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Monday,
June 12, 2006 Nearly 250 hospital representatives heard today from candidates for Ohio governor and U.S. Senate as well as from leaders of the Democrat and Republican parties at a Health Policy Luncheon held in conjunction with the OHA Annual Meeting. Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor, said several of his five proposed initiatives aimed at growing Ohio’s economy directly impact Ohio hospitals, including reforming health care, enacting additional tort reforms and overhauling the state’s regulatory environment. Focusing on a prevention-based rather than a disease-based health system model, capping lawyers’ fees and reducing regulatory burdens so they are less stringent than federal burdens would be among his priorities, Blackwell said. Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern and Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett squared off in a point-counterpoint debate, touching on a number of issues impacting Ohio hospitals. Both chairmen agreed that health care jobs are key to growth in Ohio’s employment future as the state relies less on jobs in the manufacturing sector. Bennett touted Republicans’ priorities on tort reform and initiatives to increase biotechnology as reasons to support Republican candidates this fall, while Redfern cited the Democrats’ priorities of providing health coverage to children and uninsured adults and focusing on prevention as reasons to support Democratic candidates. U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, who is working to retain his seat this November, touched on several congressional issues impacting hospitals. DeWine said he opposes efforts to cut funding for Medicare and Medicaid that would have resulted in lower reimbursement to hospitals and physicians. He described his passion about issues impacting children and touted his efforts to require pharmaceutical testing on children, to provide graduate education funding to children’s hospitals and to establish a national poison control hotline.
Congressman Ted
Strickland, Democratic candidate for governor, and Congressman
Sherrod Brown, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, were
invited to participate in the luncheon, but declined due to
scheduling conflicts. (Bridget Gargan,
bridgetg@ohanet.org) OHA Announces Health Care Worker of the Year OHA last night announced the 2006 Health Care Worker of the Year Award recipient during OHA’s Recognition Dinner as part of its Annual Meeting. Every hospital was able to nominate one person who demonstrates leadership, reflects the values and ideals of Ohio health care facilities, goes above and beyond the call of duty, gives back to the community and has overcome odds to succeed. OHA recognized four finalists during the recognition dinner and also honored all 81 Ohio hospital nominees. The 2006 Health Care Worker of the Year Award recipient was Frankye Herald RN, Miami Valley Hospital. Health Care Worker of the Year Award finalists were: Tamara Renee Wolfe, RN, BSN, Bucyrus Community Hospital; Joyce Vazquez, Euclid Hospital; Tracie Saelinger, Mercy Hospital Anderson; Bob Walsh, Riverside Methodist Hospital. View a complete list of all 81 nominees at www.ohanet.org/annualmeeting/Awards/dyckes/nominees.htm. Several other OHA awards honoring leaders in Ohio health care were also presented:
View a related news release at www.ohanet.org/media/news_release/2006/awards061206.htm. (Tiffany Himmelreich, tiffanyh@ohanet.org) NIMS Compliance Guidance Now Available The Health Resources and Services Administration issued fiscal year 2006 guidance for the National Bioterrorism Preparedness Program, including requirements that participating states adopt the National Incident Management System. HRSA encourages all hospitals, even those that are not required, to adopt NIMS. NIMS compliance activities for hospitals will be phased in over the next two years, with the initial set of activities required by Sept. 30, 2007. According to HRSA, for FY 2006 hospitals that received federal preparedness funding will be expected to comply with elements 7, 9, 10 and 11 in Appendix E. View Appendix E online at www.aha.org/aha/key_issues/disaster_readiness/content/2006nimscompliance.pdf. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week issues updated guidance for laboratory testing of suspected human cases of avian flu based on current knowledge of the H5N1. The guidance updated the definition of a suspected human case of the virus for use in determining when testing should be undertaken, and provides more detailed information on lab testing. Hospitals can use the new guidance to determine when to collect the specimen to submit to the local public health department. The agency also is revising its guidance on infection control precautions for avian flu, which it plans to issue once available. Access the new guidance at www.phppo.cdc.gov/HAN/ArchiveSys/ViewMsgV.asp?AlertNum=00246. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org)
Thursday,
June 15, 2006 Falling on the heels of an Ohio law that took effect this week requiring hospitals to offer flu and pneumonia vaccine to certain patients, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization has announced it will require accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals and long-term care organizations to offer flu vaccinations to staff, volunteers and licensed independent practitioners with close patient contact beginning January 2007. The new standard requires organizations to establish an annual flu vaccination program that accomplishes the following:
Under House Bill 257, which took effect this week, hospitals must follow vaccination guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in offering vaccinations to patients. More information on this law, as well as standing orders for administering flu and pneumococcal vaccine, is available in an OHA member bulletin at www.ohanet.org/Bulletins/2006/06-004.htm. Find more information on influenza at www.ohanet.org/flu/. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org; Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org) ODH Laboratory Has a New Location The Ohio Department of Health’s (ODH) Bureau of Public Health Laboratories has a new facility. All testing functions including microbiology, newborn screening and radiation chemistry will be relocating. Starting June 19, Ohio hospitals should begin sending their samples to the ODH laboratory’s new location at:
Ohio Department
of Health Laboratory Correspondence should be forwarded to Ohio Department of Health, Bureau of Public Health Laboratories P.O. Box 1430, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, 43068. For questions regarding this information, please call 1-888-ODH-LABS. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
Friday, June 16, 2006 The oversight committee of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) today authorized BWC to move ahead with its proposed payment plan to reimburse hospitals for care to injured workers at Medicare plus 15 percent for inpatient services. BWC is expected to file the proposed rule next week and issue a notice of public hearing. OHA plans to testify at the hearing, for which a date has not yet been set. Following the public hearing, the rule will go before the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review 45 days after it is filed. OHA issued an official response to BWC on the plan last week, challenging the methodology and use of a de facto state rate. OHA’s response is online at www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/issues/resources/bwc_comments.pdf. OHA will meet with BWC officials next week in a continued attempt to strike a deal that is fair and equitable to both BWC and Ohio’s hospitals with the ultimate goal to provide the highest quality care to Ohio’s injured workers. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org) 100K Lives Campaign Comes to a Close, Surpasses Goal The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) announced Wednesday that it exceeded its goal of saving 100,000 patient lives during an 18-month-long campaign. IHI estimates that 122,342 lives were saved. Part of the 3,000 hospitals participating nationwide, 111 Ohio hospitals contributed to the success of this initiative. The campaign entailed six initiatives to help improve health care and reduce the deaths of patients. Hospitals were encouraged to take steps to deploy rapid response teams at the patient’s first sign of decline, deliver evidence-based heart attack care, and prevent medication errors, central line infections, surgical site infections, and ventilator associated pneumonia. IHI will launch a new marketing push, “Six by Seven,” to persuade all participating hospitals to institutionalize the six initiatives to help prevent unnecessary deaths. For more information, view an IHI news release at www.ihi.org/NR/rdonlyres/1C51BADE-0F7B-4932-A8C3-0FEFB654D747/0/100kLivesCampaignJune14MilestonePressRelease.pdf. For a statement from the American Hospital Association regarding the campaign see www.aha.org/aha/press_room-info/jsp/releasedisplay.jsp?dcrpath=AHA/Press_Release/data/PR_060614_IHI&domain=AHA. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org) © 2001-2008 OHA. Last updated
January 03, 2008. |
