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Participants put their best
foot forward for Wellness Walk
LINCOLN—About 50 people, including Governor
Dave Heineman, Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy and state Senators Tony Fulton and Kate
Sullivan, gathered at the state capitol Tuesday to participate in the annual
Wellness Walk around the capitol.
The Walk is organized by the Nebraska Sports
Council, which conducts the annual Live Healthy Nebraska 100-Day Challenge, a
team weight-loss and physical activity competition beginning on Jan. 20. Over
the past nine years of the 100-day challenge, more than 50,000 Nebraskans have
lost a combined 110,000 pounds and accumulated 25 million activity hours.
Seventy percent of surveyed participants also report maintaining their weight
loss and activity levels six months after the program ends.
The governor and workers walk also demonstrates
the simplicity of incorporating exercise and good nutrition into one's daily
routine. Benefits of daily physical activity and a healthy diet include reduced
risk of disease, improved brain function, increased energy, better weight
control and better sleep.
— Lincoln Journal Star, January 4, 2010
UNMC SHARING Clinics to have new schedule,
locations -
will continue to provide vital services to people in need
OMAHA—The student-run SHARING Clinics for the
University of Nebraska Medical Center will have a new schedule and new locations
in 2011 to continue to serve patients in its three clinics.
The SHARING Medical Clinic (Student Health
Alliance Reaching Indigent Needy Groups) provides general health care for adults
and children in need. It will operate on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the
UNMC Specialty Care Center, 804 S. 52nd St. The new schedule is effective Jan.
3. The SHARING Medical Clinic is relocating after UNMC’s South Omaha Community
Health Center, which previously housed and supported the SHARING Clinic, was
closed on Dec. 1 due to a loss of grant funding.
READ MORE»
— UNMC press release, January 4,
2011
Judge OKs Omaha health
benefit lawsuit compromise
OMAHA—A federal judge will let stand a
settlement of a lawsuit filed by unions to protect about 1,100 Omaha retirees
from increases in health insurance premiums. A news release Monday from Mayor
Jim Suttle calls the ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon "a win for
all those involved."
Suttle says the settlement will save the city
nearly $1 million annually in health care costs. He also says that, among other
things, the agreement reduces the 34 different health care plans administered by
the city to four. Three unions filed the lawsuit in May after the City Council
approved an ordinance that increased retirees' premiums.
— Lincoln Journal Star, January 4, 2011
Hospitals can apply for infection
prevention awards
The Department of Health and Human Services and Critical Care
Societies Collaborative (CCSC) seek applicants through Jan. 29 for a national
awards program recognizing hospitals and critical care teams for excellence and
sustained improvement in preventing central line-associated bloodstream
infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Eligible applicants include
units, hospitals, teams and health systems that provide care for critically ill
patients and have at least one team member who belongs to a CCSC organization
(American Association of Critical Care Nurses, American College of Chest
Physicians, American Thoracic Society, or Society of Critical Care Medicine).
READ MORE»
— AHA News Now, January 3, 2011
AHA announces members-only
2011 Town Hall webcast schedule
Join American Hospital Association (AHA)
President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock for the first 2011 AHA Town Hall Interactive
webcast on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Executive Vice President
Rick Pollack and Senior Vice President of Federal Relations Tom Nickels will
update AHA members on what's happening on the legislative and regulatory fronts
and what to look for in the new Congress. Hosted by AHA leaders, members-only
Town Hall Interactive webcasts focus on advocacy and other important
developments in the hospital and health care field. To register for the 2011
webcasts, AHA members should
click here. (You will need to register even if you have participated in the
Town Hall webcasts in the past, as we are updating our registration list for
2011.) Dates for all Town Hall webcasts through June can be found at
aha.org. For more information, call (800)
424-4301.
— AHA News Now, January 4, 2011
Hospitals urged to
complete RACTrac survey
The American Hospital Association (AHA)
encourages all hospitals to submit data by Jan. 14 to its quarterly RACTrac
survey. The free Web-based tool measures the impact of Medicare's Recovery Audit
Contractor program on hospitals and helps AHA advocate for needed changes.
Registration information was e-mailed to hospital leaders last month. For more
on the survey,
click here, or
contact RACTrac support at (888) 722-8712 or
email RACTrac support.
Hospitals are invited to review results from the AHA's latest RACTrac
survey and learn more about the initiative during a Jan. 5
Webinar.
— AHA News Now, January 3, 2011
AONE seeks applicants for
care innovation program
The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE)
is accepting applications through Feb. 1 from hospitals that wish to participate
in its new Center for Care Innovation and Transformation. The center will build
on the basic tenets of Transforming Care at the Bedside—a set of practical
quality improvement tools which AONE has helped disseminate to hospitals since
2007—to further address nurse leader needs, culture change and health care
reform implementation. For more on the center or to apply, visit
aone.org or contact AONE's
Grace Martos or (312) 422-2813. AONE is an
AHA subsidiary.
— AHA News Now, January 4, 2011
Expanding concussion care
LINCOLN—Thousands of athletes in Nebraska will now have the
same concussion testing program available to them as the NFL players and the
University of Nebraska Huskers receive. Thanks to teamwork between Saint
Elizabeth Regional Medical Center (The official hospital of the University of
Nebraska Athletics) and Nebraska Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine (Husker Team
Physicians) nearly 5,000 athletes from southeast Nebraska will now be able to
benefit from professional-level sports concussion testing.
The Gold Standard of programs for assessing sports concussions
is here. It’s a computer-based program called ImPACT. It is currently being used
by the National Football League, National Hockey League, the National Basketball
Association, numerous NCAA Division I teams and others.
READ MORE»
— saintelizabethonline.com, January 4, 2011
Alegent Health offers health care career scholarships
OMAHA—Alegent Health is pleased to provide
twelve (12) $1,500 non-renewable scholarships for high school seniors graduating
May 2011. The purpose of these scholarships is to provide assistance to students
preparing for health care careers. The application is a writable PDF this year.
No handwritten, emailed, or faxed documents will be accepted. All application
materials must arrive by Tuesday, February 15, 2011.
Download application form.
— Alegent Health, December 30, 2010
New Year’s resolutions: ten tips that might just work
Many people begin the new year with new hopes of losing weight. The Nebraska
Medical Center has a team of medical nutrition specialists who work with people
of all ages, and with all types of complicated health histories. The key for the
majority of people is moderation.
The 10 Tips»
— The Nebraska Medical Center, December 30, 2010
Monumental challenges in this legislative
session
LINCOLN—With the 2011 Legislature ready to convene,
the amount of work is daunting. Nebraska’s non-partisan legislators are facing
enormous challenges that likely will impact every resident in some form. While
the ever-present worries about tax hikes always lurk behind the committee doors,
the mood in the capitol halls among legislators is one of grim determination to
avoid tax hikes.
The big gorilla in the room is the massive deficit, projected
by many to be over $980 million. Some residents feel that an across the board 10
percent cut would be the best way to achieve budget savings. While that method
may indeed be the easiest, it is certainly not the fairest way to fund the
state’s obligations. That may include determining which departments and programs
should remain funded by the taxpayers at all. Much work to identify budget
savings was done in the last 6 months, but it certainly rallied the lobbyists
who do not want to see their favorite ox gored in the budget discussions.
READ MORE»
— Grand Island Independent, January 4, 2011
House to vote on health care reform repeal
next week
WASHINGTON—TheHill.com reports that House Republicans plan to
hold a vote next Wednesday, Jan. 12, to repeal the health care reform law.
According to the story, GOP leaders pledged to "repeal and replace" the health
care law, but the House will not vote on a separate replacement bill next week.
"ObamaCare is a job killer for businesses small and large, and the top priority
for House Republicans is going to be to cut spending and grow the economy and
jobs,” said a spokesman for Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.). “Further, ObamaCare failed
to lower costs as the president promised that it would and does not allow people
to keep the care they currently have if they like it. That is why the House will
repeal it next week."
READ MORE»
— TheHill.com, January 3, 2011
CMS delays home health, hospice
certification requirement
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not
enforce before April a new Medicare requirement that home health and hospice
providers certify patients’ eligibility for services during a face-to-face
encounter. Beginning Jan. 1, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
required physicians or other practitioners to certify patients’ eligibility for
home health care, and recertify patients’ eligibility for hospice care, during a
face-to-face encounter. Announcing the delay in enforcement Dec. 23, the agency
expressed concern that some providers may need more time to establish protocols
to comply with the requirement.
— AHA News Now, January 3, 2011
Operation: Reintegration. Military Culture Workshop
January 14, 2011
BryanLGH West, Lincoln
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
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hbullock@nhanet.org. Send news
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kporter@nhanet.org.
NHA Newslink is published by the Nebraska Hospital
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402/742-8140, Fax 402/742-8191. Contact Kelley Porter, Director of
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