News Stories
Sep/07 - Fifty-three Minnesota hospitals win latest patient safety awards : Sep 07, 2010
Also, the first winners were named in the new SAFE ACCOUNT campaign
Fifty-three Minnesota hospitals won a total of 61 awards in the Minnesota Hospital
Association's (MHA's) latest round of Patient Safety Excellence Awards.
This quarter's honorees - the seventh grouping in the awards program that began in 2008
- mark the first winners of MHA's new SAFE ACCOUNT campaign. That effort works
to prevent foreign objects from being retained during procedures in the operating room.
The awards program also recognizes work to prevent pressure ulcers, or bedsores; falls;
wrong-site surgical procedures; and foreign objects retained during labor and delivery. The
hospital association's other safety campaigns are SAFE SKIN, SAFE from FALLS, SAFE
SITE and SAFE COUNT. The initiatives are all based on national and state best practices
and on participating hospitals' sharing of information about adverse health events that
occurred at their facilities.
One such best practice in the SAFE SITE initiative, for instance, requires procedure teams
to verify patient and procedure information immediately before the beginning of every
procedure.
To qualify for a patient safety award, hospitals must implement at least 90 percent of each
campaign's required measures.
To learn more, visit this MHA Web page.
For a list of the present and past winners, click here: [DOC].
Sep/07 - Two July regulations set EHR adoption requirements, "meaningful use" standards : Sep 07, 2010
Two federal regulations issued in July set electronic health record (EHR) adoption
requirements that hospitals and physicians must meet - under the federal health reform
law of 2009 - to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments beginning in
fiscal year 2011.
The final rules, discussed in an Aug. 26 American Hospital Association regulatory
advisory, also cover what hospitals and physicians must do to avoid significant payment
penalties in 2015 and in later years.
The first rule covered the initial set of standards, implementation specifications and
certification criteria for electronic health record (EHR) technology, as described by the
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on July 28.
The second rule, issued at the same time by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS), established requirements health care organizations must meet to show they are
"meaningful" users of EHRs, a requirement of reform.
The certification final rule from the Office of the National Coordinator can be viewed here: [PDF]. It takes effect Aug. 27.
The regulatory advisory on EHR incentives and meaningful use is available here: [PDF]. That rule
can be also be viewed here: [PDF]. It takes effect Sept. 27.
Sep/07 - Regions reaches enrollment limit for GAMC patients : Sep 07, 2010
Hospital is third of four in state that can no longer accept CCDS
enrollees under the retooled health care program for the poor
Regions Hospital of St. Paul is the third of four Minnesota hospitals to exceed its client
enrollment limit as a coordinated care delivery system (CCDS) under the state's new
General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program for poor, childless adults in
Minnesota.
Regions reached its cap after state officials announced Wednesday that the state is
changing its mechanism used to pay for care under the revamped health care initiative. The
payment change reflects more current enrollment patterns of patients participating in
GAMC who are choosing a CCDS; the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS)
reports that the overall number of people enrolled in GAMC has decreased, causing DHS
to shift its funding allocation among CCDS organizations.
The state will suspend new CCDS client enrollment for Regions after Wednesday, Sept.8.
That date is five working days after DHS received notification that the hospital had
reached its limit. The time gap is designed to honor selections GAMC participants made
earlier about where they would seek care under the program, DHS said.
On Aug. 6, new participation for CCDS enrollees at North Memorial Medical Center was
suspended because the hospital had also reached its limit. The same occurred at the
University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview on Aug. 27.
Hospitals whose CCDS enrollments are suspended will continue to provide care to GAMC
patients who visit their emergency departments, as hospitals always have.
A CCDS is a block grant program, operated by a hospital, that is charged with
coordinating care and contracting with other health care providers as part of a coordinated
system to care for GAMC patients.
The sole remaining CCDS organization still accepting new patients is Hennepin County
Medical Center (HCMC). Obtain details about the GAMC program at the Minnesota
Department of Human Services' Web site, or by calling (651) 431-2670 or (800) 657-3739.
About 18,000 Minnesotans who qualify for GAMC care have not yet chosen a
coordinated care system, but HCMC has only about 3,750 slots remaining under the
initiative, the Star Tribune reported Wednesday.
Since June, counties have sought to move more patients onto other public programs
offering broader medical coverage. Many state policy-makers - as well as hospital
leaders, including the Minnesota Hospital Association - have been advocating for
alternatives to the revamped GAMC program, such as early Medicaid enrollment for
single, childless adults.
Minnesota Hospital Association President and Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Massa
has said the new GAMC program was underfinanced and unsustainable from the
beginning.
DHS officials said recently they will be contacting Minnesota hospitals in the next week or
two to recruit additional hospitals to become official CCDSs. The 2010 law that revamped
the GAMC program originally would have allowed only 17 hospitals to voluntarily
become CCDSs. However, only four such hospitals signed up. The program will now be
open to any Minnesota hospital that wishes to contract with DHS, starting Dec. 1, 2010.
The original CCDS total payment allotment amount of $71 million, to be divided among
all CCDS participating hospitals, will remain the same.
Hospitals that are not, or do not become, a CCDS, should continue to bill the
uncompensated care pool for care they provide to GAMC patients. The first payments
from the uncompensated care pool are scheduled to be distributed in December.
The new GAMC program established the uncompensated care pool with $30 million.
Hospitals are eligible to bill that pool of funds until Feb. 28, 2011.
For more information, contact Joe Schindler, MHA vice president of finance. Regions reaches enrollment limit for GAMC patients
Hospital is third of four in state that can no longer accept CCDS
enrollees under the retooled health care program for the poor
Regions Hospital of St. Paul is the third of four Minnesota hospitals to exceed its client
enrollment limit as a coordinated care delivery system (CCDS) under the state's new
General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program for poor, childless adults in
Minnesota.
Regions reached its cap after state officials announced Wednesday that the state is
changing its mechanism used to pay for care under the revamped health care initiative. The
payment change reflects more current enrollment patterns of patients participating in
GAMC who are choosing a CCDS; the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS)
reports that the overall number of people enrolled in GAMC has decreased, causing DHS
to shift its funding allocation among CCDS organizations.
The state will suspend new CCDS client enrollment for Regions after Wednesday, Sept.8.
That date is five working days after DHS received notification that the hospital had
reached its limit. The time gap is designed to honor selections GAMC participants made
earlier about where they would seek care under the program, DHS said.
On Aug. 6, new participation for CCDS enrollees at North Memorial Medical Center was
suspended because the hospital had also reached its limit. The same occurred at the
University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview on Aug. 27.
Hospitals whose CCDS enrollments are suspended will continue to provide care to GAMC
patients who visit their emergency departments, as hospitals always have.
A CCDS is a block grant program, operated by a hospital, that is charged with
coordinating care and contracting with other health care providers as part of a coordinated
system to care for GAMC patients.
The sole remaining CCDS organization still accepting new patients is Hennepin County
Medical Center (HCMC). Obtain details about the GAMC program at the Minnesota
Department of Human Services' Web site, or by calling (651) 431-2670 or (800) 657-3739.
About 18,000 Minnesotans who qualify for GAMC care have not yet chosen a
coordinated care system, but HCMC has only about 3,750 slots remaining under the
initiative, the Star Tribune reported Wednesday.
Since June, counties have sought to move more patients onto other public programs
offering broader medical coverage. Many state policy-makers - as well as hospital
leaders, including the Minnesota Hospital Association - have been advocating for
alternatives to the revamped GAMC program, such as early Medicaid enrollment for
single, childless adults.
Minnesota Hospital Association President and Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Massa
has said the new GAMC program was underfinanced and unsustainable from the
beginning.
DHS officials said recently they will be contacting Minnesota hospitals in the next week or
two to recruit additional hospitals to become official CCDSs. The 2010 law that revamped
the GAMC program originally would have allowed only 17 hospitals to voluntarily
become CCDSs. However, only four such hospitals signed up. The program will now be
open to any Minnesota hospital that wishes to contract with DHS, starting Dec. 1, 2010.
The original CCDS total payment allotment amount of $71 million, to be divided among
all CCDS participating hospitals, will remain the same.
Hospitals that are not, or do not become, a CCDS, should continue to bill the
uncompensated care pool for care they provide to GAMC patients. The first payments
from the uncompensated care pool are scheduled to be distributed in December.
The new GAMC program established the uncompensated care pool with $30 million.
Hospitals are eligible to bill that pool of funds until Feb. 28, 2011.
For more information, contact Joe Schindler, MHA vice president of finance.
Sep/07 - MHA, MCHP, MMA issue statement on Pawlenty's executive order regarding health care : Sep 07, 2010
The Minnesota Hospital Association, Minnesota Council of Health Plans and Minnesota
Medical Association issued the statement below to the media Tuesday in response to news
that Gov. Tim Pawlenty had decided not to apply for money that would help Minnesota
plan how to best implement health care changes.
Several news organizations quoted from the message below:
Health Care Leaders Issue Statement on
Gov. Pawlenty's Executive Order
The following statement is from Julie Brunner, executive director of
the Minnesota Council of Health Plans; Lawrence Massa, president of
the Minnesota Hospital Association; and Robert Meiches, M.D., CEO
of the Minnesota Medical Association
We are extremely disappointed Gov. Pawlenty decided not to apply
for money that will help Minnesota plan how to best implement
health care changes. In the past, the Governor signed comprehensive
health reform legislation in Minnesota with many of the same
objectives as this federal legislation. We supported these objectives
for the state and we support them federally. Gov. Pawlenty's
decision leaves Minnesota at an enormous disadvantage. While the
federal law outlines topics, each state has broad discretion in how to
implement the work. The topics for state action include:
-
developing health improvement and prevention programs
aimed at slowing the rising cost of health care by reducing use
of tobacco, reducing obesity rates, and averting the onset of
chronic disease;
- improving care delivered to patients by working to better
coordinate and integrate care during and after
hospitalizations; and
- planning for the future, which could include creating a new
way to pay Medicaid claims and studying new ways in which
Minnesotans can easily compare and purchase health.
There seemed to be agreement that this work was important this past
year when the Legislature passed and Gov. Pawlenty signed
legislation requiring the state to apply for these dollars to begin
evaluating what works under federal health reform. Gov. Pawlenty
has even said that Minnesotans historically send far more money to
Washington than they get back. So when there's a chance to get a
little back, take it, he said.
The governor's decision just doesn't make sense for Minnesotans.
Aug/27 - Grand Marais hospital appoints new administrator : Aug 27, 2010
Kimber L. Wraalstad was CEO of a North Dakota hospital
Kimber L. Wraalstad was recently named administrator of Cook County North Shore Hospital &
Care Center in Grand Marais.
She replaces Diane Pearson, who is retiring as administrator after more than 20 years.
Wraalstad comes to Grand Marais from Rolla, N.D., where she was president and chief executive
officer of Presentation Medical Center, a 25-bed critical-access hospital. According to a news
release from the Grand Marais hospital, during Wraalstad's 16 years there, she, for example,
directed the conversion of the hospital to a critical-access hospital; coordinated a conversion of
the provider-sponsored rural health clinic to a federally qualified health center; led recruitment of
physicians and practitioners; and coordinated the development of a regional data center for nine
critical-access hospitals.
Wraalstad is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She holds a master of
health administration degree from St. Louis University in St. Louis and a bachelor of science
degree in business administration from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.
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