UNMC to host “CSI Nebraska” for prospective nurses
“Nurses are like investigators. When a patient is admitted, nurses gather clues through history, physical assessment and tests to determine what the problem is and how best to treat it,” said Dani Eveloff, nurse recruiter, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing. Playing off the popularity of CSI, the UNMC College of Nursing in Omaha invites anyone interested in a nursing career to attend a one-day “CSI Nebraska.”
Participants will learn about forensics and forensic nursing, as well as the wide variety of nursing specialties. The event will be held at the College of Nursing on the following days: July 16, 17, 18 or 19.
Click here for more information.
West
Nile virus: first Nebraska cases reported
The first cases of West Nile virus have been reported to the Nebraska Health and Human Services System this week. The two cases involve males between the ages of 26 and 64, one a resident of Lincoln County and one of Platte County. West Nile is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird.
"People should definitely take precautions against mosquito bites," said Dr. Annette Bredthauer, the state’s public health veterinarian, "no matter what area of the state they live in. It only takes one bite to infect you."
Read the full article.
— Southwest Nebraska News, June 22, 2007.
Osborne, Daub chair new Hospice Partnership Board
Tom and Nancy Osborne and Hal and Mary Daub will co-chair the newly formed Board of Advisors of Nebraska’s leading voice for those near the end of life, the Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care Partnership (NHPCP). The former congressmen and their wives are joined as founding members of the advisory board by: Terry and Judy Haney of Omaha, Bruce and Kimball Lauritzen of Omaha, Cynthia and Bob Milligan of Lincoln, Lee and Carol Rowe of Omaha, Rev. Russell L. Sommerfeld, from Seward, Del and Phyllis Toebben of Omaha and Ed Vandenberg, MD, from Omaha.
“Hospice is widely recognized as the gold standard for good care at the end of life,” said NHPCP President Aloha Schmid. “Yet, despite a fifty percent growth in hospice admissions since 2001, Nebraska still ranks in the lower half of states in the use of hospice by those with terminal conditions. We welcome the public support of these leading Nebraskans as we seek to promote hospice to those in need and to improve end-of-life care and conditions across Nebraska.” For more information about NHPCP or the Board of Advisors visit
www.nehospice.org or call 402/477-0204.
— NHPCP News Release, June 26, 2007.
CDC: 43.6 million Americans uninsured in 2006
An estimated 43.6 million Americans, 14.8 percent of the population, lacked health insurance when surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2006. That’s up from 41.1 million, or 14.2 percent, in 2005, based on the CDC’s latest
National Health Interview
Survey. Roughly one in five working-age Americans (19.8 percent) were uninsured, up from 18.9 percent in 2005; and 9.3 percent of children, up from 8.9 percent. Young adults 18-24 had the highest proportion of uninsured by age. Hispanics were more likely to be uninsured (32.1 percent) than African Americans (15.9 percent) or whites (10.4 percent). The percentage of uninsured in the 20 largest states ranged from 7.7 percent in Michigan to 23.8 percent in Texas.
— AHA News Now, June 25, 2007.
“Healthier U.S.” tool kits available for health care providers
This summer, as part of the "A Healthier U.S. Starts Here" initiative the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS will join with local officials to raise awareness of the importance of preventing chronic disease and illness, promote Medicare preventive benefits and provide information about how beneficiaries can take action to maintain and improve their health. The CMS intends to inform the 43 million people with Medicare about the preventive benefits available to them.
CMS is providing health care partners with a toolkit that includes publications, training materials and a video loop to help promote healthy lifestyles and the "A Healthier U.S. Starts Here" initiative. In addition to the tool kits, the CMS’ mobile office tour will visit Nebraska with a public appearance at the State Capitol on Thursday, July 12. For more information visit
www.cms.hhs.gov/healthierus.
Boone County Health Center will be tobacco free campus
Beginning July 4, Boone County Health Center in Albion will be a completely smoke free and tobacco free campus. The policy will also apply to the Health Center’s medical clinics in Albion, Newman Grove, Elgin, Spalding and Fullerton. “We wanted to officially adopt and endorse our smoke free policy on the 4th of July and send the message that the Health Center and everyone can be free of the dangers of smoking and tobacco. We’re here to help anyone become free and independent of their smoking and tobacco habits, and what better time to kick off our policy than during National Clean Air Week,” stated Vic Lee, CEO of the Health Center.
Because the hospital believes that the use of tobacco and smoking is a health hazard, it is joining a growing number of hospitals and organizations across the state banning tobacco use in all areas of the facility. Plans are being made to offer a class to increase awareness of aids and medication to help anyone interested in taking steps to discontinue use of tobacco products.
— Rita VanDeWalle, Nance County Journal, May 16, 2007.
Perkins County Hospital unveils new addition
A comfortable atmosphere, parking convenience and increased productivity are a few of the reasons Perkins County Hospital Administrator Pam Holm is excited about the new addition’s recent opening. “Seeing patients in a comfortable atmosphere with privacy and confidentiality maintained has been an ongoing obstacle for many years, and with the increase in outpatient services, the need has only escalated,” said Ms. Holm. The hospital in Grant has added a new outpatient clinic area that offers wider hallways and more spacious and inviting rooms. Perkins County Hospital’s next plans for improvement include a remodel of the physical therapy department, expanding for privacy and efficiency. The hospital plans to host an open house in July for the new addition.
— Jan Goff, Grant Tribune, May 24, 2007.
Alegent Health workers adopt a color-specific dress code policy
Alegent Health will soon be taking the guesswork out of recognizing the role and expertise of clinical caregivers for patients and families by implementing a color-coded professional dress and appearance policy.
"Alegent Health is dedicated to improving the quality of care and safety of our patients," said Richard Hachten II, president of Alegent Health. "We believe that starts with the professional attire of our health care professionals. For patients and families, having similar colors and styles makes it easier to distinguish between a nurse, technician or therapist. Color-coded attire helps build trust, communication and adds to a patient's experience while they're in our care."
Beginning July first, all care professionals at Alegent's metro hospital campuses will be outfitted with a specific color of uniform pants, tops and jackets, depending on the role he or she fulfills.
Click here for more information.
Home health rule changes good start, AHA says
The AHA applauded proposed refinements to the home health prospective payment system for calendar year 2008, and recommended the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) make additional changes to further improve payment accuracy. “In particular, CMS should reconsider a payment adjustment for higher-cost patients such as dually eligible Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries … to help ensure that this vulnerable population receives the high-quality care it needs,” AHA said in a
comment
letter. The association also encouraged CMS to reconsider a proposed 2.75 percent cut in payment in each of the next three years to offset coding changes. “The proposed coding cut would be particularly severe for hospital-based home health providers that often treat medically complex, post-acute patients not admitted by community-based home health agencies,” AHA said.
View the NHA’s comment letter to the CMS regarding the home health proposed rule.
— AHA News Now, June 21, 2007.
IRS
posts Q&A document clarifying health IT notice
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a question-and-answer document that clarifies its May 11 memorandum allowing tax-exempt hospitals to share health information technology (IT) with physicians. The document explains that health IT arrangements between hospitals and medical staff physicians that are not entirely consistent with the conditions in the memorandum “will not necessarily result in any impermissible private benefit or inurement.” The memorandum is not meant to describe the only permissible health IT arrangements, but the facts and circumstances of any such arrangements would need to be reviewed by the IRS to determine if it is permissible, the Q&A document states. Lawrence Hughes, AHA regulatory counsel, said, “AHA is pleased that the IRS was responsive to its request to clear up misunderstandings that were circulating about the May 11 notice.” The May 11 memorandum was issued in response to tax-exempt hospitals’ concerns that they risked their tax-exempt status if they shared health IT with physicians as new Stark and anti-kickback rules permit.
— AHA News Now, June 22, 2007.
Medicare
pilot project will test personal health records
Certain Medicare beneficiaries will be able to access and use a Personal Health Record (PHR) to track their health care services under an 18-month pilot project
announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Beneficiaries will have access to their registration information such as name, address and policy number, as well as lists of their medications and medical conditions, which will be available at
www.mymedicare.gov.
CMS will launch the program later this month in conjunction with four health plans – HIP USA, Humana, Kaiser Permanente and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Each plan will offer different tools, which will enable CMS to determine which features are most useful to beneficiaries. CMS also will seek to identify the minimum content and functionality of the PHR tools and assess the best methods for outreach and education to encourage adoption and ongoing use.
— AHA News Now, June 20, 2007.
Hospital rep named to FEMA advisory council
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator David Paulison has named Robert Gougelet, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Emergency Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, to represent hospitals on a National Advisory Council that will help coordinate federal preparedness efforts. The council, initiated by the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, is comprised of emergency management, law enforcement and emergency response providers from the public and private sectors. It expects to begin meeting quarterly this fall.
— AHA News Now, June 21, 2007.
Joint
Commission issues 2008 national patient safety goals
The Joint Commission announced its 2008 national patient safety goals and related requirements for accredited hospitals. Two new requirements call for hospitals to reduce the safety risks associated with anticoagulant therapy, and select a way for health care staff to directly request additional help from a specially trained person when a patient’s condition deteriorates. Both requirements have a one-year phase-in period that includes defined milestones, with full implementation targeted for January 2009.
Also, the hand-hygiene requirement has been updated for 2008 to permit use of World Health Organization or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The requirement to limit and standardize drug concentrations will be retired as a patient safety goal in 2008, but continue to be evaluated as part of the commission’s medication management standards. Also, The Joint Commission today launched a redesigned extranet site, its communications link with accredited organizations. Changes include enhanced security controls, a “What’s Due” section and a “New Reports” section.
— AHA News Now, June 25, 2007.
Senator
backs nurse immigration language
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) has called on senators negotiating an immigration reform bill (S. 1639) to support language proposed by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) that would make it easier for hospitals to hire foreign-born nurses. The AHA-backed language would modify the bill’s proposed point-based system for admitting visa applicants to give more consideration to registered nurses, who are critical to providing care in communities with a shortage of U.S. nurses. “The nursing shortage that exists today is only going to grow worse in the coming years,” Nelson told Senate negotiators. “I have cosponsored legislation that increases educational opportunities for aspiring nurses in this country, but we cannot train new nurses quickly enough to meet the fast-growing demand.” The Senate could vote on the immigration bill Friday.
— AHA News Now, June 26, 2007.
Employers offer wellness incentives
U.S. employers are using increasingly sophisticated incentives to encourage workers to participate in health and disease management programs, according to a new
survey by the National Association of Manufacturers and ERISA Industry Council. Three-quarters of 242 respondents offered health management programs to employees, and many of them lower premiums for those who participate. Other incentives for employees to participate included cash/bonuses, health account contributions, merchandise and gift cards. Two-thirds of employers offering incentives for participation had not measured the return on their investment, but most that did thought the incentives were cost-effective. The most serious challenge they faced was maintaining employee motivation over time.
— AHA News Now, June 21, 2007.
Cornhusker State Games
July 20-29 – Lincoln, NE
Register online at CornhuskerStateGames.com or call 1-800-30-GAMES for more information.
Missing Links 1: Improving Health Care by Removing Language Barriers
July 26-27, 2007 – Cornhusker Marriott Hotel, Lincoln
This two-day conference will use the federal CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) standards as a starting point to discuss a variety of topics related to providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services in Nebraska and assuring quality interpretation services.
Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care Hospice 101 Conference
August 9-10, 2007 – North Platte and Lincoln, NE
Nebraska Rural Health Conference
September 6-7, 2007 – Holiday Inn Convention Center, Kearney
Building Leadership for Rural Nebraska is the theme for this year’s Nebraska Rural Health Association conference scheduled for Thursday and Friday, September 6 and 7, at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Kearney.
The conference will cover key issues and trends with topics ranging from the future of rural health, patient safety, health information technology, updates from national rural health officials, EMS and learning about advances in telemedicine, public health, the uninsured and behavioral health. It will also highlight rural health providers currently making great strides in Nebraska. For additional information, contact Melissa Beaudette at mbeaudette@mwhc-inc.com or 402/421-2356.
Visit the Events page on the NHA Web site for more information on any of the events.
NHA Newslink is published by the Nebraska Hospital Association, 3255 Salt Creek Circle, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68504-4761. Phone 402/742-8140, Fax 402/742-8191. Christy Rasmussen,
director of communications, at 402/742-8151, or email, crasmussen@nhanet.org.
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