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January 15, 2007
Ohio Receives $2 Million Grant for Alternatives to Institutional Care The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week awarded Ohio with a more than $2 million grant for demonstration programs that will help build Medicaid long-term programs to keep people in the community and out of institutions. Ohio is among 17 states to receive a total of more than $23 million in grants. They will design programs with four major objectives:
With these grants, Ohio and the other participating states hope to transition more than 20,000 individuals from institutions into community settings. For more information, view a CMS news release. (Berna Bell, bernab@ohanet.org; Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org) U.S. House Passes Medicare Drug Bill The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation that would require the government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. As it moves to the Senate, the bill faces doubts from the president and others about whether it would provide savings for the elderly and disabled Americans who rely on Medicare. H.R. 4, sponsored by Rep. John Dingell (R-MI), overturns a portion of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act that allows private insurers that offer government-subsidized drug plans for seniors to negotiate drug prices, but not the federal government. H.R. 4 would give the government a larger role, requiring Mike Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to pursue negotiations with drug companies on behalf of all beneficiaries and report back to Congress in six months. President Bush has threatened a veto should the bill pass the U.S. Senate, and is joined by leading Republicans in Congress, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-West Chester). OHA will continue to track this legislation as the debate continues in Congress over whether the bill will reduce health care costs for Medicare beneficiaries. OHA supports any effort to reduce drug costs to the state’s elderly and disabled population that also protects vital hospital resources. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
Virginia L. Abell, RN, BA, CIC
A look inside
Virginia’s nomination – Virginia is seen as a vital resource not just within Summa Health System, but with her colleagues from other hospitals in the community. She is an active member of the Akron Regional Hospital Association (ARHA) Safety Directors Committee and Emergency Preparedness Committee and has demonstrated a commitment to local emergency and disaster planning through her involvement with the Summit County Emergency Management Agency Mass Casualty Planning Committee. She is currently vice chairman of the Summit County Local Emergency Planning Council and is a speaker, contributing author and grant peer reviewer for the Ohio Protection Agency (EPA). She is also a member of the Northeast Ohio Association for Professionals in Infection Control.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007 Nineteen Cincinnati-area hospitals today voluntarily released hospital-specific quality data for nine conditions as part of the Hospital Quality Improvement Project. In this morning’s news conference, the Greater Cincinnati Health Council released a report detailing each hospital’s quality performance for outcome measures, including length of stay and morbidity for these nine conditions and process measures for heart attack and congestive heart failure. The report also compares Cincinnati-area hospitals to state and national averages. The full report is available online at www.gchc.org in the Links section. Cincinnati ’s quality improvement project is similar to collaborative quality projects in Dayton and Columbus and among children’s hospitals, all of which bring together hospital quality management professionals, medical directors, practicing physicians and business leaders to examine ways to improve hospital care. (Mary Drake, maryd@ohanet.org)Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Kristine
Buffington, MSW, LISW
A look
inside Kristine’s nomination –
Kris is truly a champion for the survivor. With her oversight, The Cullen Center has seen over 450 cases since opening in 2002. Kris believes in offering as much help as the child and family needs to aid them in healing from a traumatic event, regardless of the number of visits or length of time it takes. “We owe it to children to do our best. As advocates, we cannot afford to lose someone’s life potential to trauma,” states Kris.
Thursday,
January 18, 2007 HPIO will present information on the Ohio Roadmap for health information technology and exchange. It will also describe the findings of the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC) in Ohio. This meeting aims to inform as well as gather input on the Roadmap and the HISPC project. To review the HPIO documents in advance, visit http://hispc.pbwiki.com/. (Kim Keiser, kimk@ohanet.org)
Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Mary A. Durfey, RN, BSN, MSN, BC Patient Care Director, Medical Surgical & Oncology The Toledo Hospital Toledo
A look inside Mary’s nomination –
Mary
Durfey, RN, has been a member of The Toledo Hospital family
for more than 20 years. A beloved member of the staff, Mary
is known throughout the hospital as a caring, and
compassionate nurse, mentor and leader. She is applauded by
hospital leadership and staff for her optimistic outlook,
warm and friendly personality and commitment to excellent
clinical care. Responsible for the Medical Surgical and
Oncology units, Mary believes that being a good nurse is
about finding fulfillment in the small moments that make
nursing a special vocation. “Nursing is all about caring –
caring for your patients, your co-workers, yourself. That
may seem like a simple statement, but it’s what I believe –
it’s the philosophy that has guided me throughout my
career,” she says.
The 2007 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study for hospital and health systems is accepting submissions until March 15. The survey, available at www.hhnmostwiredsurvey.com, helps health care organizations measure their information technology systems’ effectiveness. Every organization that submits a survey will receive a benchmarking analysis of its data compared to the 100 Most Wired. The survey measures hospital IT activities in five areas: business processes, customer service, safety and quality, workforce, and public health and safety. Participating hospitals may be named to the 2007 Hospitals & Health Networks list of the 100 Most Wired released in July 2007. Hospitals can also be named Most Improved, Most Wireless and Most Wired-Small and Rural. Hospitals with unique IT projects can compete in the Innovator Award essay contest to be named an Innovator winner of finalist. Further information on this award also is available at www.hhnmostwiredsurvey.com. © 2001-2008 OHA. Last updated
January 03, 2008. |
