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Ohio Reps Support Amendment to Protect Medicare Reimbursement to Hospitals The overwhelming majority of the U.S. House of Representatives last week voted in favor of an amendment to the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill that would prevent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from cutting as much as $24 billion from inpatient hospital services. At OHA’s encouragement, all Ohio representatives supported the amendment. The amendment, offered by Reps. John Lewis (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Jerry Weller (R-IL), would prohibit CMS from prospectively implementing the 2.4 percent “behavioral offset” that would cut Medicare payments for hospital services by $24 billion – reducing Medicare reimbursement to Ohio hospitals by an estimated $117 million in the first year implemented. The amendment also requires that CMS delay for one year implementation of the Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Groups, as required in the proposed inpatient prospective payment system rule for FY 2008. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org) Win an iPod Shuffle or $75 Target gift card! We need YOU to help us give HEALTH e-NEWS Plus a facelift… You may be among the HEALTH e-NEWS readers selected to participate in a brief survey as we work to ensure this publication contains the information and resources you want most. Look for an e-mail from HEALTH e-NEWS this week and offer your feedback for a chance to win your choice of an iPod Shuffle or a $75 Target gift card. Thanks in advance!
QUIT LINE Provides Kits for Maternal and Child Health Providers The Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation’s (OTPF) Ohio Tobacco QUIT LINE (1.800.QUIT.NOW), a free telephone counseling service, is offering a free Maternal and Child Health Provider’s Quit Kit. The kit is designed to help maternal and child health care providers incorporate tobacco cessation into wellness exams for mothers and women of childbearing age. Low birth weights, pre-term delivery and perinatal deaths are linked to smoking during pregnancy, and an OTPF study showed that 80 to 90 percent of women who do quit during pregnancy relapse within 12 months of childbirth. The effects of tobacco use continue as the child grows through exposure to secondhand smoke, which can cause asthma, chronic ear infections, respiratory infections and a lower level of lung function among otherwise healthy children. The Maternal and Child Health Provider Quit Kit includes a health care provider reference sheet and PowerPoint CD containing protocols for advising women of childbearing age or new parents to quit tobacco. Also including in the kit are office posters, patient brochures, a quick reference pocket card for health care providers and fax referral forms to easily refer patients ready to quit to the Ohio Tobacco QUIT LINE. Obstetricians, gynecologists, family physicians, neonatal professionals and pediatricians have a unique opportunity to influence patients and parents of young patients about quitting and direct them to the Ohio Tobacco QUIT LINE for help. To find out more about QUIT LINE and the new Quit Kits, which are available free-of-charge, go to www.ohioquits.com.
Wednesday,
July 25, 2007 OHA has intervened in a case before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) involving a proposal by FirstEnergy to establish a bidding process that would determine electric rates after 2008 for hospitals serviced by Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating and Toledo Edison Companies. OHA staff and consultants expect the outcome of such an "energy auction" to be rates near market prices, which have sometimes been volatile. The FirstEnergy proposal and OHA's Motion to Intervene are available on the PUCO Web site at http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/CaseRecord.aspx?CaseNo=07-0796. A summary of the FirstEnergy proposal is available at http://www.ohanet.org/energy/. FirstEnergy joins Duke Energy Ohio in proposing rate plans after 2008, and American Electric Power Company is expected to file its proposal soon. Dayton Power & Light Company is operating under a rate stabilization plan that does not end until 2010, though all of the utilities' plans may be affected by legislation that is expected to be introduced in August. OHA intervened in the Duke case last September and information about that case is available at http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/CaseRecord.aspx?Caseno=06-0986&link=DIVA. OHA is asking all hospitals to complete a short survey on electricity usage and expense. The survey results will be anonymous and will be used for advocacy purposes and to provide hospitals with benchmarks. Information about the survey and a link to the Web-based survey will be available on OHA's energy page at http://www.ohanet.org/energy/. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org) Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2007 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Sandy
Delzeith
A look
inside Sandy’s nomination
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Hospitals Lead the Way Hospitals across Ohio continue to receive local and national attention for outstanding performance, achievement and care. Ten Ohio hospitals were recognized for their exemplary care and reputation in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of “America’s Best Hospitals.” The Cleveland Clinic, ranking fourth overall, appeared on the Honor Roll for high scores in 13 specialties while nine other Ohio hospitals appeared on one or more of the specialty lists. The U.S. News bases its lists on a hospital’s reputation, mortality rates and other care-related factors including technology, patient and community services, nursing care and certifications. Visit the U.S. News & World Report Web site for a complete list. McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital, Oxford, received a Certificate of Achievement from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation for outstanding safety performance during 2006 based on few occasions of lost time due to work-related injuries or illness. Several Ohio hospitals were recognized with Premier healthcare alliance’s first-ever Supply Chain Excellence awards for achieving superior supply expense performance. A complete list of winners is available online. Voluntary Hospital of America (VHA) recently presented Southern Ohio Medical Center, Portsmouth, with the VHA Leadership Award for demonstrating extraordinary levels of performance in clinical excellence for care of acute heart attacks and for congestive heart failure care. Twenty Ohio hospitals were named Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Blue Distinction is a nationwide program that aims to create health care transparency for consumers and providers and is based on clinical data supplied by hospitals. A complete list is available on the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Web site. Good Samaritan Hospital, Dayton, was the first hospital in the nation to receive disease-specific certifications in breast cancer care and coronary artery bypass graft procedures from the Joint Commission. Deaconess Hospital, Cincinnati, recently earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval by demonstrating compliance with national standards for health care quality and safety. Several Ohio hospitals were named to the 2007 Most Wired list, released by the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals & Health Networks journal, for embracing technology as a key tool for health care quality improvements. Akron General Medical Center; Mercy Health Partners, Cincinnati; ProMedica Health System, Toledo; and The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, received Most Wired honors, while Clinton Memorial Hospital, Wilmington, was recognized as Most Improved. University Hospitals, Cleveland, was also honored with the 2007 Innovator Award. (Mary Sterenberg, marys@ohanet.org) Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2007 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award Lynn C. Wright, BSN AHC Clinical Care Coordinator, Victor J. Cassano Health Center Grandview Medical Center Dayton View photo
A look
inside Sandy’s nomination
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For more
information about Living Today, Planning for Tomorrow, visit
the
OHA Web site. To learn more about advance directives,
see the
OHPCO Web site. If you are planning an event or
otherwise promoting Living Today, Planning for Tomorrow,
please contact Rick Sites at
ricks@ohanet.org.
RNs Should
Destroy, Return License Duplicates © 2001-2008 OHA. Last updated
January 03, 2008. |
