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LINCOLN — Lawmakers passed a bill Feb. 7 that provides a way for
a mother to surrender parental rights of a child without legal repercussion.
LB157, introduced by Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center, states that no person
shall be prosecuted for any crime based solely upon the act of leaving a child,
of any age, in the custody of an employee on duty at a licensed hospital. Under
the bill, the hospital must promptly contact appropriate authorities to take
custody of the child. Senators passed the bill 41-1. Read NHA's response in this
week's copy of
Rotunda
Review.
OMAHA — The Corporation for National and Community Service named
Nebraska Methodist College – The Josie Harper Campus to the President’s Higher
Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service
to disadvantaged youth. The health professions college was honored Sunday at the
annual meeting of the American Council on Education in San Diego.
“This distinction recognizes our school’s leadership in helping
to build a culture of service and civic engagement on campuses across the United
States,” said Dennis Joslin, president and CEO, Nebraska Methodist College Josie
Harper Campus. “It is a tremendous honor for the entire student body, faculty,
staff and administration.”
Nebraska Methodist College was recognized for its body of
community service work over the past year, including Habitat for Humanity trips
to Laredo, Texas, and Tacoma, Washington, as well as a hurricane relief trip to
Biloxi, Mississippi, where student and faculty members partnered with the
Salvation Army to build a home.
Read the full news release.
(Shreveport Times) — It wasn't the second birthday party Kylie
Walleser-Bush and her family expected. The family knew Kylie, a transplant
recipient, would be in the hospital for her birthday. What they didn't expect
was that Kylie would have to be airlifted to Omaha, Neb.
Kylie had been in a Shreveport hospital for a week after some
medical issues. Her mother, Joan Walleser, said Kylie has a line infection and
her sodium and potassium counts have been "very out of sorts." On Sunday, which
was Kylie's birthday, doctors decided to move her back to Nebraska. Even though
Kylie is in the hospital, Walleser said Monday that the nurses and family life
program at the Nebraska hospital have planned a belated birthday for today.
"They know she loves Barney, and our nurses really love her," Walleser said.
"She has a way of capturing people's hearts." Kylie was born with a rare birth
defect that caused the removal of all but two centimeters of her small
intestine. In July, she underwent a rare bowel transplant in Nebraska. Read the
full article. To follow
Kylie, log on to
www.caringbridge.org and type "kyliewalleser" in the blank space in the
search bar. Anyone wishing to donate to the family's Kylie R. Bush
Medical Fund, can do so by contacting Regions Bank and
Merchants and Farmers Bank.
— Mandy Goodnight, Shreveport Times, February 12, 2008.
Thirty-one states reported widespread flu activity the week
ending Feb. 2, up from 11 the previous week, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC)
reported
Friday. The U.S. flu season was slow to start this year but the current activity
is not unusual, since the flu season usually peaks in February or later, CDC
officials said. The latest flu report indicates widespread activity in Alabama,
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii,
Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and
Virginia.
— AHA News Now, February 11, 2008.
New York City hospitals of all sizes and types are spending
hundreds of millions of dollars renovating, rebuilding and expanding their
emergency rooms. The hospitals are often dividing them into treatment areas for
the sickest patients with the most dire injuries and using quieter corners for
the patients using ERs for routine medical care. An increasing number are also
taking steps to bring civility and hospitality to the emergency room because
they are seen as vital points of entry for paying patients whose eventual
admission accounts for needed revenue.
Read the full article.
— New York Times, February 12, 2008.
(PRNewswire) — The Nebraska Medical Center, a 689-bed,
not-for-profit acute care hospital in Omaha, Neb., has been recognized for a
third consecutive year for service excellence under the J.D. Power and
Associates Distinguished Hospital Program. This distinction acknowledges a
strong commitment by The Nebraska Medical Center to provide its patients with
"An Outstanding Inpatient and Cardiovascular Experience."
"Because patients place a high value on the service aspects of
their hospital stay, providing them with a consistent, positive experience year
after year is as important to hospitals as it is to businesses in any other
service industry," said David Stefan, executive director of the healthcare
division of J.D. Power and Associates.
Read the full article.
— CNN Money.com, February 7, 2008.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — St. Francis Home Care Services is reaching
out to rural communities to help prevent chronic diseases and improve the
quality of life for Central Nebraska residents. During the last few weeks, home
care services launched its Staying Well at Home program, which utilizes
telehealth technology to track the vital information of its participants.
Telehealth monitors are small boxes that connect to a scale,
sleeve and other devices to measure the weight, blood pressure, blood oxygen and
pulse of users. They then send the information collected via telephone line to
St. Francis Home Care Services. That information can be tracked and forwarded to doctors. To provide the service, St. Francis is working in partnership with
Aurora Memorial Hospital, Howard County Community Hospital, Litzenberg Memorial
Hospital, Aurora Senior Center, St. Paul Senior Center, Central City Senior
Center, Wellness Works and the Midland Area Agency on Aging. Funding for the
monitors is provided by a rural health grant.
The program is free, and monitors are available at senior centers
in Aurora, St. Paul, Central City and Wellness Works in Conestoga Mall in Grand
Island.
Read the full article.
— Meredith Gardner, Grand Island Independent, February 13,
2008.
KEARNEY, Neb. — Karla Hosick, trauma nurse coordinator for Good
Samaritan Hospital, was appointed to the 2008 Awards Advisory Committee for the
Emergency Nurses Association (ENA). As part of this national organization, Karla
will participate with a group of dedicated professionals to address national
issues related to emergency nursing practice and emergency care.
Karla will participate in a comprehensive review of the issues
and proposals the association will address throughout the year. Her work will
contribute to the advancement of emergency nursing and the delivery of quality
emergency care. Good Samaritan Hospital’s emergency department is verified as a
Level II trauma center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This is the
highest level of ACS-verified trauma care available in the state, and the second
highest level available in the nation.
NHA Senior Director of Education Jon Borton will be participating
in the 2008 Polar Plunge benefiting Special Olympics Nebraska on February 23 at
Holmes Lake in Lincoln. For more details and sponsorship information visit
http://www.firstgiving.com/borton-bass.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recently
published a
proposed rule implementing a voluntary, non-punitive national patient safety
reporting program, more than two years after it was authorized by the Patient
Safety and Quality Improvement Act. The rule would allow a variety of public and
private organizations, including hospitals, to become Patient Safety
Organizations, which would confidentially collect and analyze data and establish
and disseminate potential safety protocols. AHA President and CEO Rich
Umbdenstock
said
hospitals are “extremely pleased” that HHS has released the long-awaited rule,
adding, “Hospitals will be able to look to their PSO to help identify the
underlying causes of errors so that all health care providers can implement
strategies to prevent harm to patients.” HHS will accept comments on the
proposed rule through April 14.
— AHA News Now, February 12, 2008.
The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum (NQF) are
accepting
applications through April 14 for the 2008 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety
and Quality Awards, which recognize individuals and health care organizations
making significant contributions to the safety and quality of patient care.
Awards are presented for individual achievement, research, and innovation in
patient safety and quality at the national and local level. The awards will be
presented at the NQF’s annual policy conference Oct. 15-16 in Washington.
— AHA News Now, February 8, 2008.
The New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) has published the
first installment of a
guide hospitals
can use to develop or assess a pandemic flu response plan. The 10-module guide
will address critical planning areas such as clinical care, communication,
ethics, finance, human resources, leadership, operations and supplies. The first
module addresses supplies, logistics and support services. Other modules will be
posted online over the coming months. “Our objective was to develop a resource
tool that would allow hospitals to drill down to a planning level that would
give greater assurance of continuity of care during emergencies,” said Valerie
Sellers, NJHA’s vice president of health planning. “But the modules can be used
in many health care settings.”
— AHA News Now, February 12, 2008.
The National Business Group on Health (NBGH) and the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
announced Monday
a new two-year initiative to build business-community coalitions to reduce racial
and ethnic health disparities. As part of the effort, NBGH will identify best
practices for addressing racial and ethnic disparities and create a toolkit to
help employers implement them. The initiative is part of HHS’ National
Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities. “We must find more effective
and far-reaching strategies if we are to succeed in reducing the toll health
disparities take on our health, well-being and productivity,” said Garth Graham,
M.D., HHS’ deputy assistant secretary for minority health. “The creation of new
partnerships with business and other sectors that are impacted by these critical
health issues is vital, and that is what we have begun today.”
— AHA News Now, February 11, 2008.
Improving Patient Safety and Quality of Care Using CRM Skills
Webinar
February 28, 2008
Memorial Health Care Systems "Getting to the Heart of the Matter" Lunch and
Learn
February 29, 2008 – Seward, NE
Making the Transition to Management Webinar
March 4, 2008
NHA Advocacy Day
March 5, 2008 – Cornhusker Marriott Hotel, Lincoln, NE
Center for Biopreparedness Education Hospital Incident Command Center Instructor
Training
March 6-7, 2008 – Embassy Suites, Lincoln, NE
Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care Partnership “Living a Good Life...at the
End of Life” Annual Conference
April 1-3, 2008 – Embassy Suites, Lincoln, NE
Memorial Health Care Systems Annual Health Fair, Seward, NE
April 2, 2008
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. Send news items to Christy Rasmussen, director of
communications, at crasmussen@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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