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Monday, June 7, 2004
Hospital leaders and other health care workers from across the state will gather in Columbus next Monday and Tuesday, June 14-15, for the 2004 OHA Annual Meeting and it’s not too late to register for the event. The two-day meeting includes 16 tracks on health care topics ranging from disaster preparedness to compliance to workforce. It also features keynote speakers, various luncheons and the Recognition Dinner, held on June 14, to honor one Ohio hospital associate as the Health Care Worker of the Year and the recipients of several other prestigious awards. Participants can see the latest information from exhibitors, network with peers from other hospitals statewide and even earn continuing education credits. OHA is still accepting registrations for the Annual Meeting, and additional information and registration materials are available online at www.ohanet.org/annualmeeting/. Those interested in attending the Recognition Dinner can find details at www.ohanet.org/annualmeeting/Awards/default.htm.
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Today the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) issued supplemental compliance program guidance for hospitals. The OIG acknowledges many hospitals have already devoted substantial resources to compliance efforts and establishing compliance programs. For those hospitals, the supplemental guidance "may serve as a benchmark or comparison against which to measure ongoing efforts and as a roadmap for updating or refining their compliance plans." Published as a notice open for comments until July 23, the guidance is intended to be used collectively with the original hospital compliance guidance published in February 1998. Please forward comments on the guidance to OHA on or before July 16. The Federal Register notice is available online at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-12829.htm. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)
Ohio Hospital Have New Workforce Tool
The School at Work (SAW) “Building a Career Ladder in Healthcare”
program, offering on-site training to entry-level employees, is now
available to Ohio’s hospitals. The program is a distance learning system
that uses the Internet and television technology to bring instruction
for employees directly into the hospital.
Funded in part by the U.S. Department of Labor as one aspect of President Bush’s High Growth Jobs Initiative, the fall session runs from Sept. 2004 to April 2005. The fall program is the third in a series of regional programs and is the last for which the Department of Labor grant funding is available, providing hospitals with a low-cost opportunity to benefit from the program. SAW helps hospitals improve employee retention and provide entry-level associates with the skills they need to work toward allied clinical positions. For more information on current customers, outcomes and benefit, or participating in the program, visit www.schoolatwork.com or contact Lynn Fischer at Catalyst Learning at 502.580.2670 or lfischer@catalystlearning.com.
Wednesday,
June 9, 2004
Billing, Collections Hearing Postponed
Due to the death this week of former President Ronald Reagan, the first
federal hearing on hospital billing and collection practices originally
scheduled for June 10 has been postponed. The Oversight and
Investigation Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
had planned to hear from health system CEOs, representatives from the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Inspector
General. The hearing has not yet been rescheduled.
To help prepare hospitals for potential inquiries from media representatives and patients into billing and collections practices, OHA has created materials to explain the problem, challenges hospitals face, and outline what hospitals are doing to address the issue. Look for the materials in an OHA bulletin in the coming weeks. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org; Tiffany Himmelreich, tiffanyh@ohanet.org)
Foundation Requests Proposals for Healthy Hospital Grants
The Foundation for Healthy Communities last week sent hospitals its
request for proposals packets for the Hospitals as the Healthiest
Workplaces in Ohio! grants, created to support hospitals’ efforts to
act as role models of good health in communities across the state.
This healthy hospital grant cycle is the only one for 2004 and the first with a primarily internal emphasis. A total of $100,000 in funding is available for grants of $10,000 to $25,000 beginning in January 2005, however hospitals must provide a 50 percent match through in-kind contributions. Proposals should outline a three-year plan for implementation or enhancement of an employee wellness and/or health management pilot program, and provide a detailed timeline and budget for 2005. Applicants should note the grants will be awarded based on five scoring criterion instead of the nine criterion listed in the narrative of the request for proposals. The correct scoring criteria can be viewed at www.ohanet.org/HealthyCommunities/grantcriteria.pdf.
To view the request for proposals online, visit www.ohanet.org/HealthyCommunities/applygeneral.htm. Contact Foundation Director Lynne Ayres at 614.221.7614 or by e-mail at lynnea@ohanet.org with questions. Proposals must be postmarked by Friday, July 30. Grants will be awarded in October 2004.
Thursday,
June 10, 2004
Ohio’s hospitals are stepping up to the pollution prevention plate, registering to become Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) partners and making changes in their facilities that protect their community's health and the environment. H2E develops best practices, model plans for waste management, resource directories and other tools for hospitals to use in their efforts to reduce waste. An H2E Champion for Change, OHA continues to encourage hospitals to participate in this program. A list of the 18 Ohio hospitals that are currently H2E partners is available online at www.h2e-online.org/programs/partner/p_mbrst.cfm?parmStateCode=oh.
At the OHA Recognition Dinner Monday, June 14, one hospital chief executive officer will receive the John Chapman Award to recognize excellence in initiating or supporting hospital pollution prevention programs such as reducing waste-stream volume and the elimination of mercury from the hospital. Stay tuned for the announcement of this year’s recipient and consider submitting a nomination for the 2005 award. Find more information about the pollution prevention efforts of Ohio’s hospitals at www.ohanet.org/p2/. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org; Susan Zabo, susanz@ohanet.org)
CDC Updates West Nile Virus Information, Plans Conference Call
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week updated
its West Nile virus information to help clinicians better inform
patients during the upcoming virus season.
The CDC’s West Nile virus Web page now provides the latest details about the virus and features general facts, questions and answers, case counts, and maps of virus activity. Although West Nile virus activity is already occurring in some parts of the country, taking commonsense precautions such as avoiding mosquito bites and cleaning mosquitoes from work and play areas will help everyone reduce his or her risk of the virus.
The CDC also plans to hold a conference call regarding the West Nile virus Tuesday, June 29, at 2 p.m. EST. More details and the confirmed date will be released soon. For more information about the West Nile virus or other clinical issues, call the CDC’s toll-free Clinical Information Line at 1-877-554-4625 or e-mail coca@cdc.gov. Visit www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/ to view the updated virus information.
AHA Invites Nominations for Circle of Life Awards
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is accepting nominations for the
2005 Circle of Life Awards, which celebrate innovations in end-of-life
care. There are three $25,000 awards to further the work of
organizations, and up to seven programs will receive Citations of Honor.
The awards’ scoring criteria is based on nominees’ evidence of innovative end-of-life care, including striving to equitably provide effective, patient-centered, timely, safe, and efficient palliative and end-of-life care; moving the field forward and raising the standard for palliative and end-of-life care; showing innovation and serving as models for the field; and supporting hospitals’ and health organizations’ efforts to improve palliative and end-of-life care.
All organizations that provide palliative or end-of-life care are eligible for the award, and applicants can nominate their own program or another program online at www.aha.org/circleoflife or by calling 312.422.2700. Applications are due Aug. 16, 2004.
Friday,
June 11, 2004
In addition to their health care services, Ohio’s hospitals and their associates serve as leaders in their communities through the many services and contributions they make above and beyond providing basic care.
Ohio hospitals are receiving awards for their excellent performances. Aultman Hospital, Canton; Hillcrest Hospital, Mayfield Heights; Pomerene Hospital, Millersburg; and Flower Hospital, Sylvania, were recognized for their commitment to performance excellence by the Ohio Award for Excellence.
In addition, several Ohio hospitals were among the 100 Top Hospitals list published by Solucient, a leading source of health care business intelligence. These hospitals include University Hospital, Cincinnati; Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus; Hillcrest Hospital, Mayfield Heights; EMH Regional Medical Center, Elyria; Mercy Hospital Anderson, Cincinnati; Adena Regional Medical Center, Chillicothe; Dunlap Memorial Hospital, Orrville; and Licking Memorial Hospital, Newark.
Other hospitals are being recognized for their excellence in specific health care areas. Lima Memorial Health System; Fisher Titus Medical Center, Norwalk; and Firelands Regional Medical Center, Sandusky, were recognized by the American Association for Respiratory Care as quality respiratory care providers. Only 10 percent of the nation’s hospitals receive the designation. Firelands Regional Medical Center was also recognized for its Obstetrics Department, which ranked in the top 10 percent of all 800 hospitals surveyed nationwide for patient satisfaction in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Several Ohio hospital leaders were inducted into the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Hall of Fame last month. Honorees included Dr. James K.V. Wilson, director of the Ireland Cancer Center and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center of Cleveland; Dr. Robert Kellermeyer, professor of Oncology at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University; and Elizabeth Nolan, president of the Women’s Diagnostic Center of Cleveland.