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Monday, March 26, 2007
 Nominations Open for Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award
Cherokee Uniforms is now accepting applications for its Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award, which honors outstanding nurses and other non-physician health care professionals. To nominate a health care professional, visit www.CherokeeUniforms.com and submit a nomination by May 31. Candidates may be nominated in two of the following categories but can only win in one: registered nurses, advanced practice nurses, licensed practical nurses/licensed vocational nurses, students enrolled in schools of nursing, and other non-physician health care professionals. Random drawings will be held in March, April and May to give nominators a chance to win prices and Cherokee Uniforms also will make a donation for every person nominated through May 31 to the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Society and the Alzheimer’s Association. Winners will be announced in September.

A panel of nurse leaders, Cherokee professionals and former award recipients will choose winners and the grand prize winner in each category will receive an all-expense paid Caribbean cruise for two. Additional winners will receive all-expense-paid trips to a 2008 U.S. medical conference of their choice, an annual membership to their preferred clinical association and a donation of $500 to the nonprofit organization of their choice.

Commitment to Communities SPOTLIGHT
The efforts of Ohio’s hospitals – and the 300,000 people working in these facilities – go far beyond providing basic health care services. Below is one example of the many ways Ohio’s hospitals support their communities.

A Calling to Care
Parma Community General Hospital

Dee Buck was an uninsured woman relocating to Cleveland to start her own business when health problems sidelined her. The Parma Health Ministry – a service of Parma Hospital and Parma Christian Church that cares for local uninsured residents – provided Dee with the care she needed but could not afford. The program has handled more than 2,800 patient visits since its inception, and has diagnosed and treated patients for conditions ranging from cancer and heart disease to diabetes and hypertension. Parma Hospital provides all ancillary services at no charge; in 2005 the value of hospital contributions, including surgery and the use of services such as lab and x-ray, total $443,167.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007
 Hospitals Lead the Way
Ohio’s hospitals receive recognition not only for their ongoing quality of care but also for providing crucial on-the-spot health care services.

Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, appeared on the Feb. 11 edition of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC after treating a carpenter who was injured during the filming of the show. Riverside saved Ed Sanders’ hand, repairing nerves, tendons and arteries—with ABC documenting the entire process. Riverside also was named the 2007 Alliance Innovation Award winner by the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers in recognition of its Center for Medical Education and Innovation.

 

Aultman Hospital, Canton, and Sycamore Hospital, Miamisburg, were recognized by the J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Hospital Program for providing patients with an outstanding service experience. St. Elizabeth Health Center, a member of Humility of Mary Health Partners, was the only Ohio hospital to receive the 2006 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Energy. Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, received a three-year term of accreditation in Mammography Services from the American College of Radiology. Several Ohio health systems appeared on Verispan’s annual ranking of the most integrated health networks in the nation: ProMedica Health System ranked 3rd; TriHealth ranked 25th; University Hospitals ranked 37th; OhioHealth ranked 39th; Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati ranked 52nd; and MetroHealth System ranked 77th.

 

McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital, Oxford, earned the Quality Respiratory Care Recognition from the American Association for Respiratory Care. Community Mercy Health Partners’ Springfield Regional Cancer Care Program received a three-year accreditation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center received the 2007 Innovative Solutions Award from the Greater Cincinnati Health Council in recognition of its project to change the outcome of ventilator patients in critical care units.

 

Lakewood Hospital this year celebrates its centennial anniversary. To commemorate 100 years of putting patients first, Lakewood Hospital adopted the year-long theme “A Century of Touching Lives.” (Mary Sterenberg, marys@ohanet.org)
 

Wednesday, March 28, 2007
 U.S. Senate Passes Budget, Other Legislation Under Discussion
The federal budget and several other pieces of legislation with implications for Ohio’s hospitals continue to work their way through Congress.

The Senate passed their version of the budget resolution last week. The Senate version identifies 30-35 special reserves to pay for priorities such as SCHIP and Medicare physician payments but the language includes no dollar figures or details on where the funding will be obtained. As passed, the Senate resolution gives no direct indication of cuts to Medicare or Medicaid payments for hospitals. The House has not yet adopted its budget resolution. When the House version is passed, the two versions will be reconciled in conference committee, probably in the next several weeks.

Other budget resolution provisions with interest to Ohio hospitals include an amendment to raise the tobacco tax to help pay for SCHIP expansion, a tax cut amendment that, among other things, would devote $5 billion annually from 2010-2012 to help fund SCHIP, and an amendment that would begin the process of examining the Medicare wage index system. 

Congress is also debating an amendment that would prevent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing an onerous rule that would reduce reimbursement to public hospitals under the Medicaid Upper Payment Limit (UPL) program. The amendment also would stop CMS efforts to cut Medicaid Graduate Medical Education (GME) funds. To cover the $640 million cost of protecting GME funding, the amendment increases the amount drug companies would pay in rebates under Medicaid. Despite the pharmaceutical industry’s opposition, OHA and the American Hospital Association are strongly in favor of this amendment. The Senate is expected to decide the fate of this provision by Friday. Hospital advocates are asked to contact Senators George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown to urge their support of this amendment. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)

Thursday, March 29, 2007
 OHA Invites Hospital Reps to April 19 Energy Meeting
OHA invites all interested hospital facility operators to a three-hour natural gas, electricity and renewable energy meeting at the OHA offices in Columbus on April 19.  Lunches will be available at noon and the program will begin by 1 p.m. The tentative agenda includes:

  • Facility Profiling
  • Total Winter Requirements
  • Market Fundamentals Affecting Natural Gas Prices
  • Natural Gas Storage 101: An Orientation
  • Storage Logistics
  • Electricity Update and Renewable Energy Overview
  • Questions and Answers

Please RSVP for the meeting by contacting Rhonda Major-Mack at rhondam@ohanet.org or 614.221.7614. Lunches will be available only for those who RSVP and space is limited.

Stark Rules Delayed Another Year
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a one-year delay in the publication of Phase III of the Stark physician self-referral rules. CMS published Phase II of the rules March 26, 2004, as interim final rules with a public comment period. Federal law requires CMS to publish final rules within three years of publication of the proposed or interim final rule.  However, the agency can extend this deadline for one year in exceptional circumstances. CMS stated they received many public requests for clarification of and revisions to the regulations. In addition, the interagency coordination among CMS, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Inspector General calls for the extension. The interim final rule shall remain in effect until the earlier of publication of the Phase III rules or March 26, 2008. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)

Friday, March 30, 2007
 Appeals Court Upholds Hospitals' Victory in BWC Challenge
Today, the Tenth District Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's rulings in favor of OHA in its challenge of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation's hospital reimbursement rates for care to injured workers. OHA and its co-plaintiff, Genesis HealthCare System, Zanesville, filed the suit in 2005 claiming the bureau failed to follow rule-making processes in implementing $50 million in cuts to hospitals beginning Oct. 1, 2005.  The appellate court held that the bureau should have promulgated a rule for the reimbursement changes, and found the trial court properly issued a permanent injunction to stop the bureau from enforcing its improper rates. The state may request a review of the case by the Ohio Supreme Court. OHA is analyzing the decision as well as next steps.  Toledo firm Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP represents OHA in the case. View court filings in this case online at www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/issues/bwc_cuts.htm. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)

Coalition Seeks Family Stories to Support Expanded Medicaid Coverage
The Ohio Family Coverage Coalition is seeking family stories to share with the Ohio legislature that illustrate how important health care coverage is for children and adults. As the state legislature debates a two-year state budget bill that proposes expanding health care coverage to more Ohioans, the coalition hopes to provide real-life examples of the people who would benefit from this coverage, including:

  • Uninsured parents with incomes between 90 and 100 percent of the federal poverty level ($15,453 to $17,170 for a family of three; $18,585 to $20,650 for a family of four) and with children at home;
  • Working parents on Medicaid who has been able to keep working because of Medicaid;
  • Parents whose children have benefited from Medicaid;
  • Uninsured children in families with incomes between 200 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($34,340 to $51,510 for a family of three; $41,300 to $61,950 for a family of four) whose children could benefit from Medicaid eligibility;
  • Uninsured adults without dependents with incomes less than $115 per month and a chronic medical condition;
  • Uninsured working adults of modest means whose employer does not offer health insurance;
  • Small employers unable to afford health insurance for their employees.
 To provide information, contact Kathleen Gmeiner at kgmeiner@columbus.rr.com, 614.443.2845 or 800.875.3158. The Ohio Family Coverage Coalition is part of the Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio, which strives to provide high quality and affordable health care for all Ohioans through education and grassroots organizing.

© 2001-2008 OHA. Last updated January 03, 2008.
Please direct comments, corrections or additions to: oha@ohanet.org 614.221.7614.