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January 1, 2007
OHA offices closed. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last month published its final rule on patients’ rights related to restraints and seclusion. Beginning Jan. 8, 2007, all short-term, psychiatric, rehabilitation, long-term, children’s and alcohol/drug treatment facilities and all other hospitals participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs must follow the Hospital Conditions of Participation, Patients’ Rights final rule, available online at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/06-9559.htm. The final rule revises an interim final regulation issued in 1999. The rule requires more rigorous training for health care staff who employ restraints and seclusion to curb violent or self-destructive behavior, and adds registered nurses and physician assistants to the category of practitioners who may conduct the “face-to-face” evaluation required within an hour of a patient’s restraint. The rule requires hospitals to provide patients or their family members with a formal notice of their rights on admission. It also imposes more strict standards for facilities reporting a death associated with restraint or seclusion. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Noreen Molek Trauma Nurse Coordinator Southwest General Health Center Middleburg Heights
A look inside Noreen’s nomination – “Compassionate about most everything in life – work, family and friends” – that’s how one of Noreen Molek’s co-workers describes her. Others might add “passionate”. Her work with patients and families in crisis is often cited as an example for others. She values each interaction as an opportunity to enhance people’s experiences and make their lives a little better. She is willing to do whatever it takes to make the critical difference. No job is too small for her to tackle personally. She is respected by her co-workers as an example of nursing professionalism. She is admired by her supervisors and those in the community for her ability to get the job done well. She is valued by her friends for her sincere interest in their lives.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007 REMINDER: This Friday, Jan. 5, is the deadline to submit speaker proposals for OHA’s 2007 Annual Meeting (June 18-20). Submit a proposal or find Annual Meeting updates at www.ohanet.org/annualmeeting/. Bush Signs Emergency Prep Bill President George W. Bush signed into law the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act to improve emergency preparedness and renew a bioterrorism law enacted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The main focus of the legislation is to centralize federal control for responding to public health emergencies. It authorizes $474 million in 2007 to help hospitals and other health care facilities improve surge capacity and $35 million in hospital grants for improved real-time disease detection. Additionally, the bill requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop a plan to protect health care workers and first responders from workplace exposures during a public health emergency. State hospital associations, including OHA, and the American Hospital Association worked closely with the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) to ensure the legislation strengthens the nation’s public health emergency preparedness. For more information, visit www.prepareohio.com. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org) Ohio Health Systems Receive $1.8 Million to Establish Cessation Centers The Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation (OTPF) Board of Trustees has awarded $1.8 million to establish five Cessation Centers in major health systems in Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown. The Cleveland Clinic, The Ohio State University Health System, Kettering Medical Center Network, ProMedica Health System and Humility of Mary Health Partners will establish Cessation Centers with the goal of integrating the delivery of tobacco cessation services into their health care systems. They will create processes to identify all tobacco users and provide brief counseling to quit, provide direct intensive cessation counseling in group and individual settings at no cost to the patient, and work toward third party payment for tobacco treatment. OTPF’s Board also approved more than $12 million in one-year community grants to conduct local tobacco prevention, cessation and policy change programming in 78 Ohio counties. These funds support Ohio minority community-based organizations, health departments, hospitals and other agencies to conduct direct youth tobacco prevention and local adult cessation services, advocate for tobacco-free school and worksite campuses, create and maintain coalitions and other activities to reduce tobacco use. Visit www.otpf.org for specific grant awards or www.otpf.org/news/news.aspx?id=9882 to view a news release with more information. Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Geraldo Ramos
A look inside
Geraldo’s nomination –
Thursday, January 4, 2007 Resolve to Nominate Hospital’s Best The New Year brings new opportunity to honor your facility’s finest through OHA’s 2007 Health Care Leadership Awards or Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award. Nominations must be made electronically using an official nomination form – one form for the Health Care Worker of the Year Award and a separate form for the eight Health Care Leadership Awards – to awards@ohanet.org by Feb. 9, 2007. Find more information and download the nomination forms at www.ohanet.org/annualmeeting/Awards/. All honorees will be celebrated as part of OHA’s Annual Meeting June 18-20 at the Hilton Columbus at Easton. (Tiffany Himmelreich, tiffanyh@ohanet.org) ODH Requests Comments on Draft Quality Rules The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) posted draft rules that propose changes to the "health care services" regulations, also known as "quality" or "patient safety" regulations, first enacted in 1996. The rules apply to organ and bone marrow transplant, adult and pediatric cardiac catheterization, open heart, pediatric cardiovascular surgery, pediatric intensive care, and linear accelerator, cobalt radiation, or gamma knife services. One proposed change is expansion of the definition of "interference with an inspection" to include "delay of access to premises or records...upon presentation of official department identification."
Hospitals with any of these services should review the draft rules and submit comments to ODH and forward a copy to Rick Sites with OHA at ricks@ohanet.org. The draft rules and comment instructions are posted on the ODH Web site at www.odh.ohio.gov/rules/drafts/3701-84.aspx. Comments should be submitted to ODH by Jan. 22. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Margaret Prebonick, RN Emergency Department St. Joseph Health Center Warren
A look inside Margaret’s nomination – Margaret Prebonick exhibits great leadership skills. Margaret began working at St. Joseph Health Center over fifteen years ago. Physicians and nursing staff in the Emergency Department at St. Joseph’s Health Center believe that Margaret is a very knowledgeable and competent Registered Nurse. She shares her knowledge and ensures that the emergency nursing staff is utilizing the most current nursing processes. Margaret accomplishes this through her work on the Nursing Education Council at Humility of Mary Health Partners (HMHP). Most recently Margaret assisted with implementing an Emergency Department Skills Day. The Skills Day incorporated many various procedures that nurses perform. Nurses were able to spend the day manipulating complex equipment and sharpen their skills. The nurses expressed their appreciation for this opportunity to learn.
Friday, January 5, 2007 Supreme Court Ruling Permits Medical Bill Write-Offs as Evidence In December, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a ruling in Robinson v. Bates, a case determining whether a plaintiff could be awarded the amount billed for medical care rather than the discounted amount the provider accepted as payment in full. The Court of Appeals for Hamilton County previously ruled that only the medical bill was admissible – possibly misleading a jury to believe the entire amount of billed charges should be included in any damages awarded to the plaintiff. The Supreme Court ruled that the jury can examine both billed and paid discounted charges and determine the “reasonable value” of the medical services that should be included in damages. OHA, the Ohio State Medical Association and the Ohio Osteopathic Association made an amici curiae appearance to argue that the discounted medical care should be admitted into evidence. They also argued that the plaintiff should not be permitted to recover as damages more than the discounted charges accepted by the provider as payment. Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton agreed in a dissent to that portion of the ruling, saying she would not permit the plaintiff to recover more than the paid charges. View the case at www.sconet.state.oh.us/Communications_Office/summaries/2006/1220/050998.asp. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org) Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Mary Cheney, RN,
ANP
A look inside
Mary’s nomination –
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January 03, 2008. |
