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Quick response from nurses and help with controlling pain can make hospital
stays less aggravating. Now consumers can find out how hospitals in Nebraska and
Iowa rate on those qualities and others that make patients feel satisfied.
The federal government has coordinated a new standardized survey of patients
treated at more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. Results are posted on the Web.
Among the survey's 10 measures: Did nurses and doctors communicate well? Were
rooms clean? Would you recommend the hospital?
For hospitals in the Omaha area and the region, patient satisfaction was
generally nearly as good as or above the national average. The survey is aimed
at improving hospitals, and some in the region already have made changes, at
least in part, because of the results.
Click
here to read the full article.
— By Michael O'Connor, Omaha World-Herald, May 12, 2008
LINCOLN – Approximately 90,000 Nebraska youth have a behavioral health
disorder such as depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct
or eating disorders, or anxiety.
"It’s easy to know when your child has a fever, but a child’s mental health
problem may be harder for parents to identify," said Scot Adams, Ph.D., director
of the Division of Behavioral Health in the Nebraska Department of Health and
Human Services (DHHS). "Sudden changes in a child’s behavior might be an
indicator of a problem."
Click here to read the full news release.
— DHHS, news release, May 12, 2008
COPIC is now accepting nominations for COPIC Medical Foundation’s Harold E.
Williamson Award. The award honors an outstanding Nebraska physician for his/her
volunteer medical service and contributions to the community. The award provides
a $10,000 grant from the COPIC Medical Foundation to the nonprofit organization
of the recipient’s choice.
Nominations must be postmarked by June 30 to be considered for the 2008
award. You can obtain a nomination form and more information from
www.copicfoundation.org and click
on "volunteer physician award".
The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) issued an updated clinical practice
guideline to help health care providers reduce patients’ use of tobacco.
The guideline recommends clinicians and health care delivery systems
consistently identify tobacco users seen in the health care setting, and offer
every patient who uses tobacco some of the treatments recommended in the
guideline. It also recommends insurers cover the counseling and medications
identified as effective. A companion consumer guide and pocket guide for
clinicians are available
online.
— AHA News Now, May 6, 2008
Many safety-net hospitals are attempting to help non-urgent patients in their
emergency departments establish “medical homes” for preventive and primary care,
according to a study
released by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Some are adding
primary care capacity and working with hospital specialty care clinics to treat
more patients needing follow-up care, the authors said. Others are helping
patients with non-urgent conditions identify other providers and schedule
appointments. However, the amount of primary care available through clinics and
health centers varies by community, and overall demand for care typically
exceeds supply, the authors said. Also, adding staff and health information
technology to redirect patients to outpatient settings strains safety-net
providers’ limited funds, they said. The study looked at public and
not-for-profit hospitals that serve large proportions of low-income, uninsured
and Medicaid patients in 12 nationally representative communities.
— AHA News Now, May 7, 2008
YORK — York General Hospital has been awarded a three-year term of
accreditation in mammography as the result of a recent survey by the American
College of Radiology (ACR).
The ACR awards accreditation to facilities for the achievement of high
practice standards after a peer-review evaluation of the practice. Evaluations
are conducted by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are
experts in the field. They assess the qualifications of the personnel and the
adequacy of facility equipment. The surveyors report their findings to the ACR’s
Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a
comprehensive report.
— York General Hospital, news release, May 12, 2008
GRAND ISLAND — Daniel P. McElligott has been named president and chief
executive officer of Saint Francis Medical Center, effective July 1, 2008. He
succeeds Mike Gloor, who earlier this year announced his plans to resign to run
for a seat in the Nebraska State Legislature.
McElligott has 20 years of health care experience in operations and finance.
He joined Saint Francis in July 1995 as vice president of finance/chief
financial officer. He has served in his current role as chief operating officer
of the organization since June 2003. In that capacity, McElligott has overseen
the completion of a $86 million construction project involving the construction
of a nine-story patient tower that replaced all inpatient beds, the pharmacy,
cafeteria, conference center, admissions and gift shop.
Click here to read the full news release.
— Saint Francis Medical Center, news release, May 9, 2008
LINCOLN — Bio-Electronics will observe “National Biomedical/Clinical Engineering
Appreciation Week” on May 18 – 24, 2008, to recognize Bio-Electronics’
biomedical and clinical engineers serving its customers in Nebraska, Colorado,
Kansas, Wyoming, South Dakota and Iowa.
Bio-Electronics recognizes Medical Technology Professionals as an “invaluable
resource to the healthcare community.”
Bio-Electronics recognizes the following individuals: Jim Rider, Bill
Answine, Mike Brockhaus, Greg Eickmeier, Aaron Fickenscher, Ken Graham, John
Greve, Dave Harroun, Ivan Hildreth, Brian McCoy, Dawnel PS-Vargas, Randy
Schmidt, Max Schrader and Bill Steenberg.
Please make a special effort during National Biomedical/Clinical
Engineering Appreciation Week, May 18-24, 2008, to join us in thanking your
technician for their service to your facility and their commitment to the
healthcare industry.
Click here
to view the proclamation.
FREMONT – In March, Fremont Area Medical Center (FAMC), in collaboration with the
American Cancer Society and Three Rivers District Health Department, provided
free colon cancer screening kits to area residents. The kits were distributed
through participating pharmacies as part of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness
Month. After completion at home, kits were to be mailed to the FAMC laboratory
for processing at no charge.
According to Dr. Stephen Dreyer, FAMC’s cancer liaison physician,
approximately 72 percent of the kits distributed in March have been returned for
processing, but he’d like to see a 100 percent return rate. “The return rate is
already better than we had last year, but we’d like to get them all back.”
Dreyer says it’s not too late for people to complete the test and send it in,
but encourages them to get it done within the next few months.
Regular screenings help detect colorectal cancer early – when treatment is
most effective – and prevent colorectal cancer by finding and removing polyps
before they actually become cancer. “Early detection is key,” states Dreyer.
“Colorectal cancer is preventable nearly 90 percent of the time and it’s highly
curable when caught early.”
Click
here to read more.
— Fremont Area Medical Center, news release, May 7, 2008
LINCOLN – Extreme temperature spikes are common in Nebraska, but did you know
the human body takes between 10 and 14 days to adapt to warmer, more humid
temperatures? Add to that the body’s need for regular activity to maintain a
healthy weight and you could have a recipe for disaster. However, Madonna
TherapyPlus offers these tips for safe and effective exercise during the warmer
months to make sure summertime fun does not leave you sidelined.
Click here for
a list of tips on how to play it safe this summer.
— Madonna TherapyPlus, news release, May 12, 2008
Speaking from the bench, Federal District Court Judge James Robertson said he
was inclined to rule that the Department of Health and Human Services violated a
May 25, 2007 congressional moratorium preventing the department from
promulgating its Medicaid cost-limit rules. However, he also indicated he was
inclined to rule that neither of the Medicaid rules at issue themselves violated
federal law. The judge warned that his written opinion could be different. AHA,
in collaboration with Alameda County Medical Center and other hospital
associations, brought suit in March challenging the administration’s authority
to implement new Medicaid regulations that would limit payments to public
hospitals to cost, and limit which hospitals would be eligible to contribute the
non-federal share of Medicaid. AHA also challenged HHS’ surreptitious effort to
avoid the congressionally-enacted moratorium on the Medicaid rules. A final
ruling on the case is expected by May 23.
— AHA News Now, May 7, 2008
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today
proposed tightening market standards for the Medicare Advantage and Part
D prescription drug programs in order to increase protections for beneficiaries.
Specific proposals include a prohibition on cold-calling; cross-selling of
non-health care-related products to prospective MA or Part D enrollees; sales
activities at educational events and certain other areas; and an expansion of
the current prohibition on door-to-door solicitation to cover other unsolicited
circumstances. In addition, CMS proposes limiting the value and type of
promotional items offered to potential enrollees. Under the proposed rule, CMS
could fine plans up to $25,000 for violations for each enrollee affected, or
likely to be affected, by the violation. The rule also would streamline
eligibility determinations for extra help to low-income beneficiaries, limit
beneficiary liability and add new protections for beneficiaries enrolled in
special needs plans. CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule through July
15.
— AHA News Now, May 8, 2008
The American Hospital Association (AHA) urged Congress to allow hospitals to continue to provide
equipment and supplies directly to their patients without participating in the
Medicare durable medical equipment competitive bidding process. In a statement
submitted to a House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee hearing on Medicare’s DMEPOS competitive bidding program, AHA said it supports the program’s goal to
reduce Medicare costs for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and
supplies (DMEPOS). However, the
association said it remains concerned that certain Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services’ regulations will restrict hospitals’ ability to meet their
patients’ DME needs in a clinically comprehensive and timely manner. “To avoid
this problem, hospitals wish to continue participating in the DMEPOS program by
accepting the price set through the competitive bidding process, without being
required to submit a bid,” AHA said.
— AHA News Now, May 6, 2008
OMAHA — Alegent Health was recognized at the May 5, 2008 Business and
Industry Recognition Day activities sponsored by the Nebraska Diplomats. The
Edgerton "Family of Awards" program encourages Nebraska businesses, educational
organizations, non-profits, and health care organizations to apply. Those doing
so have the opportunity to receive one of three levels of Edgerton Quality
Awards. Awards levels are determined by the level of maturity and integration of
the applicant’s strategies, objectives, key processes and measures as aligned
with customers’ requirements and employee requirements. The Baldrige National
Quality Award Program criteria are used to guide the assessment of each
organization.
Click
here to read the more.
OMAHA – There is little debate among the 9,000 employees of Alegent Health in
Omaha, Neb. about the value of consumer-driven health care. More than 90 percent
of Alegent Health employees have a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Health
Reimbursement Account (HRA) saving them money, changing risky lifestyles and
putting them in the driver’s seat of their health care. Alegent Health offers
two HRA accounts and two HSA accounts from which employees can choose. The
organization’s PPO plan remains in place although it is not the plan of choice
for employees. Now in its third year, employee participation in the
consumer-driven health plans has grown to 92 percent, which is well above the
national average. The first year of the plan, 79 percent of employees chose
either the HSA or HRA plans. That number grew to 88 percent in year two and
reached an all-time high in 2007. “Offering HSAs and HRAs wasn’t enough to
really engage employees to take control of their health and health care,” said
Wayne Sensor, CEO of Alegent Health. “So we decided to offer two important
features to our health care plan – preventive care is free and employees (and
their dependents) are incented to change behaviors that place their health at
risk.”
Click here to read the full news release.
— Alegent Health, news release, May 6, 2008
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) and its member hospitals
are voluntarily offering consumers information to help them make important
decisions about health care. Reliable information allows consumers to make
informed decisions about where they choose to seek care. It also helps
policymakers, other health providers and the public measure the cost and quality
of hospital care.
Kicking off during National Hospital Week May 11-17, NHA will launch a new
Web site, known as “Care Compare”,
to allow users to easily access charge information for several types of
inpatient hospitalizations at any Nebraska hospital. Consumers can select a
hospital by county or city, then select the reason for hospitalization and can
compare charges by severity level with those of other hospitals in the region;
to other hospitals with similar patient volume; and to other hospitals across
the state as a whole. In addition to charges, the number of discharges, average
length of stay and the average age of patients are displayed. Click
here
to read the news release.
— Nebraska Hospital Association, news release, May 12, 2008
National Hospital Week 2008 will be observed May 11-17, 2008. This year's theme
is "Where Healing Happens Every Day."
Click here
to go to the AHA sponsored Web site to order promotional materials.
May is National Stroke Awareness Month
2008 Nebraska Healthcare Quality Forum
May 13, 2008 – Embassy Suites, Lincoln, NE
Lincoln Stroke Partnership's Life After Stroke: New Support for Survivors and
Their Families
May 15, 2008 - BryanLGH East Plaza Conference Center, Lincoln
Seward Diabetic
Support Group
May 20, 2008
FAMC
Free Joint Pain Seminar
May 21, 2008 - Fremont
Customer Service for Health Care Professionals
May 28, 2008 - Hastings, NE
“Use it or Lose It” 55PLUS Community Education
Lunch and Learn
May 30, 2008
Older Adult Falls Prevention Symposium
June 5, 2008 - BryanLGH West. Telehealth sites also available.
NHA-HFMA 2008
Golf Tournament
June 11, 2008- Kearney
Deadline for registration is May 16, 2008
NHA 2008
Mid-Year Meeting
June 12-13, 2008 - Kearney
Deadline for registration is May 30, 2008
Nebraska Hospice and Palliative
Care Partnership training workshops
June 10, 2008 - Lincoln
June 13, 2008 - Omaha
June 20, 2008 - Ogallala
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 Kim Larson, editor, at 402/742-8143 or email,
klarson@nhanet.org.
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