is to manage the situation for the first 24 hours. By that time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state or federal specialty units would be mobilized and ready to step in.

HCAP Payments Delayed Slightly  
Hospitals should be advised there is a slight delay in the final payment for this year’s Hospital Care Assurance Program. This payment was expected to have been made by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) Sept. 20, however, due to processing problems, most hospitals will receive their payments Sept. 24. Electronic fund transfers will be posted and checks will be mailed on this date. Eight hospitals received payment Sept. 20: UHHS Heather Hill Hospital, Hocking Valley Community Hospital, Holzer Medical Center, The Jewish Hospital, Joint Township District Memorial Hospital, Lodi Community Hospital, Madison County Hospital and Veterans Memorial Hospital. (Veronica Sherman, veronics@ohanet.org)

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

For your daily health care news digest, go to the Hannah News Service's StateHealthClips.com.

Red Cross deep-freezing blood supply
Columbus Dispatch
Friday, September 21, 2001
Blessed by an influx of patriotic donors and preparing for the worst, the American Red Cross is freezing blood, extending the shelf life of red cells from 42 days to 10 years.

Man jailed in bomb scares
Columbus Dispatch
Friday, September 21, 2001
A Detroit man denied leaving suspicious packages at Children's Hospital and a Bexley school yesterday, causing the evacuation of hundreds, but a cheap fake beard may be his downfall, police said.

Under bill, insurers cover obesity surgery
Cincinnati Enquirer
Friday, September 21, 2001
COLUMBUS — In an effort to combat Ohio's expanding waistlines, one state lawmaker wants insurance providers to cover surgery that would treat morbid obesity.