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House fails to override child health bill veto
WASHINGTON — Supporters of a bill to provide
health insurance for 10 million children failed this afternoon, as expected, to
muster enough support in the House to override President Bush’s veto. The vote
to override the veto was 273 to 156, or 13 votes short of the necessary
two-thirds majority of those present and voting; the bill was originally
approved by a 265 to 159 vote on Sept. 25.
The main suspense before today’s vote was over how
many Republicans would side against President Bush. Forty-four House Republicans
voted for the bill today, compared to 45 on Sept. 25.
Read the full article.
— David Stout and Robert Pear, New York Times,
October 18, 2007.
Forty
groups urge Nebraska representatives to override president's veto of SCHIP
Forty groups, including the Nebraska Chapter of
the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Nebraska Hospital Association, the
Nebraska Medical Association, the Nebraska Association of School Nurses and the
Public Health Association of Nebraska joined together to urge
Representatives Fortenberry, Terry and Smith to override the President’s veto of
the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization bill. The
President’s veto denies health insurance to the 3.8 million otherwise uninsured
children that were expected to gain coverage under this bill. This bill passed
by a decisive bipartisan majority in both the House and the Senate. A veto
override vote failed in the House of Representatives today.
Monday in Lincoln, 40 Nebraska organizations – doctors, hospitals, churches,
faith-based groups and advocates – stood in recognition of the importance of SCHIP and the additional 17,000 Nebraska children who
would have gained health coverage
under this bill. The groups urged Nebraska’s House members to vote to override
the President’s veto today. “Our Representatives have the chance
to make a healthy decision for the children of Nebraska. SCHIP has been
incredibly successful at targeting low-income children who have fallen through
the enormous gap in our health care system,” said Kathy Bigsby Moore, executive
director of Voices for Children in Nebraska.
Read the
full
article or view the sign on letter.
— Voices for Children in Nebraska and Nebraska Appleseed, October
15, 2007.
HHS honors
three Nebraska hospitals for high organ donation rates
BryanLgh Medical Center West in Lincoln, The
Nebraska Medical Center and Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha are
among 392 hospitals
recognized this week by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for
sustaining an organ donation rate of 75 percent or more of eligible donors. That’s up
from 55 hospitals in 2003, when HHS’ Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) launched the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative, which
helps participating hospitals implement effective practices in family-centered
donation. HHS credits the program with increasing organ transplants by 4,146
over three years to a total of 31,184 in 2006. The recognized hospitals and
their partners at 57 organ procurement organizations received HHS’ Medal of
Honor for Organ Donation Oct. 9 at the National Learning Congress on Organ
Donation and Transplantation in Nashville, where HRSA released a new
report
highlighting best practices for increasing organ donation.
— AHA News Now, October 12, 2007.
Tool
compares presidential candidates’ health care proposals
The Kaiser Family Foundation has released an online
tool to compare the health
care proposals of presidential candidates. The tool presents a summary of the
candidates’ positions on access to health care coverage, cost containment,
quality of care and financing. The summaries are based on information on the
candidates’ Web sites and from speeches, debates and news reports. They will be
updated as the campaign unfolds.
— AHA News Now, October 17, 2007.
America's top hospitals are real lifesavers
Patients in U.S. hospitals that are considered
top-ranked are 71 percent less likely to die than those in the lowest-rated
hospitals, according to a study. The study examined 41 million Medicare
hospitalization records at 5,000 hospitals from 2004 to 2006.
Read the full article.
—
HealthDay/Washington Post, Oct 16, 2007.
Saunders Medical Center opens
One by one, the hospital's last four patients were
moved from the building. Hundreds of cardboard boxes that cluttered the carpeted
hallways disappeared. Lights went off. Doors were locked. "It's kind of like
losing an old friend," Twila Wade, a 16-year employee, said of the hospital
built in 1952. "We've had a lot of good years up here. I'm going to miss this
old building, but we have to move on." At the same moment that employees closed
up the old county hospital, hundreds of employees and volunteers gathered two
miles away to celebrate the grand opening of the new Saunders Medical Center.
The 101,000-square-foot medical facility sits on a 42-acre parcel along U.S.
Highway 77 southwest of Wahoo. The new medical complex has a 16-bed hospital, an
expanded physicians clinic and a 60-bed long-term care nursing home offering 52
private rooms. Although the hospital and the doctor's clinic opened Monday, the
new nursing home remains in the final phase of construction and won't be ready
for weeks.
Read the full article.
— Omaha World Herald, October 16, 2007.
The
Bellevue Medical Center is “going green”
As the construction workers begin to “dig in” at
the corner of Highway 370 & 25th Street in Bellevue, you’ll soon see the signs
of the state-of-the-art medical complex being constructed. You may also notice
the special attention paid to the environment as well. Months of careful
planning have revealed a true dedication to the preservation of the environment
and natural setting that exists. The Bellevue Medical Center utilizes the
practices set forth by the Green Guide for Health Care, which is a quantifiable
design toolkit that integrates enhanced environmental and health principles into
the planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance of the facility.
Read
more.
Alegent
Health measures effectiveness of pastoral
care
OMAHA, Neb. – For many patients, the process of
healing depends on more than medical technology or a surgeon’s skill.
To better understand how emotional and spiritual support advance the healing
process, a collaborative group of hospital chaplains, religious sponsors and
health care researchers will join with Alegent Health in an effort to establish
standards and measurements to improve the effectiveness of pastoral care.
In partnership with Alegent Health, the National Association of Catholic
Chaplains and the Catholic Health Association will host a summit in Omaha Oct.
22-24 to explore how compassionate, caring and faith-based care can enhance
patient outcomes. More than 60 participants are expected for the event, which
also aims to develop a series of best practice guidelines for pastoral care.
Read
more.
Good Samaritan Hospital receives national recognition at
Planetree Conference
KEARNEY, Neb. - Good Samaritan Hospital was the only hospital nationwide to receive
more than one Planetree Program award at 2007 Planetree Annual Conference last
week in Williamsburg, Va. The awards promote patient-centered care by recognizing
individuals who personalize and demystify the health care experience for others,
as well as programs and services that support extraordinary achievement in
patient-centered care.
Read more.
CMS
poised to resume IPPS payments
Medicare payment of inpatient claims for discharges in early October should
begin flowing to providers by no later than Monday, according to the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS expects fiscal intermediaries to begin
processing the claims by today, after updating claims processing software to
reflect changes to the fiscal year 2008 inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS).
The changes were needed, in part, to increase rates for a provision included in
the TMA, Abstinence Education, and QI Programs Extension Act. Enacted Sept. 29,
the law reduced a planned “behavioral offset” to the Medicare-Severity
Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) to -0.6 percent from -1.2 percent in FY 2008 and to -0.9
percent from -1.8 percent
in FY 2009. The AHA worked extensively with Congress to limit the cuts in CMS’
inpatient rule. The change is expected to restore $7 billion in Medicare
payments to hospitals over five years. AHA is in constant communication with CMS
and is monitoring the situation closely. The association also is identifying
options for emergency payment relief if the delay is not addressed promptly.
— AHA News Now, October 17, 2007.
DHHS: It's time to get a flu vaccine
Lincoln – Vibrant autumn leaves, shorter days
and cooler temperatures tell us flu season is on its way. Each year 36,000
people die of flu and more than 200,000 are hospitalized because of
complications.
Experts say getting a flu shot is still one of the best ways to protect yourself
and your family.
"We haven’t seen any flu activity in the state yet but we know it’s just a
matter of time," said Dr. Joann Schaefer, chief medical officer for the Nebraska
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). "Flu vaccine really does keep
people healthy and stops the spread of the virus."
The CDC recommends the following groups get vaccinated:
- All children between 6 months and 5 years old
- Household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children between 6 months and 5
years old
- Adults 50 and older
- Pregnant women
- Health care providers
- People of any age with chronic medical conditions
- Residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities
- Children 6 months to 18 years old on long-term aspirin therapy
- People who live with or care for others susceptible to flu complications
- Anyone else, including school-aged children, who wants protection from the flu
Read
the full news release.
Study establishes baseline for MRSA infection estimates
(DHHS)
Methicillin–resistant staph aureus (MRSA) caused
more than 94,000 life–threatening infections and nearly 19,000 deaths in the
United States in 2005, most of them associated with health care settings,
according to the most thorough study of life–threatening infections caused by
these bacteria, experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) report.
The study in the Oct. 17 edition of the Journal
of American Medical Association (JAMA) establishes the first national baseline
by which to assess future trends in invasive MRSA infections. MRSA infections
can range from mild skin infections to more severe infections of the
bloodstream, lungs and at surgical sites.
The study found about 85 percent of all
invasive MRSA infections were associated with health care settings, of which
two–thirds surfaced in the community among people who were hospitalized,
underwent a medical procedure or resided in a long–term care facility within the
previous year. In contrast, about 15 percent of reported infections were
considered to be community–associated, which means that the infection occurred
in people without documented health care risk factors.
Read
more.
— CDC news release, October 16, 2007.
Group
issues plan for better health care through IT
The eHealth Initiative yesterday released a
consensus
plan for improving health and health care through information technology
(IT).
Nearly 200 members of the organization, including the AHA, were involved in
developing the blueprint, which outlines principles, actions and strategies for
using health IT to engage consumers, transform care delivery and improve
population health. The plan also identifies areas for which there is not yet
broad consensus, primarily related to financial incentives to support health IT
and policies for sharing information. The group plans to refine the document
over the next year with input from additional stakeholders, and to track and
report annually on the plan’s progress.
— AHA News Now, October 11, 2007.
AAMC:
Medical schools report record enrollment
Nearly 17,800 students entered U.S. medical
schools this fall, a 2.3 percent increase from 2006 and the largest class in history,
the Association of American Medical Colleges
announced
today. More than 42,300 students applied, 8.2 percent more than in 2006. Eleven of the
nation’s 126 medical schools raised their entering class size by more than 10
percent.
“With our nation expected to face a serious shortage of physicians in the
future, we are pleased to see interest in medicine as a career continuing to
increase,” said AAMC President Darrell Kirch, M.D. “We are especially encouraged
by the growing interest among students from groups historically underrepresented
in medicine.” Enrollment by African-American men increased 5.3 percent, while
applications by African-American and Hispanic men increased 9.2 percent. First-year
enrollment at U.S. medical schools has increased more than 7 percent since 2003.
— AHA News Now, October 16, 2007.
Survey:
Many older physicians plan to opt out of patient care
IRVING, TEXAS – In the next one to three years,
48 percent of physicians between the ages of 50 and 65 are planning to retire,
seek non-clinical jobs, work part-time, close their practices to new patients,
and/or significantly reduce the number of patients they see, a new survey
indicates. The survey, conducted by Merritt Hawkins & Associates, a national
physician search and consulting firm based in Irving, Texas, suggests that many
experienced physicians are seeking a way out of traditional patient care roles.
Read more.
Rural Nebraska Medical Response System
Partnership receives $868,000 grant to enhance emergency preparedness
WISNER, Neb. – Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department recently announced
that a partnership of entities located throughout the state of Nebraska has
received an $868,000 competitive grant from the Federal Department of Health and
Human Services for the purpose of enhancing emergency response preparedness in
central, northern and western Nebraska.
This partnership, entitled “Rural Nebraska Medical Response System Partnership”,
involves 66 entities, including 51 hospitals, 13 health departments, emergency
management and a federally qualified health center. The partnership utilizes
four existing medical response systems, which serve 72 counties, as a foundation
and will collaborate with the State of Nebraska and the Nebraska Statewide
Trauma System.
Read more.
— Rural Nebraska
Medical Response System Partnership news release, October 4, 2007.
Bio-Electronics launches new Web site
Bio-Electronics, a subsidiary of the Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA), has
partnered with Pickering Creative
Group of Lincoln, Neb., to design and develop a Web-based reporting
application to better serve the needs of its contracted customers. The new
service will enable current Bio-Electronics customers to view a variety of
equipment reports online (such as their facility’s work orders for the month,
equipment lists, equipment service reports and repair histories, equipment
recall alerts and timely communication with Bio-Electronics’ service
technicians.) The projected date for implementation of this new customer service
is December 15, 2007.
“Bio-Electronics is pleased to launch this key project, and we look forward to
the many benefits it will provide to our current and future clients,” states Al
Klaasmeyer, vice president of NHA subsidiaries. “In addition, Pickering’s
commitment to developing a scalable and flexible solution will allow us to
better serve our clients today and well into the future.”
Established in 1976, Bio-Electronics is an industry leader in providing
maintenance services for advanced medical equipment. With a commitment to
preventive maintenance, the firm’s experienced technicians provide expert,
cost-effective maintenance services to over 250 hospitals and clinics each year.
For additional information, contact
Vicki Fintel, customer account manager, at 402/742-8160 or visit
www.Bio-Electronics.com.
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
Nebraska's largest gathering of health care professionals.
York General Health Care Services Diabetes Fair
November 1, 2007 – York Medical Clinic
Jefferson Health
Care Foundation Holiday Dazzle
November 9, 2007 – Fairbury, NE
Baird Holm
Health Law Forum
November 16, 2007 – Omaha, NE
UNMC
mental health symposium
November 16, 2007 – Omaha, NE
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. Contact Christy Rasmussen, director of
communications, at 402/742-8151, or email,
crasmussen@nhanet.org.
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