Hospital Council members receive Council Connect,
our electronic newsletter that shares everything we’re
working on for you.
In articles as diverse as our membership — from rural
to urban, and Sierra to sea — we spotlight the
individuals and institutions who are moving the ball forward,
while also sharing news on new ideas and innovative approaches
from our endorsed business partners.
Here’s a look at some of the work that Hospital Council RVPs have
been involved in over the past few weeks.
On Nov. 18, the state announced that the rollout
of the Medi-Cal Managed Care Pharmacy program with Magellan has
been delayed until April 1, 2021. This move by the state to the
new pharmacy program remains unpopular with many, including
providers concerned about negative impacts on patient care. One
clinic network reports this will result in a $2 million loss of
340B dollars, plus a loss of investment in time, software,
dollars, and staff administering 340B. That clinic network is
joining with others to sue the state to carve them out of the
program.
The above quote and picture came from our daughter, Zoey, eight-and-a-half years ago. In preparation for Thanksgiving, Zoey’s preschool teacher asked each student what they were thankful for and wrote their answers down on the sharing board for the parent program. When our family saw this quote, it immediately became our favorite Thanksgiving memory.
PG&E is providing rebates for ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers. All the requirements need to be met in order to qualify, but this is a good opportunity for hospitals buying energy-efficient ULT freezers in preparation for a COVID-19 vaccine.
When hiring new employees, background checks are a critical part
of the process. They can help employers make informed decisions
about who they want to hire and allow access to a business’s
information, property, and customers. With the laws
ever-changing, this webinar
from from endorsed business partner Accurate — How to
Compliantly Hire Someone — is a good refresher on the hiring and
background check processes.
The California Health Care Foundation, in partnership with policy
research group Mathematica, has issued a
request for proposals (RFP) on feasibility grants to advance
graduate medical education (GME) in California hospitals.
On Nov. 4, CHA held its annual meeting with the California
Department of Public Health (CDPH) leadership and district
offices. Heidi Steinecker, CDPH’s deputy director, Center for
Health Care Quality, and her team provided an update on their
program improvement and reviewed CDPH’s COVID-19 response.
Participants also heard highlights of the Center for Health Care
Quality’s direction, reorganization, and priorities moving
forward.
On Dec. 10, the California Hospital Association Political Action
Committee (CHPAC) will host a wrap-up webinar on the 2020
election where attendees can find out how their 2020 CHPAC
contribution helped California’s hospitals. In addition,
attendees at this special donors’ event will hear the impacts
made at the state and national levels and gain insights on what
lies ahead, post-election.
Here’s a look at some of the work that Hospital Council RVPs have
been involved in over the past few weeks.
On Nov. 10, Rebecca Rozen participated in a
meeting with Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), along with
member hospitals in his district and CHA’s advocacy team.
In a year that has uprooted our lives, brought so much heartache and devastation, and left us with so many questions, it’s not likely even the late “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek would have had the correct answers. While we don’t know all of the answers surrounding the multitude of health care issues — COVID-19, Affordable Care Act, etc. — we certainly know the questions that our hospital members and the people who depend on our care have for the newly elected.
After 10 years of planning, including a community bond measure, design, and more than two years of construction, Modoc Medical Center in Alturas opened its doors to the community on Oct. 22.
The medical center is comprised of three buildings — the main hospital, a second (attached) building with clinic and outpatient services, and a third that houses ambulance bays and support services.
Here’s a look at some of the work that Hospital Council RVPs
have been involved in over the past few weeks.
On Oct. 20, Rebecca Rozen moderated a
presentation by Alameda County Behavioral Health Care
Services for hospital case management and discharge
planning leaders.
When it comes to employment applications, it’s important that
employers comply with more than just removing the criminal
question “box” from employment applications.
On Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. (PT),
Accurate will host a webinar on ban the box and adverse
action, designed to help you get your background checks … in
check. A panel of legal experts will discuss:
Hospital Council has prepared an infographic that
highlights the partnership with PG&E designed to help reduce
the impact of public safety power shutoffs (PSPS). The
infographic looks at changes implemented in 2020, important
PSPS-related numbers, and planned improvements.
On Aug. 18, the Mayers Memorial Hospital District opened its new
hospital wing, a 10,900-square-foot building that is home to the
emergency, lab, and imaging departments. It replaces outdated and
non-compliant portions of the building and provides a modern home
for many of the hospital’s primary services while retaining a
physical connection to the remaining services in the existing
facility.
Hospital Council invites you to a free webcast: AMN Open Talent
Marketplace. The webcast will feature Medefis, a vendor
management system that comes with a pre-vetted network of
nursing, respiratory, and physician-contingent personnel and will
be presented by Doug Janes, AMN vice president, business
development.
MCAG is a class action settlement recovery expert that has
distributed hundreds of millions in cash to its clients through a
settlement recovery service. The firm is currently helping more
than 1,400 hospitals via a streamlined filing process to secure
recoveries from class action settlements.
If you haven’t done so yet now is the time to make sure your
hospital or health system is enrolled in the MCAG settlement
recovery service for the class action settlements listed below.
Minimal staff time is needed for MCAG to complete your claim
filings — at no upfront cost to you.
Hospitals are pouring a wealth of resources and time into
transforming how care is delivered, and sometimes the Accounts
Payable (AP) department gets left out when it comes to
innovation.
Atlas Lift Tech’s approach to safe patient handling and mobility
adapts to the needs of each client. Atlas mobility coaches,
integrated in facilities up to 24 hours a day, are available on a
scheduled or emergent basis through continuous rounding on the
units and in unit/bedside training.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not just altered the
healthcare industry but virtually every aspect
life in the United States. And
yet, the fundamentals of healthcare
remain. If nothing else, the pandemic has reminded of the
important of healthcare in our communities.
New regulations from the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) taking effect in
May 2021 require hospitals to share
their admission, discharge,
and transfer notifications and to ensure their
primary care and post-acute providers – anywhere in the country –
are notified about emergency department visits,
inpatient admissions, and other hospital-based
events.
Telehealth has come into its own during
the COVID-19 pandemic, as increased demand and satisfaction
have led to broader adoption across the
industry. Studies show that nearly 25% of American
adults have used telehealth, and that figure is
climbing. Vituity, a leader in providing acute care
management, health care, and medical staffing services and
solutions, was ahead of this curve and developed a
full suite of telehealth solutions that have proven
invaluable to hospitals and health care
facilities. Vituity is a
Hospital Council is pleased to introduce ButterFli, which
delivers on-demand and scheduled transportation to people with
special needs, including those with
COVID-19. ButterFLi utilizes mobile and web technology,
along with customer service representatives, to match service
providers to customers. Unlike Uber and Lyft, users can book
rides by phone — without downloading an app.
As hospitals resume surgical procedures and treatments that were
paused in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for blood
has increased. The American Red Cross is asking
healthy individuals to make appointments to
donate to ensure blood products are readily available for
patients.
Virtually everyone in the United States has been affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic, though it has been a challenge and strain on
physicians, nurses, and other healthcare
professionals.
SpeedTrack, which provides next generation data
analytics for California health care, has a new option that is
helping in the fight against
COVID-19. The Population Health Decision
Support (PHDS) analytics platform is now being
leveraged to identify and optimize care for at-risk patients
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many patients, especially
those who are elderly or with multiple chronic
conditions have elected not to see their physicians during
this time (98% of practices are reporting substantial
decreases in patient volumes – CMA Ph
Hospital Council members are eligible to take advantage
of a Class Action Settlement Recovery Service, on a pure
contingent fee basis, through a strategic partnership
with Managed Care Advisory Group (MCAG), LLC.
The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting unprecedented challenges to
health care facilities. Medefis, a rapid staffing network
solution from AMN Healthcare, hopes to ease some of the
burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. This vendor management
system comes with a pre-vetted network of nursing, respiratory,
and physician contingent personnel. It is designed
to simplify life for HR departments, especially smaller
hospitals (fewer than 300 beds), with staffing
services to address:
At last Thursday’s board meeting, a new slate for the Board of Directors was installed. The board, which is the governing body of the Hospital Council and is responsible for the ultimate direction of the management of the affairs of the organization, includes:
On Oct. 8, the Solano Emergency Medical Services
Cooperative (SEMSC) Board reviewed a proposal from Medic
Ambulance, the county’s 911 provider, to increase its advanced
life support (ALS) rates by 43% and use a portion of the funds to
support fire medical response in several cities. The rate
increase would apply to transports from the field to hospitals,
as well as ALS interfacility transports between hospitals.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)
has developed a comprehensive program, “Earthquake Warning
California,” for medical facilities.
CHA has launched FightFluTogether, a
consumer-focused campaign to encourage flu vaccination, developed
in partnership with the California Department of Public Health,
the California Medical Association, the California Immunization
Coalition, and the Hospital Officers Association of California.
CHA and the Regional Associations have launched a new website to support
members as they continue to respond to the ongoing challenges of
the COVID-19 crisis.
All the resources developed so far have been consolidated to make
it easier to find what is needed via a browsable set of tools and
information, including:
CHA has released the 2020 Consent
Manual, which features updates and insights
on current consent and related health care law. The
manual is available free to members for download and
in the CHA Manuals app. Printed copies may
be purchased here.
Nominations are open until Oct. 2 for positions on the 2021
Hospital Council Board of Directors. Nominations should include
name, hospital affiliation, and a brief biography.
The American Hospital Association has created a voter
registration digital
toolkit that includes sample CEO/leader messages and
newsletter articles, downloadable and customizable posters, as
well as graphics, including Zoom backgrounds and logos. The
toolkit is designed to be used as a reminder that every health
care voice counts.
On Sept. 17, several government relations
officers, along with RVP Jo Coffaro and Hospital Council
President & CEO Bryan Bucklew, met with Kansen Chu and Otto Lee,
candidates for the Santa Clara County Board of
Supervisors District 3 seat. This was purely an educational
meeting and an opportunity for the candidates to ask questions
about health care and hospitals, as Hospital Council does not
endorse candidates.
On Sept. 1, Anthem Managed Medi-Cal held its
second-ever advisory council meeting for north state
rural providers. Anthem is making progress in many areas
important to providers, including telehealth, social determinants
of health, and COVID-19 response. The meeting included many
representatives from clinics and counties, and RVP T Abraham will
work with Anthem to get more hospitals involved, specifically
case managers and patient billing representatives.
As Californians endure the impacts of the
state’s wildfires, the National Association for Behavioral
Healthcare reminds all members of resources available through the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
If you missed the Aug. 27 Hospital Council
webinar — PSPS Update: What Hospitals Served by
PG&E Need to Know — or just want to review, it
is now available as an on-demand recording. The webinar
presentation and recording have been posted here,
where you will also find:
With the 2019-2020 legislative session behind us, it’s time to breathe a brief sigh of relief. We can — and should — take a moment to relish the accomplishments over the past months, and in the recently concluded legislative session:
After a comprehensive review of background screening companies,
Hospital Council and Hospital Association of Southern California
(HASC) have jointly named Accurate as an endorsed business
partner for employment screening services.
In a year that has already brought so many challenges, the last thing we needed were the lights to go out — without any warning. However, that’s what some of your hospitals encountered during the recent heat wave. Recognizing that this situation likely remains top of mind for many of you, especially as we approach the public safety power shutoff (PSPS) season, we wanted to update you on where things stand with PG&E.
SUNRx, a health care
technology company that assists health care facilities with 340B
administration and an endorsed business partner of the Hospital
Council, is presenting a webinar designed to share 340B insights
and help hospitals better support their uninsured patients. The
third installment in the SUNRx 340B webinar series — Innovation
in Contract Pharmacy — will be held at 11 a.m. (PT) on Sept. 8.
Throughout August, Rebecca Rozen has convened
East Bay Section hospitals for a weekly COVID-19
conference call to check in with each other and compare notes
across the region, share information, address mutual challenges,
and provide a forum to raise issues for resolution. The
calls have been an invaluable touchpoint throughout the current
pandemic.
CHA has released this
“Perspective” on Senate Bill (SB) 758, aimed at legislators
and reinforcing the idea that California needs to think
differently about disaster planning while extending the deadline
for seismic mandate compliance. CHA is pushing this message to
legislators via social media and other channels through Thursday
afternoon, but that may change depending on what happens with the
bill.
“Meet this moment.” It’s a phrase that for months Gov. Newsom has
been uttering during his press conferences and regular COVID-19
updates. And while he has at times taken flack on social media
for what may be considered by some to be overused, it’s safe to
say that it’s a fitting phrase for this time.
Just like Californians have “met this moment” by social
distancing, staying at home, wearing masks, etc., your hospitals
have more than “met this moment” and will continue to do so in
the months to come. And at the Hospital Council, it’s our job to
support you in any way that we can.
In the last issue of Council Connect, we invited you
to take a survey and share your thoughts
on Hospital Council priorities for the remainder of
2020. We want to know:
What are you most worried about for the rest of this
year?
What are the best lessons learned from COVID-19 that you can
share with the hospital field?
What additional assistance or information do you need from
the Hospital Council and our One Team partners,
including the California Hospital Association?
Survey results will be discussed by the Hospital Council Board of
Directors and referred to as resources and budgets are considered
for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021. Please take a
few minutes to complete the survey and let your voice be
heard. We want to hear from you.
As the demands of COVID-19 extend into the summer and continue to
stretch front-line health care workers both mentally and
physically, hospitals are reminded that the Hospital Quality
Institute’s Care
for the Caregiver webinar is available as an on-demand
recording.
The webinar includes practical and necessary tools to assist
hospitals and their employees in creating a peer support model
for adverse events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally,
the webinar offers information on how to engage in empathic
conversation with both patients and families.
In an upcoming webinar from Merritt Hawkins, the
nation’s leading physician search and consulting firm,
executives will review the emerging methods that
hospitals, medical groups, and other health care facilities
use to retain and recruit medical staff during the pandemic, as
well as factors that should be considered as we emerge from the
crisis. The webinar will be held July 16 from 10 to 11 a.m.
(PT).
The program will also cover original data
from a physician survey conducted by Merritt Hawkins, in
collaboration with The Physicians Foundation, that tracks how
physicians are being affected by and responding to COVID-19, as
well as information from a new white paper that
includes an instructive look at physician recruiting and
retention during these unique times.
To participate in the webinar, register here. Merritt
Hawkins is an endorsed business partner
of the Hospital Council.
On July 2, Brian Jensen convened a meeting with the
Stanislaus County Emergency Operations Centerand hospital CEOs to discuss each facility’s ICU
capacity to manage the rise in COVID-19 cases. The meeting
revealed that the increase in ICU usage is attributed to
non-COVID-19 patients who postponed care during the first wave
and that hospitals continue to work on implementing staffing
strategies to maximum bed capacity. For more information, contact
Brian Jensen at bjensen@hospitalcouncil.org.
On July 1, T Abraham organized an introductory meeting of
PG&E and leadership from the California Association of
Healthcare Facilities (CAHF) to discuss the vulnerabilities of
skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs) throughout the state. CAHF
agreed to provide SNF addresses to PG&E, which will assess
each site’s risk level for public safety power shutoff outages —
similar to what has been done for hospitals. For more
information, contact T Abraham at tabraham@hospitalcouncil.org.
New regulations from the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that take effect
in May 2021 require hospitals to share
their admission, discharge,
and transfer notifications and to ensure their
primary care and post-acute providers — anywhere in the country —
are notified about emergency department visits,
inpatient admissions, and other hospital-based
events.
During an upcoming webinar — tentatively scheduled
for late August — Collective Medical will
present its solutions to help hospitals meet
the new CMS requirements. The solutions are easy and
economical to implement for both hospitals currently on the
Collective Medical platform as well as those that are
not — and they ensure downstream providers are not
overwhelmed with notifications.
An endorsed business partner of the Hospital Council,
Collective Medical offers a real-time analytics and
care collaboration platform that connects more than 135
California hospitals to each other, health plans, and outpatient
providers. This enables care
collaboration for high-risk individuals, including the
homeless and individuals who have contracted or are at risk for
contracting COVID-19. The platform also supports value-based care
arrangements such as accountable care organizations and the CMS
BPCI-A initiative.
