On Friday, Michael T. Rust announced his plans to retire on December 31, 2019, after 24 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA). Rust leaves a long and impactful legacy not only on the Association, but on all hospitals and health care in the state of Kentucky.

Rust has led KHA through nearly two and a half decades of change in the health care industry. Under his leadership, all the hospitals in Kentucky have retained membership in the Association, helping them speak with one common voice at both the state and federal levels.

“Mike has been an invaluable part of KHA during his tenure,” stated Jane Wheatley, chair of the KHA Board and president of Taylor Regional Hospital in Campbellsville. “He has enhanced the organization at every level and been a unifying force for hospitals throughout the commonwealth. The KHA Board and I are immensely grateful for his service.”

“It has been an honor serving KHA and the hospitals of Kentucky,” Rust noted. “I have enjoyed my time with the Association and I’m proud of the accomplishments we’ve made supporting hospitals and ensuring they can continue to provide the highest quality care to all Kentuckians.”

The KHA Board will engage a search firm in early 2019 to find a successor. To ensure the best possible candidate is selected for the position, a national search will be conducted.

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 CardioSolution!

CardioSolution offers a unique turn-key solution delivering comprehensive cardiovascular service line solutions to hospitals nationwide.

For more information, visit the CardioSolution website at https://www.cardiosolution.com/.

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

Until you can fill the positions permanently, KHA Solutions Group can help with your staffing challenges.

Qualivis is the Kentucky Hospital Association’s workforce solution and it offers a broad range of placement services. Qualivis reported they have seen an increase in home health needs within the program and they offer easy access to a nationwide network of health care staffing agencies to simplify and speed the search process. That means you spend less time managing contracts and fielding sales calls, and more time building a great team.

Qualivis currently aligns with 13 state hospital associations, helping nearly 400 hospitals nationwide with their workforce needs. Its vendor-neutral approach brings increased market competition in the areas of billing rates, contract terms and performance standards. Regular on-site compliance reviews are conducted with vendors to review the contract terms, compliance with Joint Commission, CMS and state regulatory requirements. Qualivis can...

The Leapfrog Group released its fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grades November 8, assigning letter grades to more than 2,600 acute care hospitals for patient safety performance. Twelve Kentucky hospitals earned an A grade:

Baptist Health Lexington Clark Regional Medical Center, Winchester Georgetown Community Hospital Harrison Memorial Hospital, Cynthiana Middlesboro ARH Hospital Norton Audubon Hospital, Louisville Norton Hospital, Louisville St. Elizabeth Edgewood St. Elizabeth Florence St. Elizabeth Fort Thomas TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital, Bowling Green Whitesburg ARH Hospital Kentucky, as a whole, also moved up in the national rankings to 33rd overall. The changes in Leapfrog's methodology for this round of grades are available at http://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/media/file/Leapfrog-Hospital-Safety-Grade_Fall-2018_Scoring-Methodology-Changes.pdf.

KHA will host a Joint Commission Update seminar on December 13 in Louisville. The Joint Commission Accreditation Update for 2018-2019 will provide the information needed to understand and manage changes. Topics to be discussed include the new standards, high-level disinfection survey approach changes, competency assessment and documentation, ligature risk assessment and management and the on-site survey process changes.

View the brochure for details. Online registration is available for your convenience.

If you have any questions, contact Sharon Perkins at KHA (sperkins@kyha.com).

Get the resources and training that your facility needs to run an effective antibiotic stewardship program by joining a free, 12-month national project. Beginning in December 2018, the AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use provides participating long-term care facilities with antibiotic use guidelines, expert coaching, online education, improvement tools, patient education materials and more to help you prevent harms associated with antibiotics, such as Clostridium difficile. Participants also have the opportunity to earn continuing education credits.

To...