Monday, January 7, 2002
TUPCF Selects Executive Director
The Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation Board last week voted to select Michael J. Renner as executive director of the foundation. Renner, a staff attorney in the office of the attorney general for the state of Ohio, was the lead attorney in Ohio’s tobacco master settlement. If Renner accepts the offer, he will begin as executive director by the end of January.

The new executive director’s top priority will be to develop a plan for soliciting grants for smoking cessation and prevention programs throughout Ohio. Information about the grant application process will be made public once the process has been established. (Lynne Ayres, lynnea@ohanet.org)

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

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

Health trends worry hospitals
Cincinnati Enquirer
Saturday, January 5, 2002
From fears of bioterror to laments about doctors leaving town, 2001 raised serious questions about the future of health care in the Tristate.

Prescription drug stockpiles run low
Cincinnati Post
Saturday, January 5, 2002
Hospital shortages of prescription drugs have become increasingly common, causing doctors to ration certain drugs for patients who need them most and to prescribe substitute medications for those in short supply.

OPINION: Imported nurses bring skill and diligence to job
Columbus Dispatch
Monday, January 7, 2002
Nurses from foreign lands have been a fact of life in Los Angeles area hospitals for decades ("Hospital casting wide net for nurses,'' Dispatch article, Saturday).

Thursday, January 10, 2002
Palmetto GBA Named Medicare Part B Contractor for Ohio
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has tapped Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina-which does business as Palmetto Government Benefit Administrators (GBA)-as the new Medicare Part B claims processing contractor for Ohio and West Virginia. Palmetto GBA replaces Nationwide Insurance Co. effective July 1.

Palmetto, based in Columbia, SC, will process and pay Medicare Part B bills for physicians and suppliers in the two states, serving approximately 2.2 million Medicare beneficiaries. According to CMS, Palmetto has considerable experience processing hospital, physician, home health and durable medical equipment bills, and is also the national Medicare claims processor for the Railroad Retirement Board.

CMS also announced that DynCorp, a Reston, VA-based company providing information and management systems support, will take over all Part B program safeguard activities. DynCorp will conduct post-payment medical review, monitor potential fraud, waste and abuse, and handle provider education as it relates to Medicare program and benefits integrity.

CMS is touting the dual contract as an example of the way it intends to conduct business in the future, awarding intermediary contracts by competitive bid to proven performers, regardless of their physical proximity to the state(s) in question. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org)

HHS Seeks Comments on Regulatory Reform
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is giving hospitals the opportunity to voice their thoughts on health care regulations. The HHS Regulatory Reform committee is seeking comments from health care stakeholders on how to reduce the regulatory burden resulting from rules the department has issued.

The committee asked in a notice published in the Jan. 4 Federal Register for comment by March 5 on four areas: health care delivery, health care operations, development of pharmaceuticals and other medical products, and biomedical and health services research. HHS wants comments on regulations that are confusing, impose unnecessary or excessive costs, require an excessive number of reports and unreasonable record-keeping, impose requirements on the wrong individual or group, carry excessive penalties, conflict with other mandates, impede access to care or hamper its delivery, impede efforts to innovate, are obsolete, or interfere with emergency preparedness.

Comments can be recorded on the committee’s Web site at www.regreform.hhs.gov, or sent to Christy Schmidt, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20201. To access the Jan. 4 Federal Register, go to www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a020104c.html. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

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

Hospital ERs could detect bioterrorism
Akron Beacon Journal
Thursday, January 10, 2002
Picture a real-time ``weather map'' for the nation's emergency rooms -- one that could eventually save lives.

ER — never a chance to sleep...or party
Alliance Review
Thursday, January 10, 2002
New Year’s Eve. Memories of champagne corks popping, friends singing, the ball in Times Square dropping. No? Perhaps a quiet evening at home with friends and family.

OPINION: Children’s Hospital made project possible
Toledo Blade
Thursday, January 10, 2002
While I was pleased to see your coverage of U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur announcing the Department of Health and Human Services’ federal award of nearly $1 million to our community for treatment of children who have suffered emotional trauma, I was puzzled that the article contained no mention of the hospital that obtained this grant and made the project possible.

Friday, January 11, 2002
Congress Approves Funding for Health Tracking Network
As part of a $123 billion appropriations bill recently passed by Congress, almost $30 million has been approved to establish a nationwide health tracking network. The network, which is intended to track chronic diseases such as cancer and asthma and any potential links to environmental hazards, will provide additional information to local, state and federal public health officials and communities to help them respond to public health concerns.

The fiscal year 2002 labor, health and education appropriations bill, which is expected to be signed by Pres. Bush in the coming weeks, contains $17.5 million to begin the network. It will allow health officials to monitor disease rates and environmental hazards and could alert them to a sudden increase in illnesses that could indicate a chemical or biological attack. Another $12 million was approved to fund a pilot project to track and monitor the health of World Trade Center and Pentagon relief workers.

OHA was one of several organizations that signed a letter to Ohio’s congressional delegation supporting the initiative to establish the tracking network.  To find out more about Health-Track and Trust for America’s Health, the organizations that led the initiative, go to health-track.org and www.healthyamericans.org. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)

Foundation Requesting Proposals for Spring Cycle
The Foundation for Healthy Communities is requesting grant proposals for its spring cycle for both general and tobacco grants.

The general cycle will focus on programs that promote healthy lifestyles, with special emphasis on those that reduce the number of low-birth-weight babies, reduce the incidence of substance abuse and increase the number of Ohio citizens who exercise on a regular basis. The Foundation will accept grant proposals for any programs that meet its priority considerations, but special consideration will be given to programs within the new focus, which is closely tied to OHA’s strategic objectives. Application materials were mailed to hospitals recently and are also available online at www.ohanet.org/HealthyCommunities/applygeneral.htm.

The Foundation is also requesting proposals for programs in pulmonary rehabilitation only using approximately $250,000 in remaining tobacco funds from the Ohio Public Health Priorities Trust Fund. Grants are not available for programs for uninsured pregnant women and children during this cycle. Application materials were mailed to hospitals recently and are also available online at www.ohanet.org/HealthyCommunities/tobacco/applytobacco.htm.

All proposals are due to the Foundation by Friday, March 1 and grants will be awarded in May. (Lynne Ayres, lynnea@ohanet.org)

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

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

Children's Hospital new logo emphasizes local tradition
Cincinnati Business Courier
Friday, January 11, 2002
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center unveiled a new graphic identity and logo Jan. 10 to reflect its vision to be the leader in improving child health.

OhioHealth, Mount Carmel to do laundry together
Columbus Dispatch
Friday, January 11, 2002
OhioHealth and Mount Carmel hospitals will share their dirty laundry in a new $15 million cleaning facility to be built in Franklinton.