The Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced the appointment of Stephen D. Black, PT, FACHE, as the new director of the Robley Rex VA Medical Center in Louisville. See their press release for more details.

Register today for the third annual meeting of the Kentucky Pediatric Emergency Care Coalition (KPECC), a voluntary and collaborative effort to improve emergency medical care for children. Everyone, from children’s hospitals to community and critical access hospitals, along with other partners, is working together to improve the care children receive when it matters most.

Join KPECC to raise the bar on pediatric readiness in the ED, to include pediatric metrics in QI programs, to increase capacity and disaster preparedness to address pediatric issues and ultimately to decrease morbidity and mortality for ill and injured children.

All hospitals are invited to join the Kentucky Pediatric Emergency Care Coalition at its third annual meeting on March 6, at the KCTCS System Office in Versailles.

March 6, 2019
8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
KCTCS System Office
300 North Main Street
Versailles

KHA is now accepting applications for the Annual KHA Quality Awards. Please see the application for the full details. Applications are due on March 29. Awards will be presented at the KHA Annual Convention Awards Luncheon in May in Lexington.

More details on the award and on past recipients are available in the Safety and Quality section of the KHA website, www.kyha.com.

If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Cobb at KHA (ecobb@kyha.com).

Kentucky Hospital Association’s research and education foundation (KHREF), in partnership with the Kentucky Office of Rural Health, is offering access to a FREE database of clinic practitioner compensation, benefits and performance data. This is a national database with 19 other states already participating.

All hospitals with rural health clinics are invited to participate for free! POND will assist you in helping your clinic to recruit providers, ensure competitive compensation and benefits and establish meaningful performance targets.

There will be a POND kick-off and demonstration webinar January 15 at 10:00 a.m (CT)/ 11:00 a.m. (ET). Online registration is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/POND11519.

Additionally, the first 30 individuals who register their clinic and submit...

Directly following the KHA Hospital Day at the Legislature on February 21 in Frankfort, learn from an esteemed panel of Kentucky health care leaders, including hospital chief executive officers, a chief nursing officer and others, who will focus on effective management techniques for retaining staff.

View the flyer for agenda details. Online registration is available for your convenience.

If you have any questions, contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (pkirchem@kyha.com).

Early last year, KHA Solutions Group Affinity Partner, Healthcare Staffing Services (HSS), officially changed its name and brand to Qualivis.

Qualivis is a national provider of health care workforce solutions, specializing in supplemental staffing and committed to quality, service and leadership in transforming the workplace culture to improve patient care.

The name “Qualivis” is a combination of three words that capture who they are, what they do and why they do it.

Quality – Their core mission is to provide outstanding health care team members to improve the patient experience and outcomes, exemplify best practices in all facets of business operations and strive for excellence and continuous improvement in all that they do. Life – They provide solutions to give your team...

Are you aware that equipment maintenance management programs provide significant savings and lessen the administrative burden resulting from original equipment manufacturer (OEM) service agreements?

Join Pam Kirchem, Director of Hospital Services at KHA, and members of the Remi Group team on January 23 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) for an educational webinar, "Avoiding the Common Pitfalls of Equipment Maintenance Management."

Remi will showcase what their Equipment Maintenance Management program has to offer hospitals within KHA. Critical access hospital CEOs, CFOs and Material Managers are invited to participate.

To register, visit https://go.theremigroup.com/l/468561/2018-12-19/zczls  and learn more about how much time and money your institution can save.

An eastern Kentucky tech company, Bit Source, has created an app to help quickly connect potential opioid overdose victims to responders with Narcan.

In 2016, the MIT Hack-a-thon in Somerset set out to create digital solutions to tackle some of the most significant health challenges in Appalachia. Bit Source collaborated on the idea of a mobile app that would connect potential opioid overdose victims to responders with Narcan, in many cases much more quickly than the usual 911 response time.

Two years of research, development and testing resulted in ODSave, an app now available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. A pilot project is launching now in Pike County, building a network of responders who are supplied with Narcan and are trained to use it. The next step will be to encourage downloads of the app by the general public,...

Registration is now open for the Annual KHA Quality Conference, March 6-8 in Louisville.

Hospitals, physicians and other health providers are experiencing the need to improve the services and skills they previously offered to meet the growing needs of tomorrow’s communities. This is a time when all of health care needs to crowd together to seek innovations and maximize the quality service provided to patients at all levels of care. 

At the core of every functional and efficient team is a stable leader who operates with integrity and determination. Keynote speakers Paul Long, Darrell Raikes and Nancy Hooper have demonstrated this through the impressive achievements acquired over the course of their careers. The Kentucky Hospital Association’s Annual Quality Conference will begin with an afternoon on Leadership, followed...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week withdrew a 2010 Medicaid DSH policy, known as FAQs 33 and 34, that included private insurance and Medicare payments when calculating the Medicaid shortfall component of the hospital-specific limit on disproportionate share hospital payments. FAQs 33 and 34 “are no longer operative, and CMS will accept revised DSH audits that cover hospitals services furnished before June 2, 2017,” the agency said. CMS is appealing a federal court decision that barred it from enforcing the FAQs and a 2017 final rule incorporating the policy. “CMS will not be enforcing the 2017 rule … as long as the [court] decision remains operative in its current form,” the agency said.



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KHA is grateful for the support of its Annual Sponsors! Through their generous donations, KHA is better able to support its members and provide a wide array of services. Please join KHA in thanking Silver Sponsor Frost Brown Todd!

With over 500 attorneys, Frost Brown Todd has developed a reputation for effectively serving the ever-changing needs of clients within the health care and insurance industry.

For more information, visit the Frost Brown Todd website at https://www.frostbrowntodd.com/.

To become a sponsor, contact Claire Arant at KHA (carant@kyha.com).

February 21, when the 2019 Kentucky General Assembly heats up, KHA will host its annual Hospital Day at the Legislature for the perfect opportunity for hospital leaders to meet one-on-one with their legislators. Hear from policy makers and lawmakers about the legislation that will affect your hospital, then meet in person with your senators and representatives to ensure they are educated about how their work in Frankfort will impact your facility and the community you serve.

View the flyer for agenda details. Online registration is available for your convenience.

If you have any questions, contact Claire Arant at KHA (carant@kyha.com).

The Kentucky Hospital Association and the Kentucky Hospital Research and Education Foundation (KHREF) will host an education session for Critical Access Hospital (CAH) quality leaders on February 6 at KHA Headquarters in Louisville.

KHREF partners with Cynosure Health to provide quality improvement education, tools and technical assistance through both the Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Grant for CAHs) and through the Hospital Improvement Innovation Network (HIIN). Barb Debaun will lead this educational session, working with quality leaders in reviewing data, learning best practices and discussing innovative strategies in improving patient discharge, transition and post-acute care.

View the agenda for program details. Online registration...

KHA is grateful for the support of its Annual Sponsors! Through their generous donations, KHA is better able to support its members and provide a wide array of services. Please join KHA in thanking Silver Sponsor Whittenberg Construction Company!

Whittenberg provides construction services for healthcare facilities in our region. Out many clients include Hardin Memorial Health, Community Health Corporation, Norton Healthcare and KentuckyOne.

For more information, visit the Whittenberg Construction Company website at http://whittenberg.com/.

To become a sponsor, contact Claire Arant at KHA...

KHA is grateful for the support of its Annual Sponsors! Through their generous donations, KHA is better able to support its members and provide a wide array of services. Please join KHA in thanking Corporate Sponsor Concord Medical Group!

Concord Medical Group is a physician owned and operated organization that provides top quality Emergency Department and Hospitalist management and staffing solutions.

For more information, visit the Concord Medical Group website at https://www.concordmedicalgroup.com/.

To become a sponsor, contact Claire Arant at KHA (carant@kyha.com).

KHA is grateful for the support of its Annual Sponsors! Through their generous donations, KHA is better able to support its members and provide a wide array of services. Please join KHA in thanking Corporate Sponsor KHA Solutions Group!

Since 1979, KHA Solutions Group has provided specialized services to hospitals, health care organizations and other industries. KHA Solutions Group’s history of success reflects the belief that the best client relationship are built upon a foundation of professionalism, integrity and personal service.

For more information, visit the KHA Solutions Group website at https://www.kyha.com/solutions-group....

To give staff members the opportunity celebrate the holidays with their families, KHA Headquarters will have the following closures in the next two weeks:

Thursday, December 20 - The office will close at noon for the KHA Christmas Party.

Monday, December 24 to Wednesday, December 26 - The office will be closed for Christmas.

Monday, December 31 - The office will close at noon for New Years Eve.

Tuesday, January 1- The office will be closed for New Years Day.

Happy Holidays from the KHA Staff!

KHA and the K-HIIN group recently recognized Brenda Jones, Risk Manager at Jewish Hospital, as the latest Patient Safety Hero Awardee. Jones was nominated by Erin Stanley, Jewish Hospital Pharmacist, who elaborated on why she truly deserved the award:

"Brenda has exemplified numerous characteristics that qualify her for this award. She consistently goes above and beyond to promote patient safety for this organization. This has most recently been demonstrated through her working with the Human Resources team to provide education to hospital managers and leaders surrounding the Just Culture model, where cases were presented and participants had the opportunity to demonstrate their follow-up, which is often very challenging depending on the error. Next, Brenda has been instrumental...

KHA is grateful for the support of its Annual Sponsors! Through their generous donations, KHA is better able to support its members and provide a wide array of services. Please join KHA in thanking Corporate Sponsor Evident!

Evident prepares customers for the future of healthcare through EHR solutions and support built for rural and community hospitals.

For more information, visit the Evident website at http://www.evident.com/.

To become a sponsor, contact Claire Arant at KHA (carant@kyha.com).

KHA is grateful for the support of its Annual Sponsors! Through their generous donations, KHA is better able to support its members and provide a wide array of services. Please join KHA in thanking Platinum Sponsor Republic Bank!

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, with over 44 banking centers across five states. Republic Bank is one of the largest locally owned community banks.

For more information, visit the Republic Bank website at https://www.republicbank.com.

To become a sponsor, contact Claire Arant at KHA (carant@kyha.com).

On February 19, KHA will host a webinar on Ligature Risks:Ensuring Compliance with the CMS Hospital CoPs and TJC Requirements. This a hot topic, and there is a great deal of survey activity around prevention of suicidal patients from harm or strangulation.

The Joint Commission announced that this is one of the four top areas of focus. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has promulgated requirements for hospitals to prevent ligature risk and self harm from patients that are suicidal. A 13-page memo was issued and the hospital manual was amended on December 29, 2017, to implement these changes. Any hospital that received Medicare, which is most hospitals in America, must implement these changes for all patients.

View the brochure for details and a program agenda. Online registration...

KHA is grateful for the support of its Annual Sponsors! Through their generous donations, KHA is better able to support its members and provide a wide array of services. Please join KHA in thanking Corporate Sponsor Pharmacy Systems, Inc. (PSI)!

PSI is the leader in pharmacy management services, delivering expertise in the areas of revenue/expense management, quality, customer service, next practices and personnel.

For more information, visit the PSI website at http://www.pharmacysystems.com/.

To become a sponsor, contact Claire Arant at KHA (carant@kyha.com).

Critical access hospitals are invited to participate in a program jointly supported by the Kentucky Hospital Association and State Office of Rural Health related to Kentucky’s rural primary care delivery systems. As a means of gaining insights for rural practices (including independent practices and rural health clinics), KHA has subscribed to an online benchmarking system called Practice Operations National Database (POND). Information on the system is available online at http://www.lilypad207.com/pond-info/). Think of it as the MGMA for rural practices .

If your CAH owns/manages provider-based rural health clinics (RHCs), you and your practice manager(s) are encouraged to join one of the POND webinars listed below. If you do not have provider-based RHCs, please forward this information to the practice manager(s) of the independent primary care practices in your service area. They are welcome to participate as well. There is no cost to...

KHA is grateful for the support of its Annual Sponsors! Through their generous donations, KHA is better able to support its members and provide a wide array of services. Please join KHA in thanking Silver Sponsor and first Gala Sponsor for 2019 HSG!

HSG builds high-performing physician networks so health systems can address complex changes with confidence. Whether you are improving your employed network, aligning with private physicians, building your strategy or wrestling with the impact of value-based care, HSG provides resources for you. This is all they focus on and can deliver insightful and innovative solutions with great results.

For more information, visit the HSG website at https://hsgadvisors.com/....

KHA is pleased to host a Critical Access Hospital Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Meeting on December 12 at KHA Headquarters in Louisville. This is the second CEO/CFO roundtable meeting with Greg Wolf and Jon Pantenburg from Stroudwater Associates. The first meeting, held in July, had a great turnout and those attending noted it was one of the most beneficial and interesting meetings they had attended in a long time! Join your colleagues from across the state next week.

View the agenda for program details. Online registration is available for you convenience through Monday, December 10.

If you have any questions, please contact...

KHA staff was saddened to hear of the passing of Wayne Estopinal on Friday. Estopinal and his architecture firm, TEG Architects, have been long-time supporters of the Association and he was recognized everywhere for his work in health care. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time.

 

 

As 2018 draws to a close, take a moment now to mark your calendar for the 2019 KHA Annual Convention. The upcoming year marks KHA's 90th Anniversary, so this convention will feature more education and networking opportunities, plus special events. Make plans now to attend! Additional information will be available in the coming months.

KHA 90th Annual Convention
May 8-10, 2019
Lexington Convention Center/Hyatt Regency Lexington

KHA is grateful for the support of its Annual Sponsors! Through their generous donations, KHA is better able to support its members and provide a wide array of services. Please join KHA in thanking Corporate Sponsor TruBridge!

TruBridge delivers effective business, consulting and managed IT services along with an end to end Revenue Cycle Management solution ranging from an HFMA Peer Reviewed ® product to complete business office outsourcing.

For more information, visit the TruBridge website at http://www.trubridge.com/.

To become a sponsor, contact Claire Arant at KHA (carant@kyha.com).

 

Today’s specialized workforce shortage is one of the most critical challenges facing health care leaders across the country. To help combat this issue, KHA Solutions Group's Affinity Partner offers Kentucky health care organizations the ability to take advantage of the health care industry’s most cost-effective recruitment network and platform: HospitalCareers.com.

HospitalCareers.com is the health care industry's leading hospital jobs site that connects health care candidates and hospitals to find their perfect match. Through their network of twenty-four state hospital associations and integration with advanced online recruitment...

Congratulations to this year's winners of the annual Kentucky Society for Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing (KSHPRM) Thoroughbred Awards for health care marketing and public relations!

Kentucky health care organizations were eligible to submit entries in 34 categories ranging from television advertising to direct mail design, community events and social media campaigns.

This year's 75 entries were judged by KSHPRM's sister organization in Florida. Those receiving 4.5 to 4.9 points earned a Certificate of Merit; entries receiving 5 points and higher earned a Thoroughbred Award statue. Many of the participants won in more than one category.