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Monday,
September 15, 2003
The U.S. Senate last week passed a fiscal year (FY) 2004 Labor-Health and Human Services appropriations bill that includes $50 million in additional funding for programs aimed at addressing the nation’s nursing workforce. The legislation, House Resolution 2660, now goes to conference to be reconciled with the House-passed version. Congress typically passes annual appropriations legislation by October.
Combined with funding for the Nurse Reinvestment Act and other workforce development programs currently in place, this bill would bring the total funding to approximately $163 million for FY 2004. The allocation of this funding is an effort to help deal with the nursing workforce shortage in Ohio and throughout the nation. For more information on Ohio’s nursing and health care workforce, visit OHA’s Workforce Forum at www.ohanet.org/workforce/. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week announced $26.6 million in grants to support bioterrorism training and education for health care workers in Ohio and 22 other states. The money will go toward continuing education for health professionals and curriculum development in health professions schools, with the Ohio State University Research Foundation receiving $429, 474 in curriculum development grants.
These grants are the first in HHS’ new Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program, part of the federal $4.4 billion allocated to bioterrorism preparedness for 2003. The program was created with the passage of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. A press release on the grants is available at www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003.html and for more information on disaster preparedness in Ohio, visit www.ohanet.org/terrorism_preparedness/. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org)
CDC Broadcast Imparts the Latest on SARS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is hosting a
broadcast to assist health care providers in preparing to diagnose and
manage patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the
event of suspected or identified cases in the coming months. The
two-part broadcast, “Preparing for the Return of SARS: Are We Ready?” is
scheduled Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 from 2-4 p.m.
Clinicians and other health care personnel, public health officials and community control clinicians are invited to hear updated information required to identify and manage SARS and prevent transmission of the disease in health care facilities and the community. Program details including registration information are online at www.phppo.cdc.gov/PHTN/SARS-return/.
Wednesday,
September 17, 2003
OHA Responds to BWC Payment Proposals
The OHA Finance Committee yesterday debated
the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s (BWC) proposals to change the
inpatient and outpatient hospital payment methodologies under the Health
Partnership Program (HPP) and approved four recommendations on behalf of
Ohio’s hospitals.
Though the committee agreed with much of the Bureau’s proposals, it forwarded several concerns to the BWC. The committee stressed that any new HPP payment system should not add complexity or administrative expense to hospital bill processing, and that hospitals are relying on the BWC to guard against abrupt shifts in hospital reimbursement. The committee also requested a chance to model the proposed change to the hospital inpatient payment methodology, agreeing to reduce the HPP hospital payment rate to 75 percent of billed charges for 2004 as a transition if the BWC ensures the rates will go no lower before January 2005.
The committee also strongly opposed the linking of outpatient hospital payments to the HPP physician’s fee schedule, recommending that payments be based on hospital-specific cost-to-charge ratios with an add-on margin hospitals can use to improve patient care. OHA would agree to reduce the state payment rate to 60 percent of billed charge, effective January 2004, if the long-term recommendation is accepted. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org)
Alcohol-Based Hand Hygiene Feasible
Health and fire safety officials have come to
an agreement on how hospitals can safety protect patient safety and meet
fire codes simultaneously.
An October 2002 report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Guidelines for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings, recommended routine use of alcohol-based hand rubs in health care settings. However, many health facilities faced difficulty installing hand rub dispensers because of national and local fire codes restrictions on location and use of flammable liquids.
A recent meeting of 20 health, fire safety and government organizations clarified that dispensers could be safely installed in certain locations provided the volume of the hand rub was 1.2 liters or less, the dispensers were not installed too closely together and facilities avoided installing dispensers over carpeting. However, national fire code changes are needed before hand rub dispensers are installed in egress corridors. Hospitals are encouraged to work with local fire marshals to ensure proper installation in the interim.
For more, see an AHA advisory at www.aha.org by clicking on "Quality and Patient Safety" under Key Issues, then "What's New." CDC’s guidelines are online at www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
Thursday,
September 18, 2003
Following months of deliberation and even declarations that the bill was dead, the Ohio House of Representatives today passed a substitute version of House Bill 71, OHA's legislation intended to stop the proliferation of physician-owned, limited-service hospitals in Ohio, by a vote of 73-23.
The substitute version includes the following provisions:
House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) and Committee Chairman Greg Jolivette (R-Hamilton) kept committee members working on the bill for more than eight hours late Wednesday and into Thursday morning to reach a compromise, enabling the House Health and Family Services Committee to approve the sub bill at 1:35 a.m. and sending it to the full House for a vote this afternoon. The legislation survived a number of scares in committee -- including a proposal to greatly expand credentialing restrictions and another to reinstate certificate of need law.
HB 71 now moves to the Senate. Stay tuned to HEALTH e-NEWS Plus for updates on the legislation’s progress. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)
Med Mal Legislation Under Debate
Legislation seeking to reduce medical liability claims
without merit through the creation of medical expert review panels
received a second hearing this week in the Ohio House Insurance
committee. Outlined in the bill, House Bill 215, the review panels would
include three health care providers and one non-voting attorney. A
panel's feedback would be non-binding but admissible in court should the
case reach trial. More than 25 states currently have some type of panel
to screen liability cases.
Tim Maglione, senior director of government relations at the Ohio State Medical Association, testified in support of HB 215. He stated that the Ohio Medical Malpractice Commission created by Senate Bill 281 recommended the creation of such a review panel. Opponents of the bill argue that the legislation is unnecessary and would only add time and expense to the litigation process. OHA supports much of the bill’s contents, but also has a number of concerns. These include potential problems with attorneys who are unfamiliar with the issues or reluctant to serve, the short time within which a party must file and the compensation offered to the panel’s physicians as well as the “workability” of the complicated panel appointment process.
OHA will follow HB 215 and other medical malpractice legislation slated for this fall and will offer ongoing updates on the bills' progress. For more information on the medical malpractice situation in Ohio, visit www.ohanet.org/med-mal/. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)
Friday,
September 19, 2003
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the American Hospital Association-backed Hospital Mortgage Insurance Act of 2003, sponsored by Rep. Bob Ney (R-St. Clairsville). H.R. 659 now goes to the president, who is expected to sign it into law. The bill gives the Department of Housing and Urban Development authority to provide mortgage insurance to hospitals in jurisdictions without a certificate of need program such as Ohio. It also will allow critical access hospitals to be eligible for the HUD mortgage insurance program for a three-year trial period. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)
OHA Says Goodbye; Welcomes New Associate
Following her 30-year career with OHA, Terry Meade retired as manager of
education programs and sales earlier this summer. Terry’s contributions
to OHA and its member hospitals were apparent through her involvement in
education programs, the OHA Annual Meeting, Corporate Partner Program
and more. OHA wishes Terry all the best in her retirement and thanks her
for her years of service.
OHA also congratulations Teresa Epley for stepping into her new role as data analyst, in which she maps hospital data, creates new databases, among other duties.
OHA welcomes Amy Baker, executive assistant to Charles Cataline and Ryan Biles in the federal policy department, and Carol Jacobson, OHA’s director of emergency management. Amy filled Teresa’s previous position.