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As of January 1, the new “Right Turn” program will provide support on a
voluntary basis after a family has adopted or agreed to be a guardian for a
child or teen who had previously been in the state’s care. The program is operated jointly by
Lutheran Family Services, Inc. and the Nebraska Children’s Home Society.
Families who’ve adopted or are guardians for youth who were state wards can
contact the Right Turn program 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling
(888) 667-2399. Families can be connected to respite care, mentoring,
counseling, classes, support groups and more.
A family is eligible for Right Turn services on a voluntary basis if the child is 18 or younger, the child was in the custody of DHHS prior to finalization of the adoption or guardianship, and if the parents have a valid adoption subsidy agreement with DHHS. This new program will be available as a result of LB 603, passed in 2009 to improve access to behavioral health and other services for children and teens.
— DHHS, December 31, 2009
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week published a proposed rule defining "meaningful use" of electronic health records, while the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology issued an interim final rule that sets standards, specifications and certification criteria for electronic health record (EHR) technology. The first set of regulations lists the “meaningful use” criteria that health care providers must meet to qualify for federal IT subsidies based on how they use EHRs. The second set of regulations lays out the standards and certification criteria that those EHRs must meet for their users to collect the money.
Read summary.
— Nebraska Hospital Association, January 8, 2010
WASHINGTON—Space is available for the AHA-NPSF Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship, co-sponsored by
American Hospital Association (AHA) and the National Patient Safety Foundation.
The Fellowship is a year-long learning experience for up and coming clinical and administrative leaders dedicated to improving quality and patient safety. Through a dynamic, highly participatory learning community, fellows gain new skills, tools, and leadership capacity to engage clinicians and senior leaders in creating cultures of safety and highly reliable care.
Visit www.ahafellowships.org for details.
— AHA press release, January 7, 2010
KEARNEY—Good Samaritan Hospital releases its 2009 Community Benefit Report on Saturday. The report will detail some of the ways the hospital reinvested $19,174,457 in quantified community benefit dollars back into the region last year.
“As a non-profit organization, Good Samaritan Hospital reinvests any revenues after expenses back into the hospital and community to serve the community. This is different from a for-profit hospital that pays profits out to investors,” said Steve Loveless, interim president and CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital.
Read more.
—
Good Samaritan Hospital press release, January 7, 2010
OMAHA—When Amber Burns walks into
the Veterans Affairs (VA) health clinic in
Lincoln, she's often the only female
veteran in the place.
That probably will be changing.
Women make up one of the fastest-growing
groups of veterans, a trend
bringing changes to the VA health
system in Nebraska, Iowa and the
rest of the nation.
Read more.
—
Omaha World-Herald, January 4, 2010
COLUMBUS—Michael Hansen is
continuing to acclimate to his new
job as president and CEO of Columbus
Community Hospital (CCH), but With just one month under his belt he has
identified some lofty goals.
Read more.
—
Columbus Telegram, December 30, 2009
LINCOLN—Lawmakers continued with the introduction of new bills and completed the first week of the 2010 legislative session January 8. New bills may be introduced for the first 10 legislative days, or until January 21. Senators will begin general file and select file consideration of bills carried over from 2009 on January 11.
Read more.
— Unicameral Update, January 8, 2009
LINCOLN—A Nebraska lawmaker says taxpayers are picking up the health-insurance tabs for too many businesses and wants to make the names of the businesses public.
On Thursday, Senator Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha introduced a bill (LB 790) that would require the state to publicly list all businesses that employ at least 10 people who receive Medicaid benefits.
Nordquist says that too often, the government-funded insurance plan is used as a long-term alternative to private insurance that can be offered by businesses.
Last year, Nordquist requested Medicaid statistics from the state.
According to the statistics, from 2005 to 2009 there was a 229 percent increase in the number of midsize and large businesses with employees on
Medicaid.
— Lincoln Journal Star, January 7, 2009
WASHINGTON—House Democrats held a caucus-wide conference call to strategize about health care reform before lawmakers return to Washington next week, the
Washington Post reports. More than 100 members participated, Democratic aides said, to discuss the differences between the House's health bill and the one passed by the Senate.
With Senate Democrats barely able to muster the 60 votes necessary to pass their own bill and President Obama leaning toward the Senate's position on some key issues, House Democrats are increasingly concerned that they could be marginalized at the bargaining table, reports the
Post.
Read more.
— Washington Post, January 8, 2010
WASHINGTON—As House and Senate Democratic leaders begin work on merging the chambers' health reform bills, the American
Hospital Association (AHA) Thursday offered lawmakers its recommendations on what should be included in the final bill. They include expanding health coverage to at least 96
percent of legal U.S. residents; extending Medicaid eligibility to families at 133
percent of poverty rather than 150 percent; minimizing hospitals' Medicare market basket reductions in fiscal years 2010 through 2013 unless coverage is extended during that period; opposing any advisory board that could make binding recommendations on Medicare payments; and developing accountable care organizations that offer hospitals a leadership role. These and other concerns are outlined in the 27-page letter, which can be found at
www.aha.org.
— AHA News Now, January 7, 2010
National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) 2010 Update: Ensuring Compliance
January 19, 2010 – Webinar
Using Electronic Health Records to Document and Improve Quality of Ambulatory Care
January 19, 2010 – Webinar
Lincoln Science Cafe - ‘Are Liberals and Conservatives Physiologically Different?’
January 21, 2010 – Lincoln
HFMA 2010 Winter Meeting
January 21-22, 2010 – North Platte
National Rural Health Policy Institute
January 25, 2010 – Washington D.C.
Funding Opportunities for Electronic Health Records Under the HITECH Act
January 26, 2010 – Webinar
SAVE THE DATE:
NHA Advocacy Day
March 9, 2010 – Lincoln
Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Seminar
March 11, 2010 – Grand Island
SAVE THE DATE:
2010 Lifespan Health Services Conference
May 11-12, 2010 – Kearney
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 Kelley Porter, Director of
Communications, kporter@nhanet.org.
NHA Newslink is published by the Nebraska
Hospital Association, 3255 Salt Creek Circle, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68504-4778.
Phone 402/742-8140, Fax 402/742-8191. Contact Kelley Porter, Director of
Communications, at 402/742-8151, or email,
kporter@nhanet.org.
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