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Monday, July 10, 2006
OHHealthJobs.net Connects Jobseekers with Careers in Ohio Hospitals
Hospitals are a major economic presence in many Ohio communities, bringing secure and well-paying jobs to the local marketplace. To help connect hospitals and jobseekers both locally and nationwide, OHA Solutions, a subsidiary of OHA, introduces the new online hospital job searching resource OHHealthJobs.net.

After registering at OHHealthJobs.net, jobseekers can store their resumes online, search jobs by location or hospital and send their resumes to specific job postings. Hospitals and health systems that subscribe to the service can search these resumes, manage job candidates, and easily post detailed job descriptions—reaching candidates nationwide. The new job search engine already contains job postings from 11 hospitals and additional facilities are joining nearly every day.

To learn more about the benefits of OHHealthJobs.net and how it can complement hospitals’ existing recruitment efforts, a free training will be held Tuesday, July 25 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the OHA offices, 155 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio, 43215. RSVP by July 18 to Dorothy Aldridge at 614.221.7614 or dorothya@ohanet.org. For additional information or to subscribe, view the Web site at www.ohhealthjobs.net. (Dan Paoletti, danp@ohanet.org; Mary Sterenberg, marys@ohanet.org)

Tuesday, July 11, 2006
OHA Mourns Loss of Associate, Friend
OHA lost a friend and an exceptional staff member Friday, July 7, with the death of Deborah Hague, OHA’s director of continuing education. Deb Hague joined OHA last year and wasted no time in making her presence felt in very positive ways. She drew on her own considerable experience, expertise and creativity to suggest improvements in the planning, implementation and evaluation of continuing education programs for nurses and other disciplines. Deb’s favorable influence also extended beyond OHA into her work with member hospitals including her energetic involvement with the Foundation for Healthy Communities and its Quit Site project. Prior to joining OHA, Deb managed a continuing education seminar company for more than 13 years and was an invited motivational speaker to 26 states. It is with great sadness that OHA mourns the loss of Deb Hague. Memorial services have not yet been scheduled by the family.

CDC Coordinates Plans to Monitor Health Status Following Disasters
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has teamed up with other public health agencies to develop standardized methods and guidelines for monitoring and reporting the health status of residents after large-scale disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. CDC reported that these guidelines will assist the interpretation and exchange of health information among multiple jurisdictions and public and private agencies during a disaster response.

The group will establish a process for collecting and exchanging information is being created. As a result, public health agencies will be better prepared to respond to infectious disease outbreaks, injuries, mental health disorders and exacerbation of preexisting chronic conditions that result from disasters.

View a full report at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5526a3.htm. Learn more about how Ohio’s disaster preparedness efforts at www.prepareohio.com/resources.php. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org)

Wednesday, July 12, 2006
OHA Developing Substantive Response to Attorney General Rules
OHA continues to develop its substantive response to Attorney General Jim Petro's recent proposal for new regulations governing charitable organizations. Various OHA membership committees are being asked to weigh in on the rules, which include conflict of interest, executive and employee compensation, community benefit reporting and billing and collection policies. View a summary and the text of the rules at http://www.ag.state.oh.us/spotlight/cgrules.asp. The rules cover substantially the same topics as the following statements of hospitals' commitment to their communities adopted by the OHA Board of Trustees in August 2005, after substantial input from various OHA policy committees:

Ohio hospitals should consistently collect and report data on community benefit, charity care and uncompensated care.
Ohio hospitals believe compensation paid to executives and others should not provide an excessive economic benefit to the individual to the detriment of the hospital.
Ohio hospitals believe the hospital’s interests should be protected at all times when the hospital is contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interests of an officer, director or trustee of the hospital.
Consistent with the continued mission of caring, Ohio hospitals believe hospital policies regarding charges, billing and discounts should apply to all patients fairly and uniformly, regardless of their income or insurance status.
Ohio hospitals believe debt collection practices by hospitals and their contracted collection agencies should reflect the missions and values of the hospitals.

All OHA members are encouraged to submit written comments to the attorney general—preferably from their trustees—before the July 28 comment deadline. In addition, OHA is collecting comments from members (and hospitals' accounting firms and other partners), including specific examples of problems the rules would cause. Please share copies of letters and comments to Mary Gallagher, OHA's vice president and general counsel, at maryg@ohanet.org on or before July 25. Although OHA and non-hospital interested parties have requested an extension from the attorney general, OHA plans to communicate substantive issues with the proposal to the attorney general's staff on an ongoing basis. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)

CMS Reduces Proof-of-Citizenship Requirements for Medicaid Beneficiaries
On July 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that roughly 8 million of the nation’s 55 million Medicaid enrollees and applicants were exempt from a Deficit Reduction Act provision requiring them to prove their U.S. citizenship.

The new regulations will also accept database matches with state records for individuals whose citizenship is on record through information they provided when qualifying for such things as food stamps or drivers’ licenses. CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said these data matches could exempt more people from the proof of citizenship requirement.

The exemption will lift the unreasonable burden on elderly, mentally impaired and other patients who would have difficulty documenting U.S. citizenship. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)

Thursday, July 13, 2006
JCAHO Issues New Requirement for Laboratories
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization’s Accreditation Committee has approved a new Accreditation Participation Requirement (APR) for the laboratory program, effective immediately. The APR requires laboratories to comply with a predetermined process for resolving unsuccessful proficiency testing.

New requirements include establishing a timeframe for submission of the Plan of Action following unsuccessful proficiency testing. This requirement would impact hospitals that have received notification from JCAHO about unsuccessful proficiency testing and have complied with a notice to cease testing due to repeated lack of successful testing or a failure to provide an acceptable Plan of Action. As with the current process for resolving initial unsuccessful proficiency testing, JCAHO will send an e-mail to the laboratory contact designated in the electronic application. The message will contain a request for the written Plan of Action and provide detailed instructions for submissions. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)

Hospital Associates Invited to Free Pandemic Planning Meeting
The Business Continuity Professionals Working in Healthcare Organizations will conduct a free Pandemic Planning meeting for hospital and health system information technology and emergency preparedness staff members at Platform Lab in Columbus July 20 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Marshal Bickert of the Central Ohio Trauma System will speak on Pandemic Planning in Central Ohio and additional sessions will allow participants to collaborate on the crate of a detailed Table of Contents for a health care organization’s pandemic plan. Participants are encouraged to bring draft and notes to use in brainstorming with peers. For more information contact Robin Schiffer at 419.526.8059. Visit www.platformlab.org/ for directions and to learn about Platform Lab. (Kim Keiser, kimk@ohanet.org; Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org)

Last Call for Donations to the Care Fund
At the end of July, the accepting of donations for The Care Fund will come to a close. The Care Fund is an effort established by Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama hospital associations last year to assist hospitals and their families recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The fund has assisted roughly 10,000 people by raising more than $3 million. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.TheCareFund.net. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org)

Friday, July 14, 2006
Hospitals Lead the Way
Ohio hospitals continue to receive credit for their outstanding accomplishments. U.S. News & World Report released its Best Hospitals 2006 list, including 16 Ohio, at www.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/tophosp.htm. Hospitals & Health Networks named the 100 Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems, recognizing Akron General Medical Center; Mercy Health Partners, Toledo; and Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Society for Human Resource Management released their rankings for the 2006 Best Employers in Ohio, including Southern Ohio Medical Center, Portsmouth; The MetroHealth System, Cleveland; and Catholic Healthcare Partners, Cincinnati.

Summa Health System, Akron, was recently given a Premier Award for Quality in the both of the areas acute myocardial infarction and heart failure. Mercy Medical Center, Springfield, was awarded in the area of coronary artery bypass graft.

Lake Hospital System, Painesville, was named a finalist in the large hospital category in HealthLeaders Media’s 2005 Top Leadership Teams in Health Care awards program.

Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, recently received a three-year accreditation for its stroke rehabilitation program from the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) recently accredited the Ashtabula County Medical Center, Ashtabula, and JCAHO awarded a two-year certification of distinction to The Ohio State University Medical Center’s Lung Volume Reduction Surgery program. Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, was awarded a three-year accreditation from the American College of Radiology in ultrasound, and Greene Memorial Hospital’s HealthPark Imaging at Beavercreek HealthPark received a three-year accreditation in mammography. (Mary Sterenberg, marys@ohanet.org)