|
| Hot Issues |
| Publications |
| Advocacy Center |
| Research & Data |
| Education |
| News Media Center |
| Find a Hospital Job |
| Membership |
| Corporate Partners |
| Home |
Search:
 |
Monday,
September 20, 2004
Shelby Hospital, which is part of MedCentral Health System, has been granted Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation as of Aug. 2. The federal CAH program entitles select small, rural hospitals to Medicare cost-based reimbursement. To become a CAH, hospitals must provide 24-hour emergency services along with inpatient care, laboratory and radiology services, and meet other specific criteria. This addition brings the total number of Ohio CAHs to 25. For a complete list of Ohio CAHs, go to www.ohanet.org/about_oha/cah.asp. (David Hendershot, davidh@ohanet.org)
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Hospitals wanting to highlight their use of performance measures to achieve quality improvement should explore the 2005 Ernest A. Codman Award Program. The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) sponsors the Codman Award, offering national recognition to accredited health care organization for their quality improvement efforts. For the first time in 2005, disease-specific care certification programs meet eligibility requirements for the award and JCAHO-accredited organizations or programs may submit more than one initiative.
Hospitals can access additional information and applications at www.jcaho.org/accredited+organizations/codman+award/codman+award.htm. Application must be submitted by Feb. 14, 2005, and winning initiatives will be highlighted at the JCAHO national conference in Chicago in November 2005. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
Wednesday,
September 22, 2004
Again illustrating the importance of the Ohio Supreme Court on the state’s medical liability insurance crisis, the court issued a 4-3 decision this week finding that derivative claims in medical malpractice cases share in the “each person” limit of coverage. Thomson v. OHIC sought to interpret the rights of separate family members seeking compensation under a single allegation of medical malpractice.
In a decision written by Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, with Chief Justice Thomas Moyer and Justices Maureen O’Conner and Terrance O’Donnell concurring, the court concluded that Schaefer v. Allstate Ins. Co., an uninsured motorist case, does not apply to insurance policies involving medical negligence or professional services. The court then interpreted the case based on the language of the OHIC insurance policy. The Thomson decision is consistent with a similar finding last month in Katz v. Ohio Insurance Gauranty Association. The full decision is available at
www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/newpdf/0/2004/2004-Ohio-4775.pdf.For more information on how the Ohio Supreme Court impacts the medical liability insurance environment in Ohio, visit www.AskYourDoctorOhio.com. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
ODH Hosts Cancer Plan Workshops Statewide
The second set of Cancer Plan Workshops offered by the Ohio Department
of Health kicks off later this month throughout the state. The sessions
encourage public health professionals in Ohio to develop and implement
area cancer control programs based on the local data included in The
Ohio Cancer Plan: 2010. The fall series of meetings mirrors the
content of a spring series, but target other areas of the state.
The dates and locations of the meetings this fall include:
Call Roberta Slocumb at 614.995.5433 to register or for any questions.
Thursday,
September 23, 2004
A new campaign to attract health care workers to Columbus launched this week amid a standing-room-only crowd at Columbus Children’s Hospital. The CEOs of the four Franklin County hospitals -- Children’s Hospital, Mount Carmel, OhioHealth and the Ohio State University Medical Center -- sat on a panel to roll out the effort, along with Mayor Michael Coleman, County Commissioner Arlene Shoemaker, Rick Vincent, president of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, and Ty Marsh, president of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce.
The 16-month national campaign will include advertising in health care trade publications, on Web sites and in specialized journals.
Initially aimed at drawing nurses to central Ohio, the campaign resulted from collaboration between the four nationally ranked and recognized Columbus hospitals systems. This hospital partnership, the Columbus Healthcare Workforce Center, began in 2001 with the goal of studying the workforce pipeline and developing community-based solutions to key problems. For more information, visit www.columbushealthcare.com. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)
BWC Offers Incentive for Safety
Hospital employers looking to save money on Ohio Bureau of Workers’
Compensation (BWC) premiums have until Sept. 30 to join local safety
councils. The BWC is partnering with Ohio’s safety councils to offer
employers that join their local council an opportunity to receive a
check equal to 2 percent of their premiums. In order to be eligible for
the one-time discount, employers must:
The BWC says the goal of the incentive is to reduce costs while keeping employees injury-free. To find out more information about your area safety council, contact 1.800.OHIOBWC or call a local BWC office. More information is also available online at www.ohiobwc.com.
Friday,
September 24, 2004
At the most recent meeting of the OHA Board of Trustees, Gov. Bob Taft shared his view on the importance of this year’s Ohio Supreme Court elections in resolving Ohio’s medical malpractice insurance crisis, as well as creation of economic development and stability in the state.
In reference to this year’s court elections, Taft said, “Moyer, Lanzinger and O’Donnell are the key races. It’s a great opportunity to create a stable, predictable environment here in Ohio.”
Taft further called for a court that continues to interpret the law and not legislate from the bench, noting that medical liability legislation passed through the Ohio General Assembly will ultimately come before the Supreme Court, which has the final say on laws that can address the problem.
In looking at the Hospital Care Assurance Program for 2005, the Board gave OHA the green light to discuss key policy issues with the membership over the coming months. OHA will seek input through membership meetings and the OHA Finance Committee and share that feedback with the Board before it approves a final model for 2005.
The Board also approved a revised budget for the statewide effort to educate Ohioans about the medical liability crisis and the role of the Ohio Supreme Court addressing the issue. It was updated on a grassroots effort to mobilize Ohio’s 230,000 hospital workers on the issue, along with a poll of Ohio hospital employees. Poll results show that a large percentage of hospital employees have a high awareness of the medical malpractice insurance crisis, with only about a quarter recognizing the link to the Ohio Supreme Court. The majority of employees cited doctors as a trusted source of information on the issue. Visit www.AskYourDoctorOhio.com for more information.
The Board was also updated on possible recommendations of the Ohio Commission to Reform Medicaid, which will issue its final report in January 2005. Topics include enrollment in Medicaid managed care, caps on Medicaid, nursing home reform and the pharmaceutical benefit. (Jim Castle, jimc@ohanet.org)
Foundation Awards Over $100,000 For Healthy Hospitals
OHA’s Foundation for Healthy Communities recently announced grant awards
of $100,025 total to six hospitals’ employee wellness programs as part
of its Hospitals as the Healthiest Workplaces in Ohio!
initiative. The foundation shifted its grant focus in 2004 to support
hospitals in becoming not only models of healthy workplaces in their own
communities, but also the healthiest workplaces in Ohio.
By providing funding for the programs over the next three years, the Healthy Hospitals initiative will encourage hospitals to practice what they preach. Almost 1,600 employees at Berger Health System, Circleville, Euclid Hospital, Cleveland, Marietta Memorial Hospital, Middletown Regional Hospital, O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, Athens, and Southern Ohio Medical Center, Portsmouth, will be targeted to advance healthier lifestyles. The hospitals, chosen out of a pool of 44 applicants, are matching the funds with more than $550,500 of in-kind support.
The foundation supports employee wellness programs as not only beneficial for health reasons, but as helpful to hospitals in reducing costs through lower turnover, absenteeism and the expense of benefits. For more information about the Foundation for Healthy Communities and the Hospitals as the Healthiest Workplaces in Ohio! initiative, go to www.ohanet.org/HealthCommunities/. (Lynne Ayres, lynnea@ohanet.org)