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Monday, May 28, 2007
OHA offices are closed for the Memorial Day holiday.

 

Tuesday, May 29, 2007
 OHA Annual Meeting Offers New Programming, Events
The 2007 OHA Annual Meeting introduces several new professional development tracks and events. New additions this year include:

  •  A full day of programming focused on governance on Monday, June 18
    (Leadership for Quality – the Baldrige Journey; Ensuring Leadership Continuity: Succession Planning Strategies and Tactics; Best Practices in Developing Enduring and Productive Board/CEO Relationships – Improving Your Odds; The Governance Challenge: Unleashing the Power of Purposeful Governance)

  • A full day of programming targeted for small and rural hospitals on Wednesday, June 20
    (Physician/Hospital Relations: Panel Discussion; How Did They Do it? Visioning, Financing & Building a New Critical Access Hospital; Collaborative Relationships with Physicians)

  • Programming specifically for teaching hospitals on Wednesday, June 20
    (Graduate Medical Education: The Basic Elements; Current Controversies in Graduate Medical Education)

  • A Leadership Luncheon on Wednesday, June 20, presented by OHA in concert with the Ohio Department of Health. Director of Health Alvin Jackson, M.D., will speak at the luncheon and will present the inaugural David Hendershot Rural Health Promotion Award.

Visit www.ohanet.org/annualmeeting/default.asp to read more about specific sessions, learn about special events or register for this year’s Annual Meeting. (Joe Ruggles, joer@ohanet.org)

 

Hospitals’ Heartbeat
A 2007 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award

Wilma Payne

Patient Care Associate, Medical/Surgical Unit and Hospice Care

Berger Health System

Circleville

View photo

 

A look inside Wilma’s nomination –
Wilma is a patient care associate at Berger Health System, where she assists nursing staff with changing linens, giving baths and serving meals. A selfless, humble woman, Wilma is known for treating her patients like family, and always gives that little bit of extra time to make them feel special. At age 70, her deep commitment to service and strong personal values are reflected daily at both work and home. She made an ultimate gift of “giving back” when she took on the responsibility to raise her two grandchildren in 1991, when her daughter died at the young age of 29.
 

Wednesday, May 30, 2007
 CMS Notice Outlines the Sharing of NPI Data with Providers
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today published a notice in the Federal Register describing how it will share National Provider Identifier (NPI) data with health care providers and others who need it to process claims for payment. The notice, available at www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvidentStand/Downloads/DataDisseminationNPI.pdf, also describes what NPI data in the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System will be disclosed and under what conditions.

CMS will post NPI data online starting June 28 as a downloadable file and will update the data monthly. The information will also be available in an online query-only database whereby users can query by NPI or provider name. Health care providers who have been assigned NPIs are encouraged to review their data now and make any necessary updates or corrections before June 28. Providers that wish to delete any non-mandatory data may do so before June 28.

 

May 23 was the deadline for health care providers and most health plans to implement NPIs for standard electronic transactions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, a recently-announced CMS contingency plan allowed entities that acted in good faith to become NPI compliant to accept legacy numbers through May 23, 2008. More information on the NPI is available at www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvidentStand/. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org)

Thursday, May 31, 2007
 OHA Announces Health Care Worker Nominees
OHA this week publicly announced the 86 hospital nominees for OHA’s Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award in a statewide media advisory. Recipients of OHA’s Health Care Leadership Awards and Hospital Safety Awards were also announced. All Health Care Worker of the Year nominees, along with co-workers, friends and family, are invited to attend the OHA Recognition Dinner June 18 at the Hilton Columbus at Easton. Requests for reserved seating must be received by JUNE 11. Groups of 8 or more, including the nominee, may request reserved seating using the OHA Annual Meeting registration form or by registering online. All nominees must be registered for the event. Hospitals are encouraged to cover the cost of their nominee’s registration for the event. Tables are set for 10. (Tiffany Himmelreich, tiffanyh@ohanet.org)

ODH Proposes Changes to Radioactive Materials Rules
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is seeking comments on its proposal to delete certain requirements from the regulation that addresses payment of fees for radioactive material licenses, license amendments and license renewals. The proposed change does not affect radioactive material fees, which have not increased in several years. ODH requests comments by June 29. The draft proposed rule is available on the ODH Web site at www.odh.ohio.gov/rules/drafts/drafts.aspx. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

Hospitals’ Heartbeat
A 2007 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award

Colleen Abrams, BSMT (ASCP), CLS, NCA
Infection Control Coordinator
Blanchard Valley Health System
Findlay
View photo

A look inside Colleen’s nomination –
Colleen is a role model for all that Blanchard Valley Health System embraces on a daily basis. She is an effective, dynamic educator and leader in traditional and non-traditional venues. Colleen has an incredible ability to make a person feel worthwhile and armed with ways to make a difference. She is a consummate supporter of customer service in health care and always keeps the patient’s experience as her top priority. Her commitment to quality is evident as she researches, reports, educates and develops best practices for our organization. Because of Colleen’s attention to detail, she's not only grown the infection control department into one of the finest resources at BVHS but has also commanded the respect she deserves as a key player in quality care and ultimately in organizational success. 

Friday, June 1, 2007
 Senate Passes Shaken Baby Legislation
The Ohio Senate unanimously passed legislation to establish the Shaken Baby Syndrome Education Program this week. Senate Bill 144, sponsored by Sen. Steve Stivers (R-Columbus), would require the Ohio Department of Health director to convene a group of experts to assist the department in developing education materials on Shaken Baby Syndrome. The department will provide the materials on its Web site enabling child birth educators, pediatricians and obstetricians, hospitals and child care centers to educate expecting or new parents. 

OHA supports the legislation because it will provide meaningful resources to parents in multiple settings without imposing an operational burden on already-busy hospital maternity units. It also establishes a tracking system to monitor the program’s effectiveness. View an OHA letter in support of SB 144. The bill now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives for further consideration. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)

ODH Releases Final Health Care Service Rules
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) released the final version of modified rules that regulate health care services such as organ transplant, pediatric catheterization and pediatric cardiovascular surgery. OHA requested changes to the proposed rules regarding the definition of “interference with an inspection or investigation,” but these changes were not implemented. Hospitals are advised to review the revised definition of “interference with an inspection or investigation” in OAC 3701-84-03(B) which can be found on the ODH Web site at www.odh.ohio.gov/rules/final/f3701-84.aspx.

OHA also urged ODH to keep rules consistent with Joint Commission standards, and to meet periodically with health care service providers to review regulations in order to determine if they are workable and embody best practices. ODH did not respond to these general requests but otherwise OHA supported the proposed changes as did the Ohio Solid Organ Transplant Consortium. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

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