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Monday, December 16, 2002
A voluntary initiative to provide hospital performance information to the public using a standard set of measures was announced last Friday. The effort is a long-term commitment to help the public obtain standardized information on U.S. hospitals and to provide hospitals with defined public reporting expectations.
American Hospital Association (AHA) president Dick Davidson reported that the initiative will begin with an analysis of heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia and will later expand to include additional areas. Plans are for hospital information in these three areas to be made available via the Internet by next summer.
AHA, the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Federation of American Hospitals are launching this initiative with the support of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Forum, AARP and the AFL-CIO. A Web cast of the initial announcement and other related resources are available at www.kaisernetwork.org/healthcast/fah/12dec02. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(Editor’s note: The news clips are being password-protected on the OHA Web site. OHA members will be notified separately of the password. HEALTH e-NEWS Plus subscribers can still access news clips through the daily e-mail without a password.)
Tuesday, December
17, 2002
Four national associations are recommending a voluntary market withdrawal of selected blood reserves in an effort to reduce the risk of West Nile Virus (WNV) through blood transfusion. This withdrawal includes both products that are in the blood collection facility and products that have been shipped to hospitals.
The American Association of Blood Banks, American’s Blood Centers (AABB), the American Red Cross and the Department of Defense are recalling frozen products that were collected in areas experiencing mosquito-borne transmission of WNV to humans in 2002. Blood centers and hospitals should immediately quarantine all frozen products collected during the defined risk period, which for Ohio is between July 20 and Oct. 20. Blood collection facilities will replace the recalled units as soon as it is feasible to do so. The recall should not influence the cost of blood for hospitals, but pricing has not yet been discussed, according to a spokesperson from AABB. For more, go to www.aabb.org, under pressroom. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(Editor’s note: The news clips are being password-protected on the OHA Web site. OHA members will be notified separately of the password. HEALTH e-NEWS Plus subscribers can still access news clips through the daily e-mail without a password.)
Wednesday, December
18, 2002
New Director Appointed to ODI
The Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI) has announced the appointment of
new director Ann Womer Benjamin, by Gov. Bob Taft. As director, Womer
Benjamin will oversee ODI’s 265 employees who are responsible for
licensing and regulating Ohio’s nearly 1,800 insurers and 166,000
agents.
Prior to being appointed, Womer Benjamin served the Portage County-area since 1995 in the House of Representatives, where she chaired the Criminal Justice Committee since 1998. She also served on the Finance and Appropriations and Civil Law Committees and the Higher Education Subcommittee. Womer Benjamin will begin her duties on Jan. 6, 2003. For more information on ODI, visit www.ohioinsurance.org.
Holidays Bring Fun, Require Care
Hospitals treat many people during the holiday season who suffer from
preventable injuries. Special decorations and toys can be exciting and
fun, but also a hazard if not used properly. To prevent injuries and
ensure a safe and enjoyable holiday season, hospitals may wish to
promote simple fire and toy safety tips in their communities.
Before using decorative lights, check for frayed wires, broken sockets or loose connections. When using candles, use a nonflammable holder and always place them out of the reach of children. Do not dispose of wrapping paper in the fireplace, where it can ignite and burn suddenly. For more easy tips on how to make your holiday season safe and enjoyable visit www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/dectips.htm.
Toy safety is also a very important aspect of the holidays. When buying toys for children, match the toy to the child’s abilities to prevent injury. All toy parts should be larger than a child’s mouth to prevent choking and should not have sharp edges or unfastened pieces. Also, be careful with toys that shoot objects into the air or make loud noises. Remember to read the directions to the child if necessary and always supervise. For a list of age-appropriate toys visit www.parenthoodweb.com/library/aap_toysafety.htm.
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(Editor’s note: The news clips are being password-protected on the OHA Web site. OHA members will be notified separately of the password. HEALTH e-NEWS Plus subscribers can still access news clips through the daily e-mail without a password.)
Thursday, December
19, 2002
Board Approves Medicaid Task Force Goals
The OHA Board of Trustees at it last meeting approved recommendations of
the Medicaid Task Force, in addition to hearing reports on various
topics. The Board approved the proposed purpose, goals and principles of
the Medicaid Task Force on financing delivery of health care services to
Medicaid recipients. The task force is investigating several options to
deal with a proposed freeze in Medicaid payments to providers and is
actively seeking input from the OHA membership.
Two new members of the Research and Educational Foundation Board of Trustees were also approved at the meeting. Allen Rupiper, President and CEO of Adena Regional Medical Center, and Larry Unroe, President of Marietta Memorial Hospital, were elected to the board for terms beginning Jan. 1.
The Board also learned how Ohioans viewed health care over the past year in reviewing a public opinion poll conducted for OHA by Opinion Strategies Inc. The survey suggests health care costs are a top issue to the public, but most Ohioans are not as aware of issues that indirectly impact cost, such as the medical malpractice crisis.
Also, the Board heard an overview of the 2003 Hospital Care Assurance Program initiative, in preparation for a possible $46.8 million loss in federal funding. The Board also heard reports on hospital emergency preparedness and bioterrorism activities, state and federal legislative year-end wrap-ups, and the 2002 OHA work plan. (Jim Castle, jimc@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(Editor’s note: StateHealthClips.com has gone to a subscription service. Please note that the link to access clips will change daily. If you visit www.statehealthclips.com, you will be required to enter a subscriber password. No password is required for the link published in HEALTH e-NEWS Plus.)
Friday,
December 20, 2002
The annual state-by-state rankings from the UnitedHealth Foundation for 2002 are in and show that staying physically fit continues to be a difficult task for most Ohioans. This is represented by Ohio’s poor rankings, specifically in prevalence of smoking, obesity, and deaths related to heart disease and cancer.
Over the past 12 years, Ohio has declined in rank from 18th in 1990 to 27th in 2002 in overall health. Ohio’s 2002 rank of 38th in heart disease related deaths and 40th in cancer related deaths shows the continuing need for healthy lifestyle changes.
Fortunately for Ohioans, there are some bright spots. Ohio ranked eighth in prenatal care, providing care for 81 percent of mothers in 2002. By increasing the emphasis on prenatal care, Ohio has also been able to curb infant mortality rates, which dropped from 8.1 deaths per 1,000 births in 2001 to 7.7 deaths in 2002. Even with this in-state progress, Ohio is still ranked 37th in infant mortality in the United States, showing opportunity for improvement.
For more information, see the December issue of OHA HealthBeat at www.ohanet.org/healthbeat/2002/healthbeat1202.htm.
Happy Holidays!
OHA wishes all of you a safe and happy holiday season and New Year. The
OHA offices will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. HEALTH e-NEWS Plus will
not be published from Monday, Dec. 23 to Friday, Dec. 27. The next issue
of HEALTH e-NEWS Plus will be Monday, Dec. 30.
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(Editor’s note: The news clips are being password-protected on the OHA Web site. OHA members will be notified separately of the password. HEALTH e-NEWS Plus subscribers can still access news clips through the daily e-mail without a password.)