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Monday, March 15, 2004
All Ohio hospitals are invited to attend the free Hospital Emergency Preparedness Vendor Fair April 1. Hospital infection control and safety officers can see the latest products for emergency preparedness in health care that meet the needs of Health Resources and Services Administration grants. Representatives in public health, emergency management, RMRS, fire/EMS and law enforcement are also invited to attend.
The open house vendor fair is April 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Columbus East. Hospitals are asked to register for the free event by March 24 using the registration form online at www.ohanet.org/terrorism_preparedness/vendorfair.htm. (Amy Baker, amyb@ohanet.org)
Former Hospital CEO Dies
Fred Anthony, former President and CEO of Cuyahoga Falls General
Hospital, died last Thursday at his home of an apparent heart attack at
age 61. He was born Fred Cusimano and later adopted the on-air name
Anthony when he was a radio newsman and television-news anchorman in
Akron. Anthony served on OHA’s Hospital Care Assurance Committee and as
chair of the Akron Regional Hospital Association during his tenure as
CEO of the hospital.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Hospitals may wish to start planning now for a string of overlapping health care observance weeks in May including National Nurses, Hospital and Healthcare, Women’s Health, and Cover the Uninsured Weeks.
Rural Americans to Receive Resources Through Grants
The Rural Utilities Service is now accepting applications for its
Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program grants. The grants provide
access to education, training and health care resources for people in
rural America by funding advanced telecommunications technologies to
help communities meet those needs. Organizations eligible for grant
funds must meet all of the following three requirements: 1) deliver or
plan to deliver distance learning or telemedicine services, 2) be
legally organized as an incorporated organization or partnership, and 3)
operate a rural community facility, or deliver distance learning or
telemedicine services to a rural community facility. The deadline to
apply for fiscal year 2004 funds is April 30. For more, visit
www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/dlt/dlt.htm.
Wednesday,
March 17, 2004
Hospitals to Get Tobacco Spending Plan Funds
Legislation was introduced yesterday proposing how Ohio should use its
share of the national tobacco settlement over the next two years.
Hospitals will be eligible to receive a portion of the funding, which is
proposed to reduce tobacco consumption and address other health
priorities of the state.
House Bill 434, sponsored by Rep. Charles Calvert (R-Medina), would provide $108 million to the Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation (TUPAC) Trust Fund, which was created in 2000 to develop and implement programs designed to decrease tobacco use in Ohio. The two-year allocation will be transferred into TUPAC's endowment fund, of which $20 million will be used to support a media campaign against youth smoking and $20 million will be used on smoking-cessation programming.
The bill also would provide nearly $600,000 for state fiscal years 2005 and 2006 to OHA's Foundation for Healthy Communities to help hospitals that provide pulmonary rehabilitation services. The Foundation will also receive $800,000 over two years to help hospitals provide medical, preventive and outreach services to uninsured pregnant women and children.
Hearings on HB 434 will soon begin in the House Finance Committee, and the bill should be ready for final approval of the governor before the legislature recesses in late May. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)
Thursday,
March 18, 2004
The Senate Health, Human Services and Aging Committee yesterday passed legislation, House Bill 67, sponsored by Rep. Keith Faber (R-Celina), to eliminate a requirement that a credit line for a joint township hospital not exceed $500,000. The committee did not include a controversial amendment prohibiting hospital boards from denying staff privileges to physicians who are owners or investors in another hospital.
Last month, Committee Chairman Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) had proposed amending HB 67 with language restricting the credentialing authority of hospital governing boards. The language was not inserted into the bill after hospital executives and board members across the state raised concerns with Senate health committee members and Senate leaders. The bill, which impacts the state's four joint township hospitals and is supported by OHA, now heads to the full Senate for consideration, then to Gov. Bob Taft for final approval. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)
Friday, March 19, 2004
PAC Endorses Supreme Court Candidates
Friends of Ohio Hospitals, OHA’s political action committee, has endorsed Judge Judith Ann Lanzinger, Justice Terrence O’Donnell and Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer in this year’s Ohio Supreme Court races.
Lanzinger currently serves on the Sixth District Court of Appeals. O’Donnell was appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court last year following the federal appointment of previous Justice Deborah Cook. Moyer has served as Ohio’s chief justice since 1987.
The endorsements of Lanzinger, O’Donnell and Moyer center around the issue of tort reform, a vitally important issue to hospitals with the worsening professional liability insurance crisis. In previous configurations, the Ohio Supreme Court repeatedly struck down important tort reform provisions, which would limit jury awards on non-economic damages in malpractice lawsuits, a possible solution to the skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance rates.
Friends of Ohio Hospitals is seeking to maintain an Ohio Supreme Court that will interpret but not rewrite state law, particularly in light of last year’s package of tort reform bills to cap jury awards on non-economic damages, link liability to responsibility and protect Ohio’s peer review process. The PAC is confident Lanzinger, O’Donnell and Moyer will maintain stability and balance in the court for this and other Ohio business issues.
All three candidates were nominated without opposition in the March 2 Republican primary but their names will appear without party affiliation on the November ballot. More information about this year’s races and the importance of the Ohio Supreme Court will soon be available on the new Friends of Ohio Hospitals Web site, expected to be available next month. Stay tuned for more details. Visit www.ohanet.org/med-mal/ for more about the liability crisis and enacted and pending tort reform. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)
Possible Medicaid Cuts Would Mean Definite Damage for Recipients,
Hospitals
Last week the governor announced $50 million
in reductions from the state Medicaid program for state fiscal year
2005, which begins in just over three months. The cuts also sacrifice an
additional $70 million in federal matching funds, delivering a $120
million total blow to Ohio’s Medicaid recipients. The federal government
may also tighten the belt on Medicaid, with the U.S. House currently
debating a budget that would reduce federal Medicaid funding by $2.14
billion over five years.
Though no decisions have been made on how Ohio’s program will be reduced, the state cuts could mean restricted eligibility, the elimination of optional services, or reduced reimbursement for hospitals and other health care providers. OHA is actively working with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to preserve eligibility and funding for hospitals and to develop a viable Medicaid comprehensive care management that reduces the growth rate of the cost of caring for the Aged, Blind and Disabled population. ODJFS plans to announce more specific information on the reductions shortly. For more information, read the March Healthbeat at www.ohanet.org/healthbeat/.