Monday, February 25, 2002
HHS Promotes Careers in Nursing; Releases RN Report
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson and Education Secretary Rod Paige last week launched a campaign to encourage school children to consider careers in nursing and health professions. The “Kids into Health Careers” toolkit has information on more than 270 health careers, the level of education preparation needed, salary outlook and financial assistance resources. More information is available at www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/kidscareers/.

In conjunction with the campaign, Thompson also released a final report of the 2000 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (RNs). The report found the rate of nurses entering the profession has slowed in the past four years while the average age of RNs continues to increase. The final report is available at www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/rnsurvey/. An HHS press release about both the campaign and the survey is available at www.hhs.gov/news/press/2002pres/20020222.html.  

Don't Miss This Opportunity to Reduce Your Waste Stream Volume and Expense!
There is still time to sign up for the Pollution Prevention and Waste Assessment Training Program scheduled for March 11-13. Offered by the Environmental Leadership Council of OHA, the hands-on program will help hospitals evaluate waste systems, reduce waste stream volume and expense, and design and implement plans for pollution prevention activities within the hospital. The workshop is only open to the first six registrants, so sign up quickly. Registration materials and more information are available at www.ohanet.org/education/education_programs.asp.

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

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

Hospitals stretched to capacity
Cincinnati Post
Monday, February 25, 2002
Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky hospitals have been so inundated with sick patients this month that health officials are worried about what would happen if a flu epidemic or - even worse - a multi-casualty disaster were to occur.

Hardin Memorial Hospital pressured to deliver
Columbus Dispatch
Sunday, February 24, 2002
KENTON, Ohio -- Her belly swollen and four weeks from giving birth, Megan Moore feels betrayed by the hospital that she counted on to deliver her baby.

OPINION: Hospitals should pursue nonpayers aggressively
Columbus Dispatch
Sunday, February 24, 2002
It was very disturbing to read the Feb. 11 Dispatch article "Jails, hospitals struggle with inmate-care costs.''  

Tuesday, February 26, 2002
PHPO Becomes Medicaid Managed Care Plan
The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) announced that Peoples Health Plan of Ohio (PHPO) has successfully met all program requirements to become a Medicaid-contracting managed care plan (MCP) in Cuyahoga County. PHPO was issued a provider agreement Feb. 14, 2002, and will be available as an MCP enrollment option in Cuyahoga County immediately.

PHPO has expressed an interest in expanding its operation as a Medicaid-contracting MCP into Stark, Summit, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Contact the ODJFS Bureau of Managed Health Care at 614/466-4692 for more information. (Berna Bell, bernab@ohanet.org)

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

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

Editor’s Note: StateHealthClips.com was not available at the time of publication. Please check back later today for the news clips. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Ohio House Committee Witnesses Strong Support for Tort Reform Bill
A broad array of organizations today showed overwhelming support for legislation assigned to the Ohio House Civil and Criminal Law Committee that would make Ohio’s joint and several liability statute more equitable. Senate Bill 120, sponsored by Sen. Bruce Johnson (R-Westerville), passed the Senate last summer with little controversy, but negotiations in the House have proven more challenging. Today, 12 trade association presidents, including Jim Castle of OHA, attended a hearing to show support for the legislation. The associations, also members of the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice, which has been working to obtain tort reform in Ohio, represented local government, health care, manufacturers and the retail establishment.

Andrew Doehrel, president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, testified in support of SB 120 on behalf of the Alliance and the associations in attendance. Under current Ohio law, in a tort lawsuit involving multiple defendants, every defendant can be held liable for the entire amount of the plaintiff’s economic damages, regardless of the defendants’ relative degrees of fault or responsibility. Under SB 120, defendants found to be 50 percent or less responsible for damages in a tort lawsuit could not be assessed more than their proportionate share of damages. SB 120 is especially important given the current medical malpractice insurance market, which is seeing dramatic increases in premiums as a result of rising jury awards.

OHA is optimistic the bill will pass the committee before the end of March and will resist any efforts to water down the bill. For more information on the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice, go to www.ohiotortreform.com. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

Ohio Receives Assistance for Emergency Preparedness; OHA to Serve on Team
Ohio has been selected as one of eight states to receive assistance to improve its homeland security and bioterrorism preparedness plans, the National Governors’ Association announced last week. The association will provide a faculty of experts to Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia, and Virgin Islands starting this spring.

The governor of each state has appointed a team to oversee the preparedness plans. Ohio’s team will consist of local health departments, local law enforcement, local emergency management agencies, state emergency management services, state public health, state fire marshal’s office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and OHA, the only private partner. The team will develop a statewide incident command system that encompasses both public and private entities to help prepare hospitals, clinics, private medical doctors, public health and safety organizations in the event of a bioterrorism attack in Ohio. Dale Shipley, director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, will head the team. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

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

Health benefits keep costing more
Cincinnati Enquirer
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Greater Cincinnati's largest employers and their workers still get better-than-average deals on health benefits. But as costs continue to climb, experts say employees can expect to pay more and feel more pressure to act like tough consumers.

Health Care Heroes Awards winners announced
Cincinnati Business Courier
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Winners of the Business Courier's fifth annual Health Care Heroes Awards were announced at a Feb. 26 luncheon at the Hyatt Regency hotel downtown.

Thursday, February 28, 2002
Tobacco Settlement Legislation Unveiled
Members of the Senate finance committee yesterday began considering how Ohio should allocate the funds it receives from the national tobacco settlement for the next two years. The plan will debated in Senate Bill 242, sponsored by Sen. Jim Carnes (R- St. Clairsville), finance committee chairman.

SB 242 proposes allocating approximately $12 million over the biennium for the state's health priorities, as defined by the Ohio Department of Health. Among the priorities is $7 million proposed to fund health programs for uninsured Ohioans. OHA's Foundation for Healthy Communities received nearly $1.5 million for uninsured health programming last year, and will work to obtain a significant portion of the available dollars in 2003 and 2004. The bill also proposes allocating $51 million for biomedical research projects that produce jobs while improving the health of Ohioans.

The bulk of Ohio's tobacco settlement dollars will go for primary and secondary education and to help rebuild Ohio school buildings. Also a large percentage will go to the state's general revenue fund to help offset Ohio's budget deficit. SB 242 is expected to move through the legislature rather quickly. The Senate will hold hearings over the next few weeks, and plans to send the bill to the House of Representatives by the end of March. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

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

Hardin County Hospital board cancels vote on closing obstetrics unit
Columbus Dispatch
Thursday, February 28, 2002
The board of trustees at Hardin Memorial Hospital canceled a meeting and planned vote last night on whether to close the obstetrics unit at the Kenton hospital.

Flu season finally strikes
Lima News
Thursday, February 28, 2002
Virus sufferers hadn't been flooding doctor's offices and hospitals until recently, health officials said.

Health protocol tested
Lorain Morning Journal
Thursday, February 28, 2002
Health Commissioner Terry Tomaszewski said the health department's medical director and environmental health director met with Community Health Partners personnel to discuss definite lines of communication that will be accessible at all times in the event of a health emergency. 

Friday, March 01, 2002
ODH Incorporates OHA Feedback in Quality Rule Revisions
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has agreed to many of the changes requested by OHA to the Senate Bill 50 quality rules. The rules are up for a five-year review and changes are being made to simplify portions of the rules and make them more workable for hospitals.

The rules, which went into effect March 1, 1997, were drawn up under legislation passed in 1995 that ended Certificate of Need for most health care services in Ohio and put into place quality requirements for obstetric and newborn care, pediatric intensive care, pediatric cardiovascular surgery, solid organ transplantation, bone marrow transplantation, adult and pediatric cardiac catheterization, adult open-heart surgery, and radiation therapy.

Some of the revisions proposed by OHA and agreed to by ODH include:

• Removal of proposed language that would have compromised peer review protections by making discussion and findings of quality assessment meetings available to the state director of health.

• Removal of criteria requiring catheterization lab medical directors and every physician practicing in these labs to meet requirements to perform a minimum number of procedures.

• Removal of a proposed change requiring patients over 75 years of age be treated only in high-risk cath labs with open-heart services.

• Removal of physical space requirements for obstetrical and newborn care. These will be placed instead in maternity licensure rules, which are up for review in the coming months.

OHA recognizes the rules represent a burden for hospitals but the department did not agree to a request to suspend the rules until an evaluation of their effectiveness of the rules could be completed.

DAILY NEWS CLIPS

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

New tobacco fight begins
Cincinnati Enquirer
Friday, March 01, 2002
Health advocates hope to deglamorize smoking with the first statewide counter-marketing campaign to reduce tobacco use in Ohio, especially among youths.

Students from 10 area schools hear of healthcare opportunities
New Philadelphia Times-Reporter
Friday, March 01, 2002
For the right person seeking a good career with a great future, healthcare is loaded with opportunity. That was the message given to 57 students from 10 area high schools attending the Hospital Career Day program at Union Hospital on Thursday.