Monday, February 25, 2008
Nominations Open Soon for Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award
Starting March 1, Cherokee Uniforms will accept 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 prizes and Cherokee Uniforms also
will make a donation for every person nominated through May 31 to
Nurses House, a national fund that provides short-term financial
assistance to registered nurses facing serious hardship. 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 2009 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.
Tuesday,
February 26, 2008
New
Funding to Help Employers Upgrade Skills of Current Employees
The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) will announce a new
incumbent worker training program this Monday, March 1. The program
will offer employers and regional groups of employers financial help
to train existing workers and upgrade their skills. Interested
employers must apply through the ODOD Office of Workforce and
Talent, sign a contract with ODOD and request reimbursement of
training costs upon completion of the training. Up to 50 percent of
the instruction costs will be reimbursed, including the cost of the
instructor and handout materials. Funding for this training will be
capped at $200,000 per requestor, with a maximum reimbursement of
$1,000 per employee.
Examples of qualified projects may include new training for radiology
providers to update their skills on new pieces of equipment, giving
nurses the skills needed to become nurse managers and other technical
upgrades for hospital caregivers.
For more details, visit the ODOD Web site starting next week or contact
the appropriate regional training coordinator. Visit
http://www.odod.state.oh.us/OITP.htm#reg1 to view a list of these
coordinators. (Jean Scholz,
jeans@ohanet.org)
Wednesday,
February 27, 2008
Cincinnati Area Hospitals Share Performance Data with Consumers Online
The Greater Cincinnati Health Council today launched a new Web site –
www.gchchospitalquality.org – to share with consumers how area
hospitals compare on performance measures related to heart attack,
congestive heart failure and pneumonia. Users can search by hospital to
find out how often a facility followed recommended care guidelines for
these conditions, average length of hospital stay for nine conditions
and mortality for the same nine conditions.
“The Web site demonstrates the commitment area hospitals have to
transparency and accountability,” said Colleen O’Toole, PhD, council
president. The data collection effort is part of the Hospital Quality
Improvement Project, a joint quality improvement initiative of the
Health Council and the Ohio Hospital Association. “For hospitals, the
goal is that they use the information on their performance to improve
patient outcomes, and we are indeed showing positive results,” said
O’Toole.
Twenty Cincinnati-area hospitals are voluntarily participating in the
study as they work to continually improve their outcomes. Between 2005
and 2006, the Greater Cincinnati area average improved on all measures
related to heart attack and congestive heart failure. The report
currently provides information on care provided in 2006, and 2007 data
will be posted by late summer. View a
news release for more information. Learn more about the Hospital
Quality Improvement Project and hospital quality collaboratives in other
areas of the state at
http://www.ohanet.org/research/collaboratives/default.asp.
Different
Hospitals, Different Doorways, Constant Care
Patients Stepped Through Ohio Hospital Doors 34 Million Times in 2006
Every
day and all day long, hospitals welcome patients of all ages needing
anything from simple outpatient procedures to emergency life-saving
medical attention. From the emergency department to other inpatient and
outpatient visits, patients stepped through the doorways of Ohio’s
hospitals more than 34 million times in 2006 – an increase of nearly 13
percent in the past five years. That’s the equivalent of every Ohioan
making three trips to a hospital.
Increasing 13.2 percent since 2002, the number of outpatient visits far
outpaced the 3.9 percent rise in inpatient visits as new technology and
procedures allowed more and more treatment to be offered in an
outpatient setting. But in 2006, 1.5 million visits were serious enough
to require admission, adding up to 7.7 million total days Ohioans spent
receiving inpatient care in their local hospitals.
Accepting
sick children, accident victims and others in need of immediate care at
any time of the day or night, hospital emergency departments are also
responding to a growing number of patients with 5.7 million visits in
2006. This represents a 13.6 percent increase since 2003. In addition,
the emergency room door is the primary entrance for uninsured patients.
Sixty percent of the uninsured patients admitted by Ohio hospitals in
2006 came in through the emergency room, compared to only 34 percent of
insured patients, and these numbers have remained consistent over the
past several years.
Ohio’s uninsured make up 10.5 percent of the total population. The
complete picture also includes the 60.3 percent of Ohioans with private
insurance, 13.7 percent with Medicaid coverage, 13.4 percent with
Medicare coverage and 2.1 percent who qualify for both Medicaid and
Medicare. In addition to the uninsured, inadequate reimbursement through
the state’s Medicaid program also has a major impact on the financial
viability of Ohio’s hospital community. Medicaid accounts for about 16
percent of a typical hospital’s admissions, outpatient and ED visits,
and the reimbursement hospitals receive (96 cents for every $1 spent
providing inpatient care and 78 cents for each outpatient dollar) does
not equal the cost of providing care to Medicaid patients. To learn
more, view the OHA’s complete
February HealthBeat article.
Thursday,
February 28, 2008
Joint
Commission Proposed Standard Revisions Posted for Review
As part of the Standards Improvement Initiative, the Joint Commission
has posted for review the proposed standard revisions to the Waived
Testing, Transplantation Safety, Documentation of Care, Nursing, and
part two of the Provision of Care, Treatment, and Services chapters.
The Standards Improvement Initiative is intended to clarify standards
language, delete redundant or non-essential standards, and consolidate
similar standards. The changes will take effect in January 2009.
(Rosalie Weakland,
rosaliew@ohanet.org)
Friday,
February 29, 2008
BWC
Sends Notices to Hospitals Affected by OHA Lawsuit
Those hospitals that were affected by the lawsuit OHA successfully
brought against the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation should have
received notices and listings of claims from the Bureau this
week. Addressed to hospital chief financial officers, the Bureau
communication includes spreadsheets with detailed information about the
affected claims and estimated adjustment amounts. In 2005, OHA claimed,
and the courts agreed, that the Bureau's fee plan was improperly
implemented and was invalid. Hospitals and other affected facilities
will be reimbursed for claims that were underpaid from Oct. 1, 2005,
through March 2007, for inpatient claims and through August 2007 for
outpatient claims.
The Bureau is progressing on the aggressive timeline it committed to
meet at the OHA Board's February meeting. The Bureau expects to finalize
all payments by the end of April. Questions should be directed to the
Bureau at
HospitalFeeAdjustments@bwc.state.oh.us. (Charles Cataline,
charlesc@ohanet.org; Mary Gallagher,
maryg@ohanet.org)
OHA Bulletin: New Law Extends FMLA Leave to Military
Family Members
OHA today
issued a
member bulletin summarizing protected leave to military families
under an amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)
signed into law by President Bush Jan. 28, 2008.
