The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Hospital Research and Educational Trust (HRET) set regular milestones for HIIN programs around the country. The latest milestone required 70 percent of the hospitals participating in K-HIIN to submit data on all applicable topic areas for the time period of October 2016 through February 2017. K-HIIN hospitals went above and beyond the goal, as 94 percent of the participating hospitals met their milestone in all applicable areas.

K-HIIN received additional funding for meeting this pre-set milestone, which will be passed on to all the participating hospitals who met their individual milestones. It is because of the hard work and dedication of the hospitals that K-HIIN continues to receive this funding to improve patient care and quality in Kentucky.

Hospitals meeting milestones 1-3 will receive their funding this week.

If you have any question about K-HIIIN and other quality programs at KHA, please contact Donna Meador at KHA ( dmeador@kyha.com)....

KHA Diamond Sponsor Bluegrass Care Navigators, previously Hospice of the Bluegrass, was recently named a 2017 Hospice Honors Elite recipient by Deyta Analytics, a division of HEALTHCAREfirst. Hospice Honors is a prestigious program that recognizes hospices providing the highest level of quality as measured from the caregiver’s point of view.

Separately, Modern Healthcare has honored Bluegrass Care Navigators, naming it one of its “2017 Best Places to Work.” The annual national award recognizes companies that continuously strive to improve their work environment and increase employee engagement, satisfaction and retention through innovative changes in the workplace. It was only the second year that Bluegrass Care Navigators participated in the program.

KHA is thankful for all the sponsors that help support the Association and its goals.

KHA Solutions Group Affinity Partner SUNRx offers the easiest and most effective way for rural health providers to take advantage of the 340B opportunity. SUNRx helps hospitals and health centers:

Generate Revenue. Capture revenue from patients with third-party coverage, and generate $40 or more from each qualifying claim. Reduce costs. Reduce the cost of medications for eligible patients by half. Launch contract pharmacy networks. Hospitals do not need a 340B inventory, additional staff or an outpatient pharmacy. SunRx can build a seamless network of retail pharmacies to dispense 340B discount drugs. Improve patient care. Help patients save money on medications so they fill their prescriptions, go to the emergency room less often and have better health outcomes. Simplify 340B. At no upfront cost, SUNRx can administer all aspects of the hospital's 340B program, including...

KHA is pleased to release the Utilization Trend Report, updated with data from January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2016.   

A copy of the report is available on the KHA website's Data Center, under Utilization.

If you have any questions, please contact Chuck Warnick at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via cwarnick@kyha.com).

KHA is grateful the support of the membership during the 2017 Kentucky General Assembly. When hospitals combine their strength and collectively express their concerns to elected officials, more can be accomplished.

A special thanks goes to KHA Legislative Committee Chair, Joe Koch, whose term ends July 1, for successfully leading the Committee for the last four years. Thank you, Joe, for your outstanding guidance and leadership throughout these important and challenging years of legislation and regulatory changes at both the state and federal levels.

2017 Kentucky General Assembly Report for Hospitals

Two out of KHA’s three liability reform priorities this session were passed as a first step toward making even greater strides to reform the medical liability climate in Kentucky. SB 4 (Alvarado, (R-Winchester), for the establishment of medical review panels, was signed into law by Governor Matt Bevin as well as HB 223 (Fischer, R- Ft. Thomas), for the lowering of the statutory...

The Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence (KCADV) is hosting a webinar to increase the knowledge, skills and awareness of professionals about changes in the domestic violence mandatory reporting statute. This session will also cover mandatory reporting statutes for child abuse and vulnerable adult abuse.

HB 309 amends KRS 209A and requires professionals — including law enforcement, licensed mental health professionals, and health care workers — to provide a suspected victim of domestic violence and abuse or dating violence and abuse with educational materials related to domestic violence and abuse or dating violence and abuse. The law goes into effect across Kentucky on June 29.

Webinars will be offered each Friday in June and July.

The Webinar will:

Present an overview of new mandatory reporting requirements affected by HB 309; Review existing requirements regarding child abuse and vulnerable adult abuse; Expand understanding of domestic violence services and...

The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet's Division of Compliance Assistance (DCA) is providing an introduction-level workshop that will help participants understand how to properly manage and dispose of different kinds of waste. It will also cover waste reduction techniques and how to develop a recycling program.

Speakers from the Division of Waste Management and DCA will explain how to identify and manage different types of waste, upcoming regulations and methods to reduce waste generation, including ways to develop and implement a recycling program. Attendees that will benefit from attendance include environmental or facility managers.

Special guest Leggett & Platt, Inc., a mattress manufacturer in Winchester, will discuss their successful recycling and community outreach programs. At the workshop’s end, attendees may visit the Leggett & Platt plant to observe the facility and program in action.

The ...

The Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) presented awards to four hospital volunteer groups during the Association’s Auxiliary/Volunteer Luncheon on May 18, at the 88th Annual KHA Convention in Lexington. The HANDS Awards (Helping Accomplish Noteworthy Duties Successfully) recognize outstanding volunteer/auxiliary programs in hospitals across the state. This year’s recipients are:

Baptist Health La Grange Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital Hardin Memorial Health UK HealthCare Baptist Health La Grange volunteers created a library project for their facility. The Little Free Library Project began in 2015 after one of the hospital’s volunteers, Dede McIntyre, saw an article describing the Little Free Libraries, a non-profit organization with...

The Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) held its yearly Awards Luncheon on May 19, as part of the 88th Annual KHA Convention in Lexington. During the event, six hospitals from across the state were recognized with KHA Quality Awards. This award is presented to honor hospital leadership and innovation in quality, safety and commitment in patient care.

This year’s recipients were:

Marcum and Wallace Memorial Hospital , in Irvine, for their work in LEAN Management and Rapid Improvement Events; Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center , in Leitchfield, for their use of a patient safety partner in implementing a discharge follow-up call system to collect data and prevent unnecessary readmissions; Frankfort Regional Medical Center , in Frankfort, for using an innovative approach in managing COPD patients across the continuum of care; Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital , in Louisville, for studying...

While many hospitals avoid temporary staffing, the use of travelers remains a viable solution when more traditional approaches are not successful. KHA Affinity Solutions Group Partner Healthcare Staffing Services is an important tool to manage traveler staffing and is available at no cost to KHA members. Healthcare Staffing Services also offers an online staffing management tool for posting and confirming open positions, scheduling and invoicing. Specific benefits of Healthcare Staffing Services include:

Single contract for all participating agencies Compliance audits No hidden fees Joint Commission certified agencies only No guaranteed hours required Compensation for non-qualified staff, no shows and early terminations For more information on how Healthcare Staffing Services can help your facility or system, contact Darrell Trent at KHA Solutions Group (dtrent@kyha.com).

The Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) presented several awards during the Association’s Awards Luncheon on May 19, at the 88th Annual KHA Convention in Lexington.

The highlight of the luncheon was the installment of the 2017-2018 Chair of the KHA Board of Trustees, Jerome Penner, chief executive officer of Murray-Calloway County Hospital, in Murray. Penner will begin his tenure as Chair on July 1.

KHA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, was bestowed upon Dr. Michael Karpf, executive vice president for health affairs at the University of Kentucky. This award is presented to an individual who has given untiring and exceptional service to their hospital, community, the state and the Association. Since coming to the...

The Centers for Disease Control's (CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics conducts the National Health Care Surveys, which include the National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS), National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). These nationally representative surveys provide data and information used by Congress, health care services researchers and others to shape health care policy and the future of health care in the United States.

The National Center for Health Statistics is accepting registration from eligible clinicians (ECs), eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals (EHs) or critical access hospitals (CAHs) of their intent to submit data to the National Health Care Surveys as part of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and the...

KHA Solutions Group has added the Patient Transition of Care platform from Sequentia Corporation as its latest partner in its Affinity Partner program. Sequentia’s web-based solution offers health care providers the system, tools and data necessary to fully optimize the patient transition of care process from “end to end” in the continuum of care. Beginning with patient admission into a hospital for acute care, the Sequentia system tracks, accelerates and enhances the patient journey into and through post-acute care, with any type of care provider that is required to deliver the best patient care outcome. Hospitals using the Sequentia platform can achieve significant operational and financial performance improvements.

Sequentia Corporation is a developer and provider of health care technology solutions, and the Sequentia TOC platform is a Certified Health Information Technology platform.

The Sequentia system has been used for over three years at Ashtabula County Medical Center, a Cleveland...

KHA is pleased to announce the Association's app is new, improved and ready for download. The app not only provides all the details, maps, schedules and presentations for Convention, but now includes information members can use year round!

The app includes:

• Hospital Directory;
• KHA Staff Directory;
• Events Calendar;
• Advocacy Information;
• Sponsors; and
• More As The App Evolves.

The KHA 88th Annual Convention in Lexington is less than a week away. The event includes a track especially designed for nurse leaders. Some outstanding Kentucky Nursing Research will be highlighted and the Kentucky Organization of Nurse Leaders (KONL) will hold a business meeting.

Review the nursing track agenda for presentation details, and visit the KHA Convention website to register today.

If you have any questions, please contact Carol Walters at KHA (cwalters@kyha.com).

...

CGS has just issued a clarification regarding its mandate for sleep centers to hold specific accreditation. Under the clarification, sleep centers (hospital-based and freestanding) will have 90 days to apply for accreditation from one of the three approved entities, and one year to actually undergo the survey and receive accreditation. This is welcome news for Kentucky hospitals with sleep labs. On April 28, KHA sent a letter to CGS requesting additional time for hospitals to obtain accreditation and requesting grandfathered status for Joint Commission-accredited hospitals until their next survey. KHA is pleased that CGS is willing to provide additional time for hospitals to gain accreditation so that beneficiary access to care is not harmed.

The Joint Commission will work with all Kentucky Joint Commission- accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) on scheduling the ambulatory accreditation of their sleep center based upon when they are due for their next triennial hospital...

The Kentucky Society for Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing (KSHPRM) will host its annual spring conference on June 7 in Owensboro. KSHPRM's main purpose is to provide quality education and networking for marketing, public relations and physician liaison members, and since it has been providing this service for decades, the organization has built up its education fund. To reward its members, KSHPRM is inviting everyone to attend the spring conference at NO COST to thank you and the hospital/organization you represent for your support!

Please register in advance to secure your seat.

When: Wednesday, June 7 Starts: 9:00 a.m. (CT) Ends: 2:15 p.m. (CT) Where: Owensboro Convention Center Who: YOU and your entire marketing team and physician liaisons Why: Learning, staff development, networking with your peers and referring hospitals Sponsor Tables will also be free to introduce new vendors to KSHPRM as well as to thank past...

The KHA 88th Annual Convention is May 18-19 in Lexington. There is a track especially designed for hospital attorneys. Topics will include credentialing, social media & ethics, cyber threats, Section 603 and a legislative update. The Kentucky Academy of Hospital Attorneys (KAHA) will also hold a business meeting during the Convention.

Review the legal track agenda for presentation details, and visit the KHA Convention website to register today.

If you have any questions, please contact Carol Walters at KHA (cwalters@kyha.com).

KHA Solutions Group has partnered with MASA MTS to provide a Community Solution to high air and ground ambulance out-of-network bills.

Americans today suffer from a false sense of security that their medical coverage will pay for all costs associated with emergency or critical care transport. The reality is that a majority of Americans are only partially covered for these high costs.

If a doctor or ambulance crew decides that a patient needs an air ambulance, their health insurer only pays part of the bill and because the ambulance companies are out of network, the balance of the bill goes to the patient.

MASA provides membership programs that employers can offer to employees to cover these expenses. With MASA, members will have ZERO out-of- pocket expenses for any emergent air or ground transport, REGARDLESS of who transports them! Membership programs are offered as low as $4.50 per pay period for an entire household!



...

Good oral health policy should reflect the opinions of its stakeholders. The Kentucky Oral Health Program (through the Department for Public Health) is conducting a survey for many different stakeholders to glean attitudes and values regarding the state’s oral health status and issues. The survey, available at       https://kdph.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cva98qXxpcbmksZ takes less than 8 minutes to complete. There are no “fill in the blank” questions and all responses are confidential. Please respond by the close of business on May 12.

Health care professionals and hospital executives are also invited to attend the two-day Kentucky Oral Health Stakeholders Meeting on May 31. This meeting is to update Kentucky’s Strategic Plan for Oral Health. It brings together oral health stakeholders from across the state for their input and ideas about oral health, access to care and the development of new programs...

The KHA 88th Annual Convention is May 18-19 in Lexington. There is a track especially designed for hospital financial officers, which includes ACHE face-to-face credits.

Review the financial track agenda for presentation details, and visit the KHA Convention website to register today.

If you have any questions, please contact Carol Walters at KHA (cwalters@kyha.com).

Few would dispute that health care systems across the globe are not performing up to their potential. The problems are highly complex and no one entity can solve them by acting alone. The greatest opportunity to deliver on the promise may lie in involving “unusual suspects” in communities, guided by a new definition of health, new ways to tell the truth about providers’ performance and a recognition that the patient/consumer is already in control of their health. When these principles guide design, hospitals can create a health care system worthy of the trust of those who depend on it literally for their lives.

During the KHA Convention, May 18-19 in Lexington,  Laura Adams will present “Connecting...

KHA Solutions Group brings greater value to the membership by offering a shared services program that takes advantage of the Association’s collective negotiating strength. Solutions Group's Affinity Partner Program develops mutually beneficial relationships between hospitals and the private sector – relationships that are relevant, cost-effective and supportive of hospitals’ priorities.

One of the Program's partners, Commerce Bank is a leading financial services company and is offering ControlPay® AP Payments which automates payments to vendors and offers revenue share back to hospitals in the form of rebates. By automating vendor payments, hospitals save check writing time and expense. Revenue Share is volume driven based upon each hospital’s spending level and the aggregated spend of participating hospitals. As more hospitals partake and the volume grows, all will benefit with a higher revenue share percentage.

ControlPay...

On April 28, KHA sent a letter to CGS, Kentucky’s Medicare administrator, objecting to the new sleep lab separate accreditation requirement and requesting a delay and grandfathering of all Joint Commission accredited hospitals.

The notice for the new requirement left less than two months for hospitals to secure the necessary accreditation to continue providing sleep study services to Medicare patients. This change in policy not only caught hospitals off guard, but provides an insufficient and unreasonable timeframe for hospitals to comply.

A copy of the full letter is available on the Policy page of the KHA website (under Advocacy).

If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Galvagni at KHA (ngalvagni@kyha.com).

The Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) will host its 2017 Spring Webinar in May. One of the topics this session will be the federally mandated Ordering Referring and Prescribing (ORP) changes.

You must register at http://www.kymmis.com/ in order to participate in this webinar. There a several scheduled workshops to accommodate all providers, and each workshop is exactly the same.

Choose a time: 

• 10:00 a.m. (ET)
• 3: 00 p.m. (ET)

Choose a date:

• Monday, May 15
• Wednesday, May 17 
• Tuesday, May 23 
• Tuesday, May 30 

If you have any questions regarding the webinars, contact DMS Provider Inquiry (800-807-1232).