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OHA Encourages Hospitals to Recognize National Preparedness Month September is National Preparedness Month, an initiative that aims to educate and encourage Americans to take steps to prepare their homes, schools and businesses for emergencies. OHA has joined with the Ohio Homeland Security Department to plan statewide events in recognition of National Preparedness Month in Scioto, Lucas and Butler counties and at the Ohio Statehouse. OHA also is asking hospitals to designate the month of September “Preparedness Month” at their facility in an effort to help staff and their families prepare. Hospitals are encouraged to inform staff about small steps they can take to prepare, such as building an emergency supply kit and discussing emergency plans with children. OHA this week is sending a toolkit to hospital disaster preparedness personnel with educational materials to help hospitals prepare their staff for disasters. Additional information can be downloaded in PDF format from www.ready.gov or ordered from the Federal Emergency Management Agency warehouse at 1.800.480.2520. (Maggie Williams, maggiew@ohanet.org)
Hospitals Testify Health Care Reform Committee Hearings Statewide Hospital representatives from The MetroHealth System, Community Health Partners and Belmont Pines Hospital provided testimony last night to the joint House-Senate committee on health care reform. The newly-created Ohio House Health Access & Affordability Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Raussen (R-Cincinnati), teamed with the Ohio Senate Health, Human Services and Aging Committee to explore the issue of health care reform, holding the first of five summer hearings last night. At last night’s hearing in Cleveland, CEO of The MetroHealth System John Sideras spoke about the system’s charity care as well as the importance of prevention and the system’s use of community health centers. (View testimony) Jill Barber, regional manager of managed care contracting with Community Health Partners, offered testimony on the challenge presented by the growing number of under- and uninsured as well as the need for improved chronic care management, wise drug purchasing and utilization strategies, and enhanced use of technologies. (View testimony) George Perry with Belmont Pines Hospital outlined for the committee the negative impact of the Medicaid recalibration and the critical need for adequate children’s mental health services. The second hearing is slated for tonight in Toledo, where Randy Oostra, president and COO with ProMedica Health System, and Sister Dorothy Thum, regional vice president of mission & values integration with Mercy Health Partners, will speak on the jointly-sponsored CareNet program. Remaining hearings will be held Aug. 6 in Zanesville, Aug. 7 in Springfield and Aug. 8 in Sharonville. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org) OHA Center
for Education LOCATION CHANGE: OHA’s Aug. 10 seminar JCAHO Medical Staff Standards and Performance Monitoring has been relocated to the Embassy Suites Hotel Columbus/Dublin at 5100 Upper Metro Place to accommodate a larger than expected number of registrants. Register for this seminar online or download a registration form.
Wednesday,
August 1, 2007
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
A look
inside Deb’s nomination
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2008 Medicare Inpatient Hospital PPS Final Rule Released On Aug. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posted its final rule on the 2008 Medicare Inpatient Hospital Prospective Payment System (IHPPS). The rule includes both a phased-in introduction to severity-adjusted diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) and a 50-percent reduction to the proposed Medicare payment cut to account for "behavioral offset". The 2008 IHPPS goes into effect Oct. 1.
Overall,
CMS is increasing IHPPS payments by 3.3 percent for
hospitals that submit data on 27 quality measures, but it
will reduce that update by 1.2 percent in 2008 and 1.8
percent in 2009 to account for better hospital coding in
response to the introduction of severity-adjusted DRGs. CMS
initially proposed to reduce Medicare updates in 2008 and
2009 by 2.4 percent to account for "coding creep," but its
perceived compromise will not be received well by the
hospital industry, or many members of Congress, which
protested loudly about the unwarranted, multi-billion
dollar payment cut that will result from the offset. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 is hosting a Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Compliance and Technical Assistance Training session Sept.12 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Metcalfe Federal Building in Chicago. The purpose of the training is to introduce hospital representatives to RCRA regulations and compliance and technical assistance tools that support sustainable hospitals. The deadline for registration is Aug. 20. View an agenda and registration information. (Susan Zabo, susanz@ohanet.org) Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2007 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award Carole LaJeunesse, RN Registered Nurse, Emergency Trauma Center Greene Memorial Hospital Xenia View photo A look inside Carole’s nomination - Carole embodies the essence of nursing. A loving, supportive, caring, knowledgeable, and nurturing person, Carole, age 71, is essential to the Greene Memorial Hospital Emergency Trauma Center team. Last year, Carole celebrated 50 years as a registered nurse. Known as "Momma Carole,” she consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty to share her passion for nursing with both patients and co-workers. She is an exceptional caregiver who is always supportive of change. Through 50 years of nursing, Carole has not remained stagnant in her knowledge; instead, she is constantly renewing her training skills and expanding her responsibilities at Greene Memorial Hospital. Carole is dedicated to her family of eight children and works to continually make Greene County a better place through volunteering.
These are new programs to be implemented in the coming months at Fostoria Community Hospital (FCH), a member of the ProMedica Health System in Toledo, as part of its Grass Roots Green initiative. The activities of the Grass Roots Green initiative were developed this week by a Design Team comprised of FCH employees, volunteers and board members. The initiative, a partnership between the hospital, FCH and ProMedica, is the first of its kind under a new program being offered by OHA. The program, approved by the OHA Board in January, looks to assist member hospitals in creating and nurturing a culture of engagement, whereby hospitals effectively communicate and educate throughout all levels of the organization ways to bring about change in a positive manner. While ProMedica is engaging employees, volunteers and others in grassroots advocacy, participating hospitals are encouraged to identify any area in which they want to work with key stakeholders to bring about change, including community and civic involvement, leadership development or employee and patient satisfaction. "The Grass Roots Green initiative may very well be the single most impactful initiative I have been involved in throughout my career affecting recipients of health care services," said Tim Jackacki, FCH president and a member of the Design Team. To learn more about this new program, visit http://www.ohasolutions.com/services/Grassroots/default.asp. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org).
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
Barbara
Wilson © 2001-2008 OHA. Last updated
January 03, 2008. |
