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Governor appoints final member of
DHHS team
LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman on Friday appointed the sixth and final member of the leadership team that will assist
Chris Peterson, CEO, in restructuring Nebraska's Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS).
John Wyvill, 41, of Little Rock, Ark., will head the HHS Division of Developmental
Disabilities. He will oversee the Beatrice State Developmental Center, a 24-hour care facility for those with developmental disabilities, as well as publicly funded community-based developmental disabilities services.
Read more.
— Leslie Reed, Omaha World Herald, August 31, 2007.
Senator
Mines, Blair, resigns
(KETV Omaha) -- State Sen. Mick Mines of Blair said he is leaving the Legislature to devote his professional time to a new business venture. His last official day as a state senator will be Oct. 31. Sen. Mines is helping to form a public relations, lobbying and campaign management organization with Jordan McGrain and Scott Berryman. He said he will maintain an affiliation with HunTel Systems, for which he works as vice president of external relations. Gov. Dave Heineman will appoint someone to serve the rest of Mines' term through 2008 and the governor is seeking applications. Applications will be accepted through the close of business on Monday, Oct. 15. Applicants must live within the boundaries of District 18, which encompasses the towns of Blair and Fort Calhoun, portions of Omaha, as well as sections of Douglas and Washington Counties.
— Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Daily Update, September 5, 2007.
Second death from West Nile recorded in the state
A man from south-central Nebraska died from West Nile virus earlier this month, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS). The man was in his 70s and was the second Nebraska resident to die from the virus this year.
A man in his 80s from the Nebraska Panhandle died from the virus in late July. Read the full
article.
— Grand Island Independent, August 31, 2007.
Nebraska ranks in
top 10 for quality of life
For the past three years, Business Facilities Magazine, a
national site publication, has published state rankings for several categories considered by businesses when determining where to operate. This year, the magazine unveiled its own ‘Quality of Life’ ranking, in which Nebraska is ranked ninth best. The authors wrote: “While our Quality of Life ranking is probably the most subjective ranking of the bunch, we still found plenty of quantitative data to effectively measure this enigmatic concept.” The data fall into eight primary categories, including: crime rates; material well-being; job security; recreation
and arts; bankruptcy rates; healthcare; climate; education; and cost of living. Other states ranking in the top 10
include: South Dakota, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Iowa, Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Massachusetts.
— Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Daily Update, August 27, 2007.
Abortion law sets off fatal injections;
hazardous to mothers' health
In response to the Supreme Court decision last spring upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, many abortion providers around the country have adopted a defensive tactic: To avoid any chance of partly
delivering a live infant, they are injecting fetuses with lethal drugs before procedures. That shift in late-term abortions goes deeply against the grain, some doctors say: It poses a slight risk to the woman and offers her no medical benefit.
Upheld in April, the federal ban is broadly written, does not specify an age for the fetus, and carries a two-year prison sentence. It forbids partly delivering a live fetus, then intentionally causing its death.
Even before the ban, the method known medically as intact dilation and extraction — typically involving removal of a fetus as far as the skull, which then is punctured and drained to ease its passage through the cervix — was rare, accounting for less than 1 percent of all abortions.
Instead, doctors usually use the method known as dilation and evacuation, in which the fetus is killed surgically while still inside the uterus before removal. Now, if a fetus is not dead as it is removed, a provider might be accused of violating the law. So the lethal injections beforehand, carefully documented, are aimed at precluding any accusation.
Read the full article.
— The Boston Globe, September 4, 2007.
Alegent
Health's Lakeside Hospital expansion nearly doubles its capacity
Omaha, Neb. – Alegent Health Lakeside Hospital began a two-year initiative to nearly double the hospital’s capacity
on the campus located at 168th and West Center Road. The $52 million dollar enhancement and renovation project announced earlier this year
was initiated to better meet the tremendous health care needs of the rapidly growing communities in west Omaha and western Douglas County.
“This investment will ensure we are able to continue providing exceptional, high-quality care for the growing population in west Omaha and western Douglas County. Not only does this expansion of Lakeside Hospital represent Alegent Health’s commitment to building the next generation of health care for the communities we serve, it also demonstrates our commitment to investing in the health and welfare of our patients now and in the future,” said Alegent Health CEO, Wayne Sensor.
The multi-million dollar project planned for Lakeside Hospital is the result of a comprehensive, year-long initiative involving physicians, staff, patients and the community to identify local needs of the area. The architectural design and enhanced services will also further Alegent Health’s goal of delivering world-class, patient-centered care by efficiently and effectively addressing consumer needs. Construction at Lakeside is expected to begin within the next few months with completion scheduled for summer 2009.
Read
more.
Children's
Hospital, UNMC College of Medicine form pediatrics affiliation
Omaha, Neb. – Two of the region's most respected health care organizations announced their intent to establish an affiliation that will further elevate Omaha's world-class status in the area of child health care.
Gary A. Perkins, president and CEO at Children's Hospital, and John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical
Center (UNMC), said an institutional affiliation agreement has been developed that brings together the pediatric expertise of UNMC and Children's
Hospital for the health of heartland children.
In addition to providing quality, cost-effective health care for children, the affiliation would enrich academic experiences for pediatric residents, medical students and other health professionals, and greatly advance clinical and basic science research opportunities for the prevention and treatment of childhood conditions and diseases. With the affiliation agreement, Children's Hospital and UNMC will jointly align resources to enrich education, research and clinical care opportunities.
The affiliation will also provide new and exciting opportunities to conduct cutting-edge research into childhood disorders ensuring that children and the families of this state and region will have access to the latest, most advanced care right here in Nebraska.
Read more.
Madonna announces Goal Award
recipients
Lincoln, Neb. – “Celebrating the Art of Rehabilitation” is the theme of the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital Chairman’s Goal Awards luncheon being held Wednesday, Sept. 26, from noon to 1:30 p.m., at the Embassy Suites Hotel in
Lincoln. Featured dance artists, Kris Lenzo and Anita Fillmore, will demonstrate
the theme. At the age of 19, Lenzo had both legs amputated above the knee after an industrial accident. Just a few months later, he started playing wheelchair basketball, then pursued track and road racing. Lenzo and his able-bodied dance partner, Anita Fillmore, will showcase the power and passion of the Tango during the Madonna Chairman’s Goal Awards luncheon. This year’s event will also feature displayed artwork by former patients.
Bill Cintani, chair of Madonna’s Board of Directors and president and CEO of Mapes Industries, will present the 2007 Goal Awards to: Fred Daigle, a 72-year old stroke survivor from Lincoln, Neb.; Heather Tice, a teenage student from Belton, Mo., who became paralyzed from the waist down after a car wreck; Deb Spanyers, a wife, mother and the Saline County Treasurer in Dorchester, Neb.,
who contracted West Nile virus from a mosquito bite in 2005; and Brady Beran, a 20-year old student from Lincoln, Neb.,
who suffered a traumatic brain injury during a high school football game.
The Madonna Chairman’s Goal Awards were established in 1994 to honor patients for outstanding courage and fortitude while confronting a disability.
Read more.
AHA seeks HAVE Award applicants
The AHA seeks applicants for its 2008 Hospital Awards for Volunteer Excellence, which recognize outstanding volunteer programs. To be eligible for an award, volunteer programs must demonstrate a significant contribution to the hospital field and be affiliated with an AHA institutional member, accomplished by unpaid volunteers and in effect at least one year. Awards may be given in the following categories: community service programs, in-service hospital volunteer programs, fundraising programs, or community outreach/ collaboration programs. The awards will be presented at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting in April, 2008.
— AHA News Now, September 4, 2007.
CMS releases proposed outpatient quality specs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released data
specifications for its proposed outpatient quality reporting measures for 2009. The agency announced the proposed quality measures in its 2008 Outpatient Prospective Payment System
(OPPS) proposed rule, and expects to publish the final measures in the OPPS final rule in November. To participate in the outpatient reporting program for calendar year 2009, hospitals must submit a notice of participation form by Nov. 15, 2007, and collect data for patients who receive outpatient services as of Jan. 1, 2008. Hospitals that fail to report outpatient quality data would receive a reduction of 2.0 percentage points in their 2009 annual payment update.
— AHA News Now, August 30, 2007.
Limiting residents' hours has little impact on patient mortality
In the first two years since new rules limited the number of hours medical residents can work, there has been no difference in death rates among Medicare patients, according to researchers.
Read
the full article.
— HealthDay/Washington Post, September5, 2007.
Norovirus outbreaks mostly affect health care workers
A review of measures taken to address a 2004 outbreak of the highly infectious Norwalk virus at The Johns Hopkins Hospital has provided the first solid documentation of expenses and efforts in the United States to stop the infection from spreading among patients, staff and visitors. Total hospital costs for the three-month outbreak - including extra cleaning supplies, staff sick leave, diagnostic tests, replacement staff, and salaries and lost revenue from closed beds - were estimated at more than $650,000.
The outbreak at The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) was one of at least 24 at Maryland hospitals during the first half of 2004. Norwalk virus is highly contagious because only small amounts, as few as 10 to 100 viral particles, can lead to infection. It is spread or passed from person to person through fecal matter when people fail to wash their hands properly after using the bathroom and when people touch or share handling of the same objects, such as doorknobs.
“We hope our approach will help other hospitals prepare for or manage an outbreak,” says Cecilia Johnston, M.D., an instructor at Hopkins in infectious diseases who led the investigation.
Read more.
— John Hopkins Medical Institutions, August, 2007.
Survey spotlights nursing faculty salaries
The average base salary for full-time faculty in U.S. nursing schools was about $55,500 in 2005-06, according to an
online survey of 8,500 educators by the National League for Nursing and the Carnegie Foundation.
On top of the base salary, respondents earned $5,540 in supplemental wages from their primary academic employers. And respondents said side jobs in academia or consulting boosted wages by another $11,500, on average, the survey found. The survey, conducted between October 2006 and
February 2007, had a response rate of
25 percent.
Graduate degrees equated to more money for faculty members. Wages for educators with a doctorate or master’s degree were
47 percent and 20 percent higher, respectively, than for those with no more than a bachelor’s degree. Teaching graduate students also meant higher wages. Those teaching only graduate nursing students reported the highest wage, about $70,600, compared with educators teaching both graduates and those in pre-licensure nursing programs, $62,900, or those in only pre-licensure programs, $52,700.
— Melanie Evans, Modern Healthcare's Daily Dose, August 31, 2007.
New online
guide on ED-based HIV testing available
To guide clinicians and administrators through the process of planning,
implementing, or expanding emergency department-based HIV testing programs, the
Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) has developed a free Web-based
operational guide. This comprehensive resource—the first of its kind —is
based on interviews and site visits with emergency departments (EDs) that have
pioneered ED-based HIV testing. HIV Testing in Emergency Departments: A
Practical Guide is available free of charge at www.edhivtestguide.org.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that as many as
25 percent of the 1.2 million Americans who are HIV positive are unaware that
they are carrying the virus. Early detection of the HIV virus has been shown to
reduce risk behaviors, and it can link infected patients to care. CDC now
recommends voluntary HIV screening for adult and adolescent patients in all
health care settings. ED-based testing can be an effective strategy for
screening hard-to-reach populations.
The HIV testing guide outlines different approaches, considerations, and
resources for making HIV testing routine in ED care. The guide also includes
detailed information on such topics as making the case, costs and funding,
measuring progress, legal considerations, training staff, and linkage to care. For
more information and to begin using the guide, visit www.edhivtestguide.org.
Kimball Hospital Foundation Golf Classic
September 8, 2007 – Kimball, NE
Eighth Annual Safety Health Care Conference
September 14, 2007 – Sandhills Convention Center, North Platte, NE
Sponsored by the Safety Officers Network and Resources (SONAR), the Nebraska Hospital Association, Community Hospital Health Foundation, Great Plains Health Foundation and Tri-Valley Health System. To register or for more information contact Sue Mulligan, Great Plains Regional Medical Center, at (308)
696-8000.
Multicultural
Training Institute: Cultural Competency for Health Care Professionals Training
September 15, 2007 – Margre Durham Center, Omaha, NE
Hospital
Foundation Directors Seminar
September 17, 2007 – Doubletree Hotel, Omaha, NE
"Capital Campaigns and Planned Giving Programs"
Long-Term Acute Care Hospital Overview Webinar
September 19, 2007 – Webinar
Stark:
A Moving Target Moves Again Webinar
September 20, 2007 – Webinar
Sponsored by the NHA and the Nebraska Chapter of HFMA
Exploring
the Challenges for Tax-Exempt Organizations
October 11, 2007 – Omaha, NE
Sponsored by the Omaha Community Foundation and Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
NHA Critical Access Hospital Conference on Quality
October 18, 2007 – Holiday Inn & Convention Center, Kearney, NE
For more information contact Monica Seeland, NHA vice president of quality
initiatives, at 402/742-8152 or mseeland@nhanet.org.
NHA 2007 Annual Convention and Trade Show
October 31-November 2, 2007 – Cornhusker Marriott Hotel, Lincoln,
NE
"Pathways: Navigating the Nature of Health Care." The NHA's Annual
Convention is the biggest health care event of the year.
Visit the Events page on the NHA Web site for more information on any of the events.
If you have an event you would like listed on the NHA Web site, submit it to
Heather Bullock, marketing and events coordinator, at hbullock@nhanet.org.
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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