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Caring Kind award recipient photos are now available.
Click here for more information.
Nebraska's
representatives signed Tubb Jones/Porter letter
As of November 12, 2007, 307 members of the U.S. House -
including all three of Nebraska's members - signed the letter urging the IRS to
revise its proposed Form 990 Schedule H to allow for reporting the full value of
hospital community benefits, including Medicare underpayments and bad debt. NHA
thanks those hospitals who weighed in with their lawmakers on their concerns as
well as our Nebraska Congressional Delegation for their responsiveness and
support of this issue.
FCC announces $400 million rural telehealth program
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will provide $400 million to create
broadband telehealth networks to expand access to health care in rural and
underserved communities, the agency
announced Tuesday. The
Rural Health Care Pilot Program will facilitate telemedicine
programs in 42 states and three U.S. territories. Program participants will
receive funding to bolster existing telehealth networks or support up to 85
percent of the costs to design, engineer and construct innovative and efficient
broadband systems, the agency said.
—
AHA News Now, November 13, 2007.
CBO reports on health care spending outlook
Absent any change in federal law, U.S. spending on health care would climb from
16 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to one-quarter by 2025 and 49 percent by 2082, the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
projected
yesterday. The Medicare and Medicaid portion of health care spending would
grow faster than the overall rate, from 4 percent of GDP in 2007 to 7 percent in 2025 and 19
percent
in 2082, the CBO said. CBO cautions that “significant uncertainty” surrounds such
long-term projections and that growth “could turn out to be substantially higher
or lower.” The agency said federal policy options to slow Medicare and Medicaid
spending growth include reducing payment rates, financial incentives to
encourage cost-effective care, and greater bundling of payments to cover all of
the services associated with a treatment, disease or patient.
— AHA News Now, November 14, 2007.
2007 "Country Doctor
of the Year" leaves retirement to save rural hospital
IRVING, Texas – In December, 2006, Pike County
Memorial Hospital in rural Murfreesboro, Ark., had three physicians on its
staff. By January, 2007, it had none. The only hospital in the county and the
second largest employer in town was faced with imminent closure. An 81-year-old
physician came out of retirement, working around the clock to maintain care and
save the hospital.
Read
the full story.
Great Plains
Regional Medical Center CEO named a "Woman of Achievement"
November 3, The North Platte Telegraph
sponsored the first "Head 2 Toe Women's Expo", which named the 2007 Women of
Achievement (WOA). The event honored women who have made significant
contributions to their community. "The WOA began as a recognition to honor our
local women who have made great contributions to our community," said Telegraph
Business Manager, Pat Snyder. They have demonstrated leadership, worked to
improve the quality of life, and have a tremendous commitment to service in
North Platte."
Cindy Bradley, CEO of Great Plains Regional
Medical Center, was selected as the Woman of Achievement for the business
category. “She has touched many people in the community,” said Pat Keenan, North
Platte resident, who nominated Bradley for the award. “Through her vision and
commitment to quality, the administrator of Great Plains Regional Medical Center
has helped bring GPRMC from a rural hospital to a regional medical center
serving more than 198,000 patients every year.” The NHA congratulates Ms.
Bradley.
— Diane Wetzel, The North Platte Telegraph,
November 4, 2007.
Faith Regional
Health Services Recognized for Quality and Excellence
OMAHA, Neb. – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
Nebraska is pleased to recognize Faith Regional Health Services of Norfolk,
Neb., for its commitment to delivering the best health care possible to
people living in northeast Nebraska. Because of this achievement, Blue Cross and
Blue Shield of Nebraska honors Faith Regional Health Services with the first
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska 2007 Recognition for Quality
award.
The Recognition for Quality awards stem
from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska’s desire to recognize and reward
network providers for their participation and achievement in an established
range of health care quality improvement initiatives. These standards have been
set by the federal government, health insurers, national health care and medical
professional organizations. They are used to measure, report, improve and
monitor the care given to their patients, our members.
Read
more.
— Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska news
release, November 6, 2007.
Good Samaritan Hospital announces soon to be tobacco-free campuses
KEARNEY, Neb. – To mark the 31st anniversary of
the Great American Smokeout today, November 15, Good Samaritan Hospital
has announced that it will implement a policy making all of its campuses
tobacco-free on January 1, 2008.
“Becoming a tobacco-free entity is another way we
can carry out our mission of creating healthier communities,” said John W.
Allen, president and CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital. “While we know that
creating and supporting a tobacco-free campus will require significant change
for many, it’s simply the right thing to do when it comes to health,” Allen
said. Effective January 1, 2008, the use of all tobacco products on Good
Samaritan Health Systems properties will be prohibited.
Read more.
First in Midwest: Repair of thoracic aneurysm under local anesthesia
performed
at The
Nebraska Medical Center
OMAHA, Neb. – Dwight Bowers remembers listening to
his doctors and nurses talk amongst themselves during a recent surgery. The
surgery was to repair a life threatening aneurysm located in his thoracic aorta,
the body’s largest artery. “I knew from what the surgeons told me that it was
rare to be awake during this type of surgery,” said the 50-year-old from
Dannebrog, Neb. “So, that made me want to concentrate all the more on what my
doctors were saying.”
Read
the full article.
CMS delays provisions of Phase III Stark rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) will publish a final rule Nov. 15,
delaying by one year certain limits affecting the compensation arrangements that
academic medical centers (AMC) and nonprofit “integrated health care systems” may have
with affiliated physician organizations. The limits were included in the “stand
in the shoes” provisions of the Phase III Stark final rule on physician
self-referral, which takes effect Dec. 4. The new rule delays the specified
provisions to Dec. 4, 2008 only for these organizations so CMS can fully
evaluate their impact within AMCs and 501(c)(3) integrated health care systems.
It cites the potential for “significant disruption” in the health care field if
the provisions required many compensation agreements that previously did not
trigger application of the physician self-referral law to satisfy the
requirements of an exception.
— AHA News Now, November 13, 2007.
A study at The
Nebraska Medical Center shows community-acquired MRSA is thriving in Nebraska
OMAHA, Neb. - Newspaper and television reports
have recently been full of tragic stories about persons succumbing to a
bacterial infection caused by community-acquired methicillinresistant
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), also known as CA-MRSA. However, there has
been little data reported regarding the prevalence of this bug in Nebraska.
Recently, a team of researchers at The Nebraska
Medical Center reported their findings that indicate CA-MRSA is thriving in
Nebraska, but contrary to some of the hype, most infections caused by CA-MRSA
are
relatively mild skin and soft tissue ailments that can be treated fairly easily.
Read
more.
Joint Commission: Hospitals make strides in
patient safety
The performance of accredited hospitals on quality measures for heart attack,
heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care continues to improve, but gaps in
overall performance remain, according to the Joint Commission’s second annual
report on hospital
quality. For example, Commission-accredited hospitals provided smoking cessation
advice to 89.4 percent of patients admitted with pneumonia in 2006, up from 37.2
percent in
2002. They also demonstrated 90 percent or more compliance with 10 of 16 national
patient safety goal requirements that address issues such as medication safety,
caregiver communication and preventing patient falls. Scores in other areas
suggest need for improvement, the Commission added. For example, hospitals
prescribed ACE inhibitors at discharge for patients with heart failure or heart
attack just 64 percent and 56 percent of the time, respectively. The report, which examines 22
national quality measures and seven patient safety goals, also found significant
variability by state and between hospitals.
—
AHA News Now, November 12, 2007.
Confusing terms prompt call for health IT glossary
A "cacophony" of competing
and confusing definitions, with terms often used interchangeably, is hampering
progress toward a nationwide health information network, according to the
National Alliance for Health Information Technology (IT) and the Health and Human
Services Department (HHS).
On behalf of the alliance, HHS called for help in defining key health
IT words, such as "electronic medical record" and "electronic health record."
The alliance is working with HHS to compile a glossary by March 2008.
Read more.
— Aliya Sternstein, National Journal's Technology Daily, November 9, 2007.
HHS takes new steps
to advance health IT
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt announced
Tuesday that the department, through the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is proposing rules to adopt new
standards to advance the use of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) for
formulary and benefit, as well as medication history transactions used under the
Medicare prescription drug benefit.
The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 requires CMS to adopt final standards for
e-prescribing. All providers and pharmacies transmitting prescriptions
electronically for Medicare-covered drugs are required to comply with any CMS
standards in effect.
Read more.
— HHS News, November 13, 2007.
President
vetoes Labor-HHS appropriations bill
As expected, President Bush
vetoed
legislation funding federal Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education
programs for fiscal year 2008, saying the bill “spends too much.” HHS
appropriations in the Congress-passed spending agreement included $2.2 billion
for Ryan White AIDS programs, $683 million for the Maternal Child Health Block
Grant program, $444.24 million for hospital preparedness grants, $307 million
for Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education, $293.52 million for State
Survey and Certification, $167.65 million for nursing programs, $145.4 million for rural
health programs and $3 million for trauma care. A two-thirds majority in both
chambers of Congress would be needed to override the veto. FY 2008 began Oct. 1. A
continuing resolution funding federal programs at fiscal year 2007 levels
expires Dec. 14, 2007.
— AHA News Now, November 13, 2007.
Slice: Nursing
student gets ready to "stick it to ya"
This sure would be a bad moment to fumble. Jill Sears held a hypodermic needle
beside a bare arm. Time to ignore the nerves and plunge ahead.
Sears thought about what she had been taught. Slide it in quickly with a motion
similar to thrusting a dart toward a dartboard.
She arrived at this point from a desire to help others. And helping would
involve the power — actually, the requirement — to hurt others from time to
time.
The country girl from southeastern Nebraska has wanted to be a nurse since high
school. There was no life-changing moment. Sears, 22, just enjoys caring for
people. She knew nursing would be right for her.
Nothing in her first semester as a University of Nebraska Medical Center nursing
student has changed that belief — certainly not the fact that she will have to
plunge needles into arms.
Read the
full article.
— Rick Ruggles, Omaha World Herald, November
11, 2007.
UNMC welcomes 177
new students in School of Allied Health Professions
The University of Nebraska Medical Center’s (UNMC)
School of Allied Health Professions (SAHP) welcomed 177 new students this fall.
The SAHP at UNMC offers 10 educational programs leading to careers in the
following health professions: clinical laboratory science, clinical perfusion,
cytotechnology, diagnostic medical sonography, medical nutrition, nuclear
medicine technology, physical therapy, physician assistant, radiation therapy
and radiography. Allied health is the collective name given to more than 200
health-related professions.
Read
more.
Baird Holm
Health Law Forum
November 16, 2007 – Omaha, NE
UNMC Mental
Health Symposium
November 16, 2007 – Omaha, NE
Final CY 2008 Hospital Outpatient PPS Update Webinar
December 4, 2007
Nursing Law Update 2007 Webinar
December 7, 2007
Technical Component of Evaluation and Management (E/M) Coding Webinar
December 13, 2007
Integrating Palliative Care Into Long-Term Care Seminar
December 13, 2007 – Lincoln, NE
Click here for a list
of upcoming NHA audioconferences and webinars.
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 in Newslink or 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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