KHA will host member meetings in each of the four districts throughout the state in October. Online registration is now open! Use the corresponding links below to reserve your seat for your district's meeting. This is a great opportunity to get involved with the Association and network with your peers.

KHA has redesigned the District Meetings to promote more discussion and participant engagement. Please review the agenda and materials and come prepared to answer interactive live polling questions.

October 1 Ohio Valley District Registration KHA Headquarters Louisville ...

The Kentucky Hospital Association is actively recruiting a Director of Data Analytics, who will be responsible for conducting KHA’s research and data analysis activities. This position will also be responsible for a wide variety of health care data analysis and preparation of reports to assist the membership and to support the Association’s representation and advocacy function.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Oversee claims-related data exchange programs and projects with other state associations. Perform analytical audits of KHA claims data for reasonableness and accuracy. Prepare white papers and other analysis and reports for the membership on various topics using KHA Claims Data and other data sources. Perform data analyses and prepare reports to support health policy analysis, representation, advocacy and planning as directed by the Vice President of Data and Health Information Services, Vice President of Financial Policy, Vice President of Member Services or the President. ...

The Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program (KSLRP) is now accepting applications from health care providers seeking assistance with paying off their student loan debt.

The KSLRP is a loan repayment assistance program that helps to recruit and retain health care providers in rural and underserved communities across the state. Applicants selected to participate in the competitive program agree to work full time for two years providing primary care services at an eligible practice site located in a Health Professional Shortage Area. Participants receive tax-free student loan repayment awards — ranging from $10,000 to $40,000 a year — in exchange for their service commitment.

The current application window runs from September 1 to October 1. The deadline to submit completed application materials is Tuesday, October 1 at 5:00 p.m. (ET).

Eligible applicants include physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, registered nurses, dentists,...

KHA and the K-HIIN group recently recognized Heather Lee-Chestnut, a performance excellence engineer at Med Center Health, as the latest Patient Safety Hero Awardee. Lee-Chestnut was nominated by Melissa Allen, an APRN in infection prevention at Med Center Health, who explained why she deserved the award:

"Heather has helped lead our CLABSI prevention team since the beginning of the year. While she's not clinical, her expertise is in Distribution and Quality. She has absorbed the clinical information so quickly and has helped the nursing team see our opportunities to improve in a different manner. Heather has embraced the mission of eliminating central line infections and has worked diligently to help move our systems towards our goal of zero CLABSI. Without her, I'm afraid we wouldn't...

The website for the Kentucky Statewide Opioid Stewardship (KY SOS) program, www.kentuckysos.com, is live. The site contains resources for participating hospitals, upcoming events, recordings and presentations from past events, information on the Advisory Committee and more.

If your hospital is not yet participating in the program, contact Donna Meador at KHA (dmeador@kyha.com).

Registration is open for the KHA Annual Volunteer Conference. Volunteers, auxillians, foundation and health care leaders from across the state will meet on September 26 to discuss new and exciting techniques to excel in their local programs. This is a completely revised conference bringing focus on the most requested topics and issues faced by hospital volunteer groups. Join KHA to reflect on the past, prepare for new challenges and learn how to rise to a new vision.

The registration fee includes two days of conference attendance, conference materials, meals (including entry into the networking reception with vendors and admission to the BBQ dinner with entertainment provided by the Moron Brothers) and eligibility for personal and facility prize drawings.

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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 Bronze Sponsor Pacific Companies!

Pacific Companies, the only permanent and locum tenens firm to offer one point of contact. Since 2001, they have been a trusted advisor in health care staffing.

For more information, visit the Pacific Companies website at https://www.pacificcompanies.com/.

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

We hope you enjoy the KHA daily newsletter, Health e-News. The newsletter will receive a revamp soon, so we want to make sure you're prepared for the change! The email will come from a new address (kyha@memberclicks-mail.net), so please take the time now to add this address to your email address book or ask your IT team to whitelist it for your servers.

These steps will ensure you continue to receive the daily news clipping and blog updates in addition to other KHA group emails. This change will happen within the next two weeks, so take action now to ensure you do not miss any daily emails.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Ginger Dreyer at KHA (gdreyer@kyha.com).

In 2016, workplace violence cost hospitals and health systems over $1.5 billion, spent on security, training, staff turnover, medical care and absenteeism. Additionally, over 77 percent of emergency physicians believe that violence in the emergency department (ED) has harmed patient care through decreased productivity, emotional trauma and increased wait times.

Hardin Memorial Health in Elizabethtown uses Collective’s platform to address the problem. Deanna Parker, Vice President of Emergency Services says, “With Collective Medical, we can better track and record violent incidents, helping us reduce instances of workplace violence, keep staff safe and better care for our patients.”

Hardin Memorial’s charge nurses are empowered to record incidences...

The Kentucky Trustee is a quarterly newsletter KHA produces for the benefit of hospital boards. The goal is to provide your trustees with information they need to lead your hospital forward in today’s rapidly changing environment. The Summer 2019 edition of the Kentucky Trustee is available at http://www.kyha.com/assets/docs/Publications/KT/KTSummer2019.pdf.

KHA mails the Kentucky Trustee newsletter to all trustees for which the Association has contact information. This is a good time to ensure KHA has your current board members’ addresses.

If you have suggestions for future issues of the Kentucky Trustee, please contact Ginger Dreyer at KHA (gdreyer@kyha.com).

Join KHA on October 9 to learn directly from surveyors from the Kentucky Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and other experts so your facility can be better prepared for OIG surveys. Surveyors, a legal expert and hospital leaders will discuss the basics of an OIG survey, immediate jeopardy and real-world scenarios. Plus, as a participant, you will have the opportunity to ask questions to further enhance your understanding.

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

If you have any questions, contact Laurie Gutermuth at KHA (lgutermuth@kyha.com).

The Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) has entered into 12-month MCO contracts for State Fiscal Year 2020 effective July 1, 2019, to provide health care services to Kentuckians who meet eligibility requirements for Medicaid. The contracts below have been submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for approval.

Please note, the files below are large and will take additional time to load.

Aetna

Anthem

Humana

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The Lexington Police Department will host a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Training Course in Lexington beginning October 1. The didactic course is provided over 5 days (40 hours) and satisfies the first portion of the KBN requirements for the SANE credential.

Instructors will be local members of the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), as well as experts from the Office of the Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney and the Kentucky State Policy Laboratory.

Download the brochure for program details and registration information. The registration deadline is September 23.

If you have any questions, contact the Lexington Police Department's SANE Program Manager Angela Wallace, RN, BSN, SANE (awallace@lexingtonpolice.ky.gov).

The Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) is requesting feedback on the proposed DMS 340B Policy and Procedures Manual. The Department is extending the deadline for all feedback to October 3. The effective date of the proposed policy will be set to January 1, 2020.

Please email all feedback to jade.range@ky.gov.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) is alerting clinicians about the possibility of seeing patients with progressive, severe pulmonary disease related to the use of e-cigarettes or “vaping.” As of August 27, at least 215 possible cases in 25 states have been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One death has been reported in Illinois. These pulmonary injuries are particularly seen among adolescents and young adults. Patients are experiencing respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath and fatigue, and symptoms typically worsen over a period of days or weeks before admission to the hospital. Other symptoms reported by some patients included fever, anorexia, pleuritic chest pain, nausea and diarrhea. Chest radiographs show bilaterial opacities, typically in the lower lobes, and CT imaging of the chest show diffuse ground-glass opacities, often with subpleural sparing. Evaluation for infectious etiologies was negative in all patients. Some...