Governor’s office accepting applications for board and commission opening
The Governor’s office announced this week upcoming openings on various state boards and commissions for the second half of 2007.
View the announcement from the Governor’s office or visit his Web site at
www.gov.state.ne.us/contact/index.html
for a list of openings and a copy of the application.
KSU circuit rider program for Nebraska hospitals
The Pollution Prevention Institute (PPI) at Kansas State University (KSU) has a health care
circuit rider program that utilizes specially trained college interns to work with health care facilities to do a brief assessment of mercury-containing devices and an energy assessment. If your facility has not yet become mercury free, this is an opportunity to do the inventory and develop the action plan for doing so. The student/circuit riders will help identify not only the mercury containing devices, but also the often overlooked tilt switches in many bedside apparatuses and associated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Other work done by the circuit rider is focused on cost savings associated with energy reduction. The circuit riders will work with up to five health care facilities in Nebraska. If your hospital is interested, contact Rick Yoder at 402/554-6257,
ryoder@unomaha.edu, or visit http://www.p2ric.org.
Nebraska's vibrant hospitals, businesses and industries touted
(DED release) – An estimated 200 Nebraska Diplomats, community and government officials celebrated attributes of the many businesses and industries that fuel Nebraska’s economy at the Diplomats’ Annual Business and Industry Recognition Day in Omaha last Thursday. Those recognized at the event included: St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island; Phelps Memorial Health Center in Holdrege; The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha; Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital in Hastings; the communities of North Platte, Nebraska City and Ogallala; and the Cargill company. For information about the Nebraska Diplomats Inc., visit:
www.nediplomats.org — Nebraska Chamber Daily Update, May 14, 2007.
Sen. Cornett announces patient, physician, industry alliance
WASHINGTON-At a May 10 meeting of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability, Nebraska State Senator Abbie Cornett announced the formation of the Alliance for Plasma Therapies. The Alliance, chaired by Cornett, was formed to help resolve the complex challenges patients and healthcare providers face in obtaining fair access to and reimbursement for human plasma products and their administration. The first challenge the Alliance will tackle is the current intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) access crisis affecting patients and healthcare providers across the United States.
Read the full article
— PharmaLive News, May 14, 2007.
Scholarship to UNMC expanded for western Nebraska nursing students
A longtime scholarship that has benefited western Nebraska medical students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for the past 23 years has been expanded to provide support to UNMC nursing students as well.
The Dr. Max and Raynette Raines Memorial Scholarship provides financial assistance to UNMC students who are pursuing degrees in medicine and nursing.
Eligible recipients must have graduated from high schools in Brown, Chase, Cheyenne, Custer, Dawson, Deuel, Dundy, Garden, Garfield, Keith, Lincoln, Perkins, Phelps, Red Willow, Rock or Valley County in Nebraska or Sedgwick County in Colorado.
Read the news release from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Umbdenstock
urges House panel to protect hospital services
Testifying yesterday before the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock urged Congress to protect payments to hospital services for Medicare beneficiaries. Noting that Congress already has rejected more than $100 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid proposed by the administration, he encouraged lawmakers to continue to reject cuts to the programs, particularly $25 billion in "unwarranted" and "unnecessary" cuts to hospital services included in the proposed fiscal year 2008 inpatient rule.
Umbdenstock also urged Congress to pass H.R. 1459 to protect inpatient rehabilitation facilities from the impact of the “75% Rule,” enact a permanent ban on physician self-referral to limited-service hospitals, protect rural hospitals, and continue to make indirect graduate medical education payments when a teaching hospital cares for a Medicare Advantage enrollee. "The men and women of our hospitals do great things in the face of some very tough challenges," he said. "Demand for their services is soaring, and the resources they need to meet that demand must also keep up."
— AHA News Now, May 16, 2007.
Study
compares health systems in U.S. and five other countries
In an international survey released yesterday by the Commonwealth
Fund, U.S. patients and primary care physicians generally rated their health care system lower than their counterparts in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom on certain measures of access to care, cost and quality. “The most notable way the U.S. differs from other countries is the absence of universal health insurance coverage,” the Fund reports. Overall, the U.S. ranked first on preventive care and second only to Germany on waiting times for specialist care and non-emergency surgical care. However, it was weaker on access to needed services and the ability to obtain prompt attention from physicians, the study found.
— AHA News Now, May 16, 2007.
Calvin A. Hiner recognized as an AHA Grassroots Champion
Cal Hiner, Administrator of Tri-County Hospital in Lexington and NHA Chairman of the Board, was named Nebraska’s Grassroots Champion at the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) 2007 Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, DC. The Grassroots Champion awards recognize a hospital leader from each state and the District of Columbia for their advocacy on behalf of their hospital and patients.
View the full news release from the Nebraska Hospital Association and the AHA.
The Nebraska Medical Center to break ground for new Bellevue facility
The Nebraska Medical Center will break ground at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the site of its future hospital, located at Hwy 370 and 25th Street in Bellevue. A short program will follow the ceremonial ground breaking. An updated image (artist’s rendering) will be on display. “We are excited to share with everyone how this project has grown. It is truly a community endeavor with solid implications for economic development,” Cherie Lytle, The Nebraska Medical Center media relations coordinator commented.
Children's Hospital names new vice presidents
Children's Hospital in Omaha is announced the following new vice presidents to the organization. Martin W. Beerman, APR, has been named vice president of marketing and community relations. Dena Belfiore has been named vice president of quality/outcomes. David Mier has been named vice president and chief revenue officer.
View the news release from Children’s Hospital.
Alegent Health physicians receive high honors
Omaha’s Alegent Health employees George Sojka, M.D. and Cheryl Lindly, PAC, are being recognized for their outstanding service in health care by receiving the Nebraska Academy of Physician Assistant’s (NAPA) highest awards. NAPA has honored Dr. Sojka with the Nebraska Physician of the Year, and Lindly has received the Physician Assistant of the Year at the 32nd NAPA Spring CME Conference in Kearney, Neb.
View the news release from Alegent Health.
Creighton University Medical Center recognized as an elite melanoma center
Creighton University Medical Center's (CUMC) Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program has been recognized as one of the first ten Melanoma Centers of Excellence, as announced by the Melanoma Hope Network (MHN). As a Melanoma Center of Excellence, CUMC is being recognized as providing exceptional and comprehensive care and knowledge and compassion to their patients. MHN's goal is to create the premier listing of melanoma treatment centers across the country, so patients can easily locate those centers and doctors across the country that offer the most complete spectrum of care in the treatment of melanoma. Read the news release from Creighton University Medical Center.
Durbin introduces SCHIP bill
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) Thursday introduced a Senate version of the Healthy Kids Act (S. 1364). He said his bill would increase the federal matching rate for states that increase enrollment in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through model outreach and enrollment strategies; increase proof-of-citizenship flexibility for Medicaid and reimbursement for language assistance services; and create grants to support SCHIP outreach and enrollment, demonstration projects for pediatric care quality, and a commission to study and recommend improvements to children’s health coverage policy.
— AHA News Now, May 14, 2007.
CDC issues training to aid public health response to bird flu
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced an online training course to help state and local public health officials identify and respond to bird flu in humans. The CDC and Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists worked with educators at the North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness to develop the curriculum from regional "train the trainer" courses conducted early this year in Washington, D.C., Denver and Atlanta.
— AHA News Now, May 16, 2007.
FDA approves first respirators for public use in emergencies
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved for marketing the first N95 respirators for use by the general public during public health emergencies, such as a flu pandemic. The 3M Respirator 8612F and 8670F are single-use devices sized for adults to reduce exposure to airborne germs. They will be available to the public without a prescription. FDA requires respirators marketed for use by the public to provide adequate filtration without hampering breathing and they must be certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The agency plans to soon issue guidance outlining its regulatory approach to respirators for use by the public.
— AHA News Now, May 14, 2007.
NHA to host information system selection seminar in Kearney
Health information technology and selecting the right system is a constant challenge hospitals face. At a June 8 seminar, participants will be provided with the history and evolution of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and the Electronic Health Record (EHR). The planning required in the health information selection process, contractual and regulatory consideration in deploying the EMR system, and the financial options for the acquisition of your solutions to EMR and EHR, will also be discussed. Join the field experts to learn about the information required to make an informed decision on the health information system right for your hospital. The registration deadline is May 31; information is available by clicking the event listing below or for more information contact Al Klaasmeyer, vice president of NHA subsidiaries, at 402/ 742-8162 or
aklaasmeyer@nhanet.org.
IRS: Tax-exempt hospitals may share health IT with physicians
Sharing health information technology with physicians would not jeopardize a not-for-profit hospital’s tax-exempt status, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced last week. The
memorandum from Exempt Organizations Director Lois Lerner states, “We will not treat the benefits a hospital provides to its medical staff physicians as impermissible private benefit or inurement in violation of section 501(c)(3) of the Code if the benefits fall within the range of Health IT Items and Services that are permissible under the [Department of Health and Human Services’ Electronic Health Record] Regulations and the hospital’s agreement with the physicians meets certain criteria.” The agreement should ensure continuing compliance with the HHS regulatory requirements, and allow the hospital to access all EHRs created by a physician using the health IT subsidized by the hospital, IRS said.
— AHA News Now, May 11, 2007.
RWJF seeks applicants for workforce development grants
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) seeks applicants for grants that support partnerships between employers and educational institutions to promote career advancement for health care workers and test new models of work-based learning. Initial proposals are due by June 12. For more information or to apply online, visit the
RWJF Web
site.
— AHA News Now, May 10, 2007.
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