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January 8, 2007
Flu Vaccine Importance Remains High, Funding Supports Research for New Drug Ohio has experienced a slow start to the flu season, but OHA encourages providers to consider vaccinating throughout January and beyond as flu rates typically peak in February or later. Portions of the country currently are seeing widespread activity. Learn more about ongoing flu activity at www.fluwatch.com and www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/. Hospitals are reminded they should contact Robert Daley, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicces Non-Long-Term Care Branch Manager for Region V in Chicago, if they need a bed waiver because of seasonal illnesses in order to provide care to Medicare patients. Contact OHA for more information. On a related note, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently awarded a $102.6 million, four-year contract to BioCyst Pharmaceuticals to develop its influenza antiviral drug peramivir. The funding will support continued studies on whether peramivir can effectively treat seasonal and life-threatening influenza, including the highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain. In addition, studies will determine with the drug can be administered through intravenous or intramuscular injection—especially useful treating patients with life-threatening influenza in hospital emergency departments. To facilitate the approval process, the Food and Drug Administration also gave peramivir a “fast-track” designation. For more information on flu-related news, visit www.ohanet.org/flu/index.html. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org; Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org) Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
John E. Hughes
A look inside
John’s nomination – St. Elizabeth hire him. Fortunately for us and our patients this was done. John has kept that caring and compassionate manner that he had as an orderly in 1971 through every position he has had to this day. Whenever anyone finds themselves in a challenging or critical patient care situation, whether in the community or within our system, they call John, day or night, to help them out and know he’ll be there without question. Regardless of the circumstance the patient may be in, John does everything he can to provide assistance while helping each patient maintain or restore their dignity. CMS Tracks Provider Satisfaction Beginning this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will distribute its Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey to 35,000 Medicare providers. The 15-minute survey is designed to gauge satisfaction levels with key services performed by fee-for-service contractors and focuses on provider communications, provider injuries, claims processing, appeals, provider enrollment, medical review, and provider audit and reimbursement. Providers will have until February to submit their responses via Web site, mail, fax or over the telephone. More information about the survey and results of the 2006 survey are available online at www.cms.hhs.gov/MCPSS/. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org) Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Kelly Novicki, RN, BSN Pediatrics St. Rita’s Medical Center Lima
A look inside Kelly’s nomination – Kelly was the nurse of a 7 year old boy, who, along with his parents, was involved in a serious car accident. The parents were Life Flighted to a hospital in Toledo, Ohio. The boy was sent to St.Rita’s Medical Center in Lima, Ohio. The family was from Canada. With no other family members available, Kelly spent as much time with the boy as she could on the job and on her own time. When the boy was to be transferred to Toledo to be with his family, she even volunteered to ride in the ambulance with him on her own time so he would be with someone he knew and not be afraid. Kelly received a Legend of St. Rita’s Award for her actions. Her nomination stated, “I’m sure this boy’s parents will never forget the wonderful care and compassion that Kelly showed their son when they were unable to be with him.”
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Last fall, Ohio voters approved Issue 2, billed as “The Ohio Fair Minimum Wage Amendment,” and in December the Ohio General Assembly passed legislation that attempts to provide some clarity to Ohio’s employers. Though the new bill will not become effective until April, hospitals and other employers should comply with the provisions immediately as the minimum wage amendment took effect Jan. 1. The amendment raised Ohio’s minimum wage for most employees from $5.15 to $6.85, but existing exemptions under Ohio law and the Fair Labor Standards Act still apply. An important distinction for hospitals: employers are not required to pay “volunteers” for their time. The most significant change for hospitals is that employers are now required to keep records of the name, address, occupation, pay rate, hours worked for each day worked and each amount paid an employee for at least three years from the last date the employee was employed. They must disclose these records, upon request, to the employee or someone acting on his or her behalf. Hospitals and other employers can require that requests be in writing, signed by the employee and notarized. They are only required to release the information to someone who received express authorization from the employee to request the information. For more information on the requirements for employers, as well as the penalties for failing to comply, view an OHA member bulletin at www.ohanet.org/Bulletins/. (Nancy Falk, nancyf@ohanet.org) Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Craig
Myers, RRT, RN
A look
inside Craig’s nomination –
Thursday,
January 11, 2007 OhioHealth was named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE magazine. Three Ohio hospitals made CHILD magazine’s list of the Top 10 Children’s Hospitals in the nation: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Columbus Children’s Hospital and Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, Cleveland. Akron Children’s Hospital was recognized as a runner-up. Three Aultman Hospital intensive care units earned the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Aultman Hospital also received the Distinguished Design Award from the American Institute of Architects – Akron Chapter, for its new building that houses the emergency and trauma department, heart center and birth center. The American Heart Association honored University Hospitals, Cleveland, with a Sustained Performance Award, and awarded Annual Performance Achievement Awards to Fairview Hospital, Cleveland; The MetroHealth System, Cleveland; and University Medical Center, Medical University of Ohio, Toledo. The Cleveland Clinic received $60 million in Third Frontier funds to establish the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center – the state’s first Wright Mega-Center of Innovation – to develop new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat heard disease. The first class of 19 registered nurses graduated in December from Cuyahoga Community College’s Nursing Program at Parma Hospital. The hospital and college partnered in 2005 to help address the country’s nursing shortage and ensure the hospital has the nursing staff to care for patients. Pauline King, a registered nurse and director of children’s programs at the Ohio State University Medical Center’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, was recognized for outstanding patient care with one of four New York Times Job Market “Tribute to Nurses” awards. King and the three other winners were featured in a special advertising section in The New York Times Magazine. (Mary Sterenberg, marys@ohanet.org)
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
Sr. June Ketterer, SGM
A look inside Sr.
June’s nomination –
Friday, January 12, 2007 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week waived the late enrollment penalty for Medicare Part D beneficiaries eligible for the low-income subsidy. Those who qualify for the subsidy now can join a prescription drug plan anytime before Dec. 31, 2007, even if they failed to sign up during their initial enrollment period. Typically, Medicare beneficiaries who are qualified to join a prescription drug plan, or Part D, but choose not to enroll during their initial enrollment period may be subject to a late enrollment penalty. The agency also waived the penalty for low-income beneficiaries last year, when the prescription drug benefit was launched. For more information, call the Social Security Administration at 1.800.772.1213 or visit www.socialsecurity.gov.
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