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Monday, June 2, 2003
Contest Announced for Stroke Patients
Hospitals may wish to encourage stroke patients to participate in “The Face of Stroke” creative contest, created by VHA Inc. to raise awareness of the third leading cause of death. The contest encourages people affected by stroke to create a literary work such as a poem or short story, artwork, photograph, song or other creative piece to depict how stroke has personally affected them. Prizes will be awarded with $500 for Best in Show, $250 for second place and $100 for third place.

Entries must be received by June 13, 2003, and should be sent to VHA, 220 Las Colinas Blvd, Irving, Texas 75039 or via e-mail at vhacustomerservice@vha.com. Contestants should send a cover letter with their name, phone number and signature verifying originality of the piece.

Tuesday, June 3, 2003
House Hears Support for Disaster Preparedness Bill
The House Homeland Security, Engineering and Architectural Design Committee heard testimony today in support of House Bill 6, legislation with provisions to improve Ohio’s response during public health emergencies.

Carol Jacobson, director of emergency management for OHA, spoke on the efforts of Ohio’s health community to improve response systems for emergencies, including terrorist attacks. She said hospitals are improving their response through communication with the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), educational efforts, and collaboration with community partners. HB 6 includes important provisions to support this preparation, Jacobson said, but OHA supports an amendment that would resolve concerns with ODH’s ability to impose fines on providers who fail to report data on a broad spectrum of infectious diseases and other health conditions.

For more information on disaster preparedness efforts in Ohio’s hospitals, visit www.ohanet.org/terrorism_preparedness/. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org)

Videos Offer New Accreditation Education
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is producing a series of videos on its Web site to help accredited organizations and other key stakeholders learn more about its new accreditation process, Shared Visions-New Pathways. The series of five- to seven- minute videos will highlight the key components of the new accreditation process, which will be fully operational beginning January 2004 for most programs. The videos can be viewed online at www.jcaho.org/accredited+organizations/svnp/svnp_video.htm, which also has links to other resources. Transcripts of the videos are also available online. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)

Wednesday, June 4, 2003
Bill Seeks to Mandate Charity Care
Rep. Mike Gilb (R-Findlay) has announced he will introduce a bill to require not-for-profit hospitals to provide at least four percent of their care to charity as it relates to their total gross patient receipts. Gilb said in a news release, “Because these institutions are tax-exempt, they have a greater obligation to give something back to the community.”

Ohio hospitals provide more than $710 million a year in uncompensated care. OHA will be working with Rep. Gilb to provide a complete picture of how Ohio hospitals are fulfilling their charitable missions -- meeting federal requirements that go beyond providing charity care to also include providing emergency services to all citizens, promoting good health, reinvesting in facilities and equipment, improving patient care and demonstrating commitment to medical training and research.

OHA’s Public Relations Committee is working on a community benefit toolkit that will be available later this year to help hospitals demonstrate their value to their communities.(Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Bill Expands Health Care Worker Immunity
A bill introduced in May that would give indigent patients access to additional health care providers and protect the doctors providing services from liability is currently working its way through the Senate. Senate Bill 86, sponsored by Sen. Steve Stivers (R-Columbus), expands current law to allow doctors to provide care for indigent patients at their offices or other outpatient facilities with the same level of protection as doctors treating patients at an emergency or a free clinic. The legislation also provides immunity from civil actions for organizations that refer the patients to doctors and hospitals for proper health care treatment.

The OHA-supported bill seeks to create a network of doctors’ offices, clinics and outpatient facilities, a “virtual clinic,” to provide efficient and convenient services to patients. It also encourages health care professionals to provide additional voluntary care by allowing them to treat patients without traveling to a shelter. The bill is currently in the Senate Health, Human Services and Aging Committee and will likely be sent to the governor by the end of June. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Thursday, June 5, 2003
CMS to Announce New Long Term Care Payment Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will publish the final payment rule for Long Term Care Hospitals (LTCH) for fiscal year 2004 in this Friday’s Federal Register.

According to an American Hospital Association analysis, the rule changes the start date for the annual update of the federal payment rate for LTCHs from Oct. 1 to July 1. Updates to long-term care diagnosis related groups will continue to use an Oct. 1 start date. The rule also contains a 2.5 percent market basket increase in payments for fiscal year 2004 beginning on July 1, 2003. Overall, Medicare expects to pay LTCHs $2.17 billion in fiscal year 2004.

For those hospitals transitioning from the former cost-based reimbursement system to the new LTCH prospective payment system, the schedule for updating to the blended rate for fiscal year 2004 will continue to be linked to a hospital's cost reporting period. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org; David Nichols, davidn@ohanet.org)

Ohio Receives Nurse Education Funding
The University of Cincinnati was this week named as one of 16 organizations nationwide to receive funding for the promotion of diversity in the nursing workforce. The money will be put toward scholarships or stipends and preparation and retention activities for racial and ethnic minority groups that are underrepresented among registered nurses. The university was awarded $205,379 of $3.5 million in Nursing Workforce Diversity grants the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offered as a result of the Nurse Reinvestment Act of 2002. For the list of other recipients and additional information, visit http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/reinvestmentact.htm.

Looking Out for the Future of Health Care
The Ohio Society for Healthcare Facilities Management (OSHFM), an OHA-affiliated society, recently awarded $500 educational scholarships to Ohio college students Jesse R. McKinney, Wright State University, and Chad A. McKinney, Bowling Green State University. The scholarships are awarded to Ohio undergraduate students actively seeking technical degrees related to healthcare facilities management.

For further information on these scholarships, please contact Diane Conley at dianec@ohanet.org.

Friday, June 6, 2003
Hospitals Lead the Way
Hospitals across Ohio continue to receive recognition for excellence in quality, marketing and community improvement.

Several Ohio hospitals have been named as 2003 award recipients of the Ohio Award for Excellence, the highest honor for quality that an organization in Ohio can receive. Achievement of Excellence awards went to Community Health Partners, Lorain; Grant Medical Center, Columbus; and HomeReach of Ohio Health, Worthington. Aultman Hospital, Canton, won a Commitment to Excellence award, and its managed care arm, Aultcare Corporation, received a Pledge Toward Excellence award.

On the regional level, Coshocton County Memorial Hospital recently received the Community Improvement of the Year Award during the 21st annual Chamber Dinner. Summa Health System, Akron, recently received four 2003 Aster Awards, given each year for marketing excellence in the health care field.

Individual recognition goes to John Horns, president of Defiance Regional Medical Center, who has been selected as the 2003 campaign chairman of the United Way of Defiance County to lead the United Way’s annual fall fundraiser. (Mary Yost, maryy@ohanet.org)

Independent Study Available for Nurses
The Ohio Organization for Nursing Executives (OONE) currently has an independent study on the Ohio Nurse Practice Act available for purchase. The program meets the one-hour requirement all nurses must meet in nursing law and rule for relicensure. The program is available for $20 for individual purchase for $100+ $2 per certificate per nurse for organizational purchase. Contact Elaine Lakin at the OONE CE Approver Unit at 614-777-0813 or eglakin1@columbus.rr.com for more information or to purchase the independent study.