Flood and Campbell recognized as health care champions
Speaker Mike Flood and Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln received the first NHA "Health Care Champion" Award at the 33rd The Caring Kind Awards Luncheon held on October 19, 2012 at The Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln.
Flood and Campbell were recognized for their exemplary contributions to the health and well being of the people of Nebraska during the 2012 session of the Legislature. Both individuals demonstrated an outstanding commitment to assure the availability of health care and for making access to quality and affordable health care a reality in Nebraska.
“Both senators provided invaluable leadership in the development of responsible public policy on issues affecting the accessibility, financing, delivery and cost effectiveness of health care services in Nebraska,” said NHA President, Laura J. Redoutey, FACHE. “In the face of fierce opposition and certain political consequences, Senators Flood and Campbell provided crucial leadership that improved Medicaid reimbursements, helped contain costs, ensured that more unborn children receive prenatal care and enhanced access through more consistent tax treatment of Nebraska’s nonprofit health care providers.”
Trustees achieve NHA health care education certification
The NHA has designed a trustee education certification program to enable hospitals to utilize governance best practices, to promote the coordination of care and the best use of resources and to demonstrate to their community, lawmakers, regulators, physicians, employees, business and other community stakeholders that Nebraska hospitals are dedicated to the well-being of its citizens.
Several NHA member hospital trustees individually or as an entire board of trustees have dedicated the time and effort to governance practices and participated in the quality educational programs sponsored by NHA and others to receive hospital governance community accountability education certification in 2012. Find out who they are>>
New for 2013!
Download your copy of the new NHA Glossary of Health Care Terms & Acronyms.
Prepared to Care: The 24/7 Standby Role of America's Hospitals
America's hospitals are vital to meeting the health care needs of the communities they serve by providing a wide range of acute-care and diagnostic services, supporting public health needs, and offering myriad other community services to promote the health and well-being of the community. While many of these services also are provided by other health care providers, three things make the role of the hospital unique:
24/7 ACCESS TO CARE: The provision of health care services, including specialized resources, 24 hours a day, seven days a week (24/7), 365 days a year;THE SAFETY NET ROLE: Caring for all patients who seek emergency care, regardless of ability to pay; and DISASTER READINESS AND RESPONSE: Ensuring that staff and facilities are prepared to care for victims of large-scale accidents, natural disasters, epidemics and terrorist actions.These critical functions — collectively known as the "standby" role — while often taken for granted, represent an essential component of our nation's health and public safety infrastructure. However, the standby role is not explicitly funded and hospitals face increasing challenges in maintaining this role.
Learn more>>
Nebraska hospitals brace for changes under federal health care law
Nebraska hospitals enter the new world of federal health care hopeful, but cautious.
AUDIO FEED
The numbers tell a stark story about hospital economics. The NHA's 89 member hospitals treat 11,000 patients a day. Those hospitals have annual net patient revenue of $4.9 billion. Twenty percent of the care given is uncompensated.
$370 million is the cost not covered by Medicare reimbursement, absorbed by 25 of Nebraska’s largest hospitals. Medicaid fails to cover $138 million of the cost of its patients. The hospitals provide $163 million in charity care annually.
Though the federal health care law will expand coverage, it also will pinch reimbursement to providers, primarily hospitals. Read the full article>>
-Nebraska Radio Network, November 30, 2012
NHA Foundation contributes $5,000 to Hurricane Sandy health care employee relief fund
The NHA Research and Educational Foundation made a contribution of $5,000to the Hurricane Sandy Health Care Employee Relief Fund. This fund was established to provide assistance to employees of hospitals and other health care organizations in affected communities who have suffered serious personal losses. The Fund will be administered by the United Hospital Fund and distributed to employees in need through area hospitals and other health care organizations. The United Hospital Fund is sponsored by the Greater New York Hospital Association, Healthcare Association of New York State, New Jersey Hospital Association, Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council, and the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association. The American Hospital Association made a donation of $100,000 to the fund. Contributions are tax-deductible, and 100% will benefit hospital employees in need. Those interested in contributing to the fund are encouraged to visit http://www.uhfnyc.org/hurricane_sandy_relief_fund
NHA offers Leadership Institute Class X
The Nebraska Hospital Association is proud to offer its 10th year of the NHA Leadership Institute. For nine years, health care professionals like you have benefited from the only leadership development program that serves the unique needs of Nebraska health care employees.
The program provides interactive learning from top-notch instructors, industry experts and fellow students who are colleagues in the field.
Skilled leaders also know how to position key players into their designated roles to ensure that they move effectively and efficiently toward the patient’s best interest and the organization’s goals.
The Institute is designed for those new to the management role and for those who want to continue to master their game. The Institute is a program unlike any other for health care staff in Nebraska who plan the tactics and strategies needed to be a leader who is inspiring, invaluable, innovative, influential and positioned to achieve victory.
Download the brochure. It’s your move.
One big winner in Tuesday's vote: health reform
One of the biggest winners Tuesday night was health reform. Now that President Barack Obama has won a second term and kept a Democratic majority in the Senate to back him up, Republicans have lost any chance at repealing his biggest domestic initiative.
“Health reform goes ahead,” Timothy Jost, an expert on health law at Washington and Lee University, told NBC news. “It has survived two near-death experiences, with the Supreme Court decision (in June) and now with the election. Now it is time to move forward.”
For most Americans who get their health insurance through their employers, that could mean some significant changes as they are asked to make more and more of their own decisions about how coverage they want.
It doesn’t mean smooth sailing, however. Many rules have yet to be rolled out – and there is little time to do that before the law begins to take full effect in 2014.
Full article>>
—NBC News, November 7, 2012
Nebraska Hospitals: Leaders in Quality
The NHA Leaders in Quality video gallery showcases the exemplary work done by Nebraska hospitals.
View the videos of the great things Nebraska hospitals are doing.
Be prepared for winter slips and falls
Each winter many employers report serious employee injuries from slips and falls in parking lots or inside entryways. Winter’s wet and icy conditions are always dangerous and all organizations need to be prepared to take precautions.
PLAN-COMMUNICATE-IMPLEMENT
NHA 2012 Annual Convention awards photos available for download
Emilio Franso Photography
NHA Foundation announces 2012 scholarship recipients
The Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) Research and Educational Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 Graduate Studies Tuition Aid Program and the Undergraduate Health Care Career Scholarship Program.
The NHA Research and Educational Foundation is helping to address the ongoing shortage by assisting the future leaders of health care in their efforts to pursue a degree in health care or further their education through the two scholarship programs—the Graduate Studies Tuition Aid Program established in 1987 and the Undergraduate Health Care Career Scholarship Program created in 2002. The scholarship programs help address the ongoing shortage of health care professionals and encourage young Nebraskans to remain in the state as they establish their careers. Find out who the recipients are>>
President signs drug shortages bill
President Obama signed the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, legislation that includes AHA-supported provisions to help alleviate critical drug shortages. Approved by Congress June 26, the bill requires drug makers to report production interruptions and discontinuations to the FDA in advance; codifies FDA's authority to speed approval of applications to make drugs in short supply; lifts caps on narcotic ingredients to ensure sufficient supply for anesthesia, pain management and other critical uses; and improves communications with providers and patients about the reason for potential drug shortages and how long they may last. The legislation also creates a user fee program that will help speed FDA approval of generic drugs, and allows hospitals within health systems to conserve their inventory of shortage drugs by sharing repackaged drugs. “We thank President Obama for signing The Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act into law today,” said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. “The number of drug shortages has tripled in the last six years and they are having an impact on patient care. However, the new law is a concrete step in the right direction in addressing this issue.”
- AHA News Now July 9, 2012
AHA responds to LeapFrog safety scores
Rich Umbdenstock, president & CEO of the American Hospital Association shared this letter with the NHA today.
It's a letter he sent to The Leapfrog Group about its recent safety scorecard that received a great deal of press. In it, he highlighted the hospital field’s strong history of support for credible and reliable quality data but raised some serious shortcomings with Leapfrog’s methodology.
Click here to read the letter.
Isn't this the truth?!
Study of the Day: Saying 'No' to Junk Food Is Harder When You're Tired
Jun 11 2012, 10:44 AM ET
New research from Berkeley shows that sleep deprivation affects brain areas tied to decision-making and not basic reward networks.
PROBLEM: Previous research has uncovered a link between sleep deprivation and obesity. Is our compromised ability to appraise food when we're sleepy to blame for this correlation?
Read more>>
LB 599 proponents rally across the state
Go team go! It's very exciting to be part of this historic two days of events supporting healthy babies and LB 599.
Read more>>
LB 599 passes!
On a vote of 31-15 today, the Unicameral gave final approval today on LB 599. It now heads to the governor's desk and the already-promised veto.
Healthcare to add 4.2M jobs by 2020
Healthcare jobs will grow twice as fast as the general economy, with an additional 4.2 million jobs by 2020, according to a study by Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany. Nearly one in nine U.S. jobs will be in the healthcare sector by 2020, the report states.
"Health sector jobs and health occupations have continued to grow, even in a weak economy, and will remain a major source of jobs for years to come." Center for Health Workforce Studies Director Jean Moore said in a research announcement Friday.
Read more>>
New ICD-10 deadline released
In a new press release from HHS, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a proposed rule that would delay the compliance date for ICD-10 from October 1, 2013 to October 1, 2014. Read more>>
The LJS wants our Legislature to "Stand firm for prenatal care"
The battle over restoring prenatal coverage to low-income women, including those who are not U.S. citizens, has turned out to be one of the most savage of the 2012 legislative session.
Last week, a visibly angry Gov. Dave Heineman took a rhetorical swing at Speaker Mike Flood for his support of the measure, saying that he was "extraordinarily disappointed" in Flood's position. Both are Republicans.
The Journal Star editorial board has long argued that restoration of prenatal care to low-income women is justified both by a sense of compassion and hard-headed fiscal responsibility.
Read more>>
We're moving the economy forward!
Health care is doing its part to grow the economy, adding 26,000 jobs last quarter. (You might want to trust me on that; the press release is a dense doozy!)
Read more>>
LJS: Omaha senator issues money challenge for prenatal care (4-6-12)
Toward the end of a long day and evening on Wednesday, after senators had discussed the need for prenatal care for uninsured moms for nearly four hours, Omaha Sen. Rich Pahls stood up and issued a challenge.
He put it more courteously, but what he was saying was this: Put up or shut up.
He heard that 800 babies are born a year, many of them whose mothers did not have access to adequate care. That care costs between $800 to $1,500 for each mom.
Read more>>
Have you tried this?
The Kaiser Family Foundation has an interactive infographic tracking public opinion of the health law, and you can click and break it down by income, party ID, income, age, gender, etc. Start clicking here: http://bit.ly/HVTZso
This is great news!
"The government QuitLine (1-800-QUIT-NOW ) has seen call volume double since the CDC began the “Former Smokers” campaign two weeks ago. It’s now getting about 34,000 calls a week, and the CDC says that for each one person who calls, five or six more try to quit without the hotline. The new ads are graphic and meant to be disturbing, depicting ex-smokers with diseases and disabilities. The CDC statement: http://1.usa.gov/Hc4cVl"
Getting a doc's appointment tougher on Medicaid
This is such a double-edged sword. Doctors can't survive on providing care for less than their basic cost of practice, however, Medicaid patients need care too.
Read more>>
LB 677 passes!
LB 677, which provide criminal penalties for assault on a health care professional, passes 45-0-4. Our thanks to the senators who voted for the bill!
To see the bill's website, click here.
Dental Visits To ERs Are On The Rise
Ouch! This could be very expensive for our hospitals - and painful for patients because they waited too long.
From the NPR Health Blog:
Toothache? The ER doctor will see you now.
Americans who turn up in the emergency room to get dental care aren't lost, they're probably just running out of options.
According to a new report from the Pew Center on the States, more than 800,000 visits to the ER in 2009 were for toothaches and other avoidable dental ailments.
Read more>>
Harlan County Health System is a winner!
Congratulations to Harlan County Health System in Alma, Nebraska! The awesome team there put together a video for the American Heart Association 'Go Red!' campaign and competition.
And the team won!
See their fun video here.
Nice work, team!
New Fillmore County Hospital ready to admit patients on Mar. 1
This is great news! Congrats to everyone at the Fillmore County Hospital and in the community.
Read more>>
Court action could prolong health care fight
WASHINGTON – Next month's challenge to the Obama-sponsored health care law could affect the care available to most Americans, alter the balance of power between Washington and the states and remain a flash point through this presidential campaign.
Yet there is a path the Supreme Court could take when it hears the case that could delay for years any resolution of a main point of contention. The core of the law is a requirement that most people buy health insurance by 2014 or face a tax penalty.
But looming over the case is a federal policy that restricts the timing of lawsuits connected to the assessment and collection of "any tax."
Read more>>
NET Radio covers the health insurance exchange hearings
Here's another story about LB 835 and the health insurance exchange from the one and only Fred Knapp, whom I'm pretty sure has a cot tucked somewhere in the capitol!
Read it here.
LB 835 gets its day at the Unicameral
It was a busy hearing in front of the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee yesterday. Lots of people for health insurance exchanges, and in particular LB 835. A few against and a few neutral.
Here's some press on the hearing.
The NHA supports LB 835 for the creation of health insurance exchanges
The Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee held a hearing on health insurance exchanges, which are mandated by federal law. The governor wants to put Nebraska on the sidelines and let the federal government create ours. Read this as to why you should let your state senator know you support LB 835.
Read the NHA's guest editorial in the Omaha World-Herald here.
Lincoln Journal Star Editorial, 2/2: Eliminate Medicaid cuts
The heart-wrenching testimony on the impact of proposed Medicaid cuts should make clear to state senators that they ought to vote to block them from being implemented.
Two hearing rooms were packed with wheelchairs. Some of those at the hearings had tracheostomies or used feeding tubes. Ventilators hummed away, propelling life-sustaining air to Nebraskans who have difficulty breathing on their own. Nurses suctioned saliva from airways.
The presence of children and adults with serious chronic health difficulties during the six-hour hearing drove home the message of how the Medicaid cuts will drastically affect Nebraskans who depend on home health care.
Gov. Dave Heineman has recommended reductions that amount to $3.4 million in general funds and $4.3 million in federal funds for the Medicaid program for fiscal 2013.
Read more>>
Legislative Bills 952, 926 strive to stop Medicaid cuts
LINCOLN—For a long time, Maura Farruggia of Omaha thought she would never hear her granddaughter, Kareaden, say "grandma." Farruggia and her husband have cared for the 6-year-old, who is inflicted with cerebral palsy, legal blindness and other disorders, since 2006. Medicaid changed everything.Kareaden can walk with assistance, speak and attend school, thanks to Medicaid-funded respite care — a temporary professional care for the disabled. But assistance for many like Kareaden may be on the line with the Division of Medicaid & Long-Term Care's $21 million in Medicaid spending cuts, mostly relating to private and home nursing services. Read more»
— The Daily Nebraskan, Jan. 14, 2012
Medicare shortchanges hospitals on strokes
ROCHESTER, Minn., Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Medicare may be shortchanging U.S. hospitals for the cost of treating stroke, researchers at the Mayo Clinic find. Dr. Waleed Brinjikji, Dr. Alejandro A. Rabinstein and Dr. Harry J. Cloft of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., used data from the the National Inpatient Sample to evaluate hospitalization costs for patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke in the United States from 2001 to 2008. Read more>>
-- UPI.com, Jan. 17, 2012
NHA 2012 Advocacy Day is March 21!
NHA’s Advocacy Day highlights the 2012 legislative issues impacting Nebraska hospitals and health systems, and how they deliver quality and affordable care to their communities.
Additionally, Advocacy Day provides health care advocates and leaders with the opportunity to visit with and educate state senators about how health care legislation will affect them.
Your participation is important! Having a strong understanding of legislative issues and how they impact your hospital and community is critical for health care executives. Your knowledge of the legislative issues and state health care policy allow you to effectively be a voice and advocate. We will be the most successful when legislators and policymakers hear your grassroots stories describing the realities of health care in Nebraska.
Please plan to join us on Wednesday, Mar. 21, 2012, at The Cornhusker Marriott in Lincoln for NHA 2012 Advocacy Day.
Click here to download a brochure or click here to register online.
Collaborative Efforts Can Save Money And Improve Care
Experts say employers, hospitals, physicians and health plans increasingly are willing to work together because cost and quality problems have reached crisis levels. The goal is to carve out health-care spending that’s wasteful and doesn’t help patients. Sometimes there’s an implicit threat that if a provider or health plan doesn’t participate, the large employer will buy health care from someone else.
Read more>>
This is good news! Glad to hear it from the first lady today. Veterans health care initiative is announced:
First lady Michelle Obama Wednesday announced a coordinated effort by 130 colleges to train doctors to deal with U.S. military veterans' health issues.
The goal of the Obama administration's collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine is to produce doctors, medical schools and research facilities that provide healthcare that meets the needs of the military and veterans communities, Obama said in a statement released by the White House.
Read more>>
The Next Phase of Cost Control
This third report in a series of four from the inaugural HealthLeaders Media CFO Exchange provides insight on cost containment from leaders at Banner Health, Wellmont Health System, Parkland Health & Hospital System, Floyd Memorial Hospital & Health Services, and Trinity Regional Health System. Eighteen percent cite "no culture of being cost-conscious" as their greatest organizational challenge to cost reduction.
Read more>>
Commentary: Rural Hospitals Band Together for Insurance-Buying Power
By: Alexandra Wilson Pecci, for HealthLeaders Media, January 11, 2012
A group of Texas community and rural hospitals launches a campaign to encourage a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to buying insurance.
Read more>>
20% of Healthcare Dollars Spent on 1% of Population
By: Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, January 12, 2012
The top 5% of the U.S. population, which accounts for half of all healthcare expenditures, may yield the biggest opportunity for realizing savings, suggests a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Read more>>
Do No Harm — And Keep An Eye On Costs
The American College of Physicians hit a nerve when it released an updated ethics manual calling for doctors to provide "parsimonious care" – in other words, "to practice effective and efficient health care and to use health care resources responsibly."
This recommendation, included in the Jan. 3 Annals of Internal Medicine special supplement, drew immediate reaction – and not just because of its use of the infrequently heard "parsimonious." It's been viewed as a definitive statement of medical ethics directed at the organization's 132,000 members – physicians who practice internal medicine and its related specialties, among them cardiology and oncology, that often involve expensive procedures. And, the guidance comes at a time when health care costs are central to the national policy debate.
Read more from Kaiser Health News.
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Rural America: The Race to Recruit Physicians - NHA MEMBER SPECIAL - JANUARY 2013
January 15, 2013
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CMS Discharge Planning Standards and the Revised Discharge Planning Worksheet Webinar: What is Your Hospital Doing to Reduce Unnecessary Readmissions?
January 22, 2013
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Physician Supervision for Provider-Based Clinics: Ensuring Compliance
January 22, 2013
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The Joint Commission Revised Patient Flow Standards: Ensuring Compliance
January 29, 2013
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They Blinded Me with Compliance! How Science and Compliance Work Hand-in-Hand within Pre-Hire Assessments
January 29, 2013
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Meeting the Board's Responsibility for Overseeing Physcian Compensation
January 30, 2013
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Applying Critical Thinking Skills at the Bedside and Beyond: How do Nurses Make Responsible Decisions?
January 31, 2013
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Employment as a Vehicle for Physicians to Partner with Hospitals
January 31, 2013
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Transitioning to a New Care Setting: From Vision to Reality
January 31, 2013
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Clinical Documentation Improvement as a Response to Federal Recoupment Initiatives
February 5, 2013
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More Events...
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