Sherri Craig, vice president of advocacy and public policy for KentuckyOne Health and Dennis Johnson, president of Hardin Memorial Health were honored today with AHAPAC Most Valuable PAC Player awards during the KHA Board of Trustees meeting.

A book signing to raise awareness and funds for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation will immediately follow Keni Thomas's keynote presentation. His book, Get It On! What It Means to Lead the Way, will be available for purchase at the event for $20.

As a former United States Army Ranger who served in the now famed “Blackhawk Down” mission, Keni Thomas will share his story of courage and leadership from the battlefield and beyond at the KHA Annual Convention, May 18-19 in Lexington. Nineteen Americans gave their lives and 78 were wounded in the worst urban combat seen by U.S. troops since World War II. His firsthand account of how extraordinary soldiers fought to bring each other home...

Providers who have not demonstrated meaningful use successfully in a prior year and are seeking to demonstrate meaningful use for the first time in 2017 to avoid the 2018 payment adjustment must attest to Modified Stage 2 objectives and measures. Providers who have demonstrated meaningful use successfully in a previous year may attest to Stage 3 objectives and measures starting in 2017.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) encourages eligible hospitals, ciritcal access hospitals (CAHs) and dual-eligible hospitals to visit the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs website for...

On May 31, KHA will host a webinar on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Hospital Improvement Act Proposed Changes presented by Sue Dill Calloway.

CMS has proposed some significant changes to the hospital conditions of participation (CoPs) that every hospital should know including critical access hospitals. This includes changes to nursing, medical records, infection control, QAPI, patient rights and restraint and seclusion. It will also require all hospitals to have an antibiotic stewardship program and what the program should include. It will include a prohibition on discrimination which must be given to patients in writing.

View the flyer for details and register online...

Quorum Health Resources is hosting a Bootcamp for Quality Directors (and others who may need an update) in May in Brentwood, Tennessee.  With the hospital’s financial performance and viability increasingly tied to quality, patient safety and patient satisfaction, the role of the Quality Director has become critical to the hospital’s success.

This hands-on basic training session focuses on teaching the core skills that every Quality Director must have to be successful in today’s turbulent health care times. 

For details and registration information, visit https://quorum.eventsmart.com/.

The KHA 88th Annual Convention is May 18-19 in Lexington. There is a track especially designed for chief medical officers and physicians, which will provide the opportunity for continuing medical education (CME) credits.

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

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

A few months ago, KHA Diamond Sponsor Hospice of the Bluegrass announced they would change their name to reflect a broader scope of services. They found that the hospice-anchored name is often perceived as a barrier to referring to their care and services beyond hospice.

In fact, many health care partners and the community at large are surprised to learn that in addition to hospice care, they provide private pay medical and non-medical home care, transitional care, palliative care and community grief services.

The company's new name is Bluegrass Care Navigators. It reflects their expanding scope of services as well as expertise in guiding or providing the right care at the right time in the right setting. Think of them as a continuum of care for the seriously ill and connect with them to begin assistance to your patients and their families. They are available 24/7, 365 days a year, for your referral call, at 855-492-0812.

AHA is asking hospitals, local and state auxiliary organizations, state DVS groups and volunteer departments to support the American Hospital Association on June 9 for #HAVhope Friday: A National Day of Awareness.

The AHA Board of Trustees launched an association-wide initiative “Hospitals Against Violence” to focus on addressing violence within the hospital walls and in their communities. To that end, June 9 is designated as #HAVhope Friday : A National Day of Awareness to unite hospitals, health systems, volunteers, nurses, doctors and other professionals from across the country, as well the local andstate organizations they work with, to focus national attention on ending violence through a digital media campaign.

Visit www.aha.org/preventviolence for...

The cutoff date for reservations at the group rate for the KHA Annual Convention is one week from today — April 26.

A block of rooms is reserved at the Hyatt Regency Lexington. Reservations requests after the cutoff date will be confirmed on an availability basis. When making your reservations by phone (800-233-1234), remember to mention the Kentucky Hospital Association Annual Meeting. To make a reservation online, please use the custom link: https://aws.passkey.com/go/KHA2017.

There will be three ACHE sessions at this year's KHA Annual Convention in Lexington on May 18-19. Thursday will feature two sessions with Jake Poore, president and chief experience officer of Integrated Loyalty Systems in Orlando. Each of these sessions are eligible for 3.0 ACHE Face-to-Face education credits.

On Friday, May 19, there will be a panel presentation and discussion about accountability and transformation with hospital leaders from around the state. This session is eligible for 1.5 ACHE Face-to-Face education credits.

For more information about these and other sessions available at this year's Convention, visit http://www.kyha.com/CM/Events/KHA_Convention/KHA_Convention.aspx.

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

Thanks to those chief executive officers who have submitted contact information for the staff that will be responsible for completing this year’s survey. If you have not sent your contact information, please do so before the end of this week. Notices to contact staff will be sent next week and the survey will be opened for completion. 

Send your contact information or questions to Chuck Warnick at KHA (cwarnick@kyha.com).

As a former United States Army Ranger who served in the now famed “Blackhawk Down” mission, Keni Thomas will share his story of courage and leadership from the battlefield and beyond at the KHA Annual Convention, May 18-19 in Lexington. Nineteen Americans gave their lives and 78 were wounded in the worst urban combat seen by U.S. troops since World War II. His firsthand account of how extraordinary soldiers fought to bring each other home illustrates the power of leading by example at all levels, regardless of rank or station.

Details are now available online for the KHA 88th Annual Convention, May 18-19 in Lexington. Physical programs were mailed to hospital executives last week.

Take time now to make your plans to attend. Find information and links online for hotel reservation information, programs and speakers as well as easy online registration.

Visit the site at https://www.kyha.com/CM/Events/KHA_Convention/KHA_Convention.aspx.

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

The Kentucky Institute for Patient Safety and Quality (KIPSQ) will hold two Safe Table meetings in April on Disinfection and Cleaning Reusable Items. Gail Horvath of the ECRI Institute will present, and 2.4 hours of nursing CEUs are available.  

April 12  Registration deadline: April 10  1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. (ET) Hardin Memorial Hospital  Elizabethtown

April 19  Registration deadline: April 17  10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (ET)  Saint Joseph East-Women’s Hospital Lexington

The AHA Annual Survey is underway, and hospital data is due by April 7. The 2016 survey is being offered ONLINE at www.ahasurvey.org. If you have not done so before, please take advantage of the online data collection. More than 4,000 of your colleagues completed their survey electronically last year. The web-based collection tool is easy, efficient and secure. Entering the data online allows you to:

Receive real-time reports, enabling you to confirm the accuracy of your entry before submission and provide you with valuable benchmarks and analysis tools. Give access to the online survey to multiple users within your hospital. Provide historical reference data as well as instant data verification as information is entered. You will receive a separate email with your Log In and Password information. If you have questions, please contact Melanie Moch at KHA (mmoch@kyha.com)....

The Kentucky Hospital Association’s Post Acute Care (PAC) Forum met on March 24. The PAC Forum consists of long-term acute care hospitals, physical rehabilitation hospitals, swing bed hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospice, home health agencies and psychiatric hospitals.

The forum met for a day-long exercise on bundled payments with a goal of determining how to manage a patient through the post acute care continuum to provide the best level of care.

The bundled payment exercise took several months of planning with a key group of PAC providers and KHA staff. The providers selected pneumonia as the primary and secondary diagnosis related group (DRG) as the bundle. The key missing piece to find was the actual costs to the provider. Participants could determine the average...

KHA is pleased to offer the 2017 Swing Bed Conference series for both critical access hospitals (CAHs) and prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals. Mary Guyot, a nurse consultant with Stroudwater Associates and the leading expert in Swing Bed management will present. The PPS conference will take place on June 6-7 and the CAH conference will take place June 8-9.

Program and registration details are available below:

PPS Hospital Program June 6-7 Brochure Online Registration   CAH Program June 8-9 Brochure...

The KHA Workforce Survey will begin in April. The entire survey has been revamped and improved based on member input.

In order to obtain the most complete picture of the hospital workforce in Kentucky, KHA needs input from every hospital. If you have not already done so this year, please provide the name and email address for the person who will complete the survey in your organization.

To submit your information or if you have any questions, please contact Chuck Warnick at KHA (cwarnick@kyha.com).

The Kentucky Hospitals' Circle of Friends (KHA's Political Action Committee) 2017 campaign is in full swing. Why should you join Circle of Friends?

The online contribution form is temporarily unavailable, but you can use the printable form to make your contribution today.

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

The KHA 88th Annual Convention will be held May 18-19 at the Lexington Convention Center. Make your plans now to attend. This year's program will be in the mail by tomorrow so expect to receive it next week.

The Hyatt Lexington will be the host hotel, and the program will have details on how to book your room at the group rate.

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

As part of KHA's mission to support its member hospitals by assuring there is an adequate, well-trained and qualified health care professional workforce for the future, the Kentucky Hospital Research and Education Foundation (KHREF) recently made a donation to support nurse education in Eastern Kentucky.

Last month, Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) and Galen College of Nursing announced a partnership to offer an associate degree in nursing program at a new location based in the ARH System Center building in Hazard. In response to the continued and growing nursing shortage in the region, Galen College and ARH have joined together to offer additional nursing education opportunity, in support of both the local nursing workforce, and the need throughout Eastern Kentucky.

“The need for nurses is great in Hazard and across the region,” said Joe Grossman,...

This week the House is expected to vote on the American Health Care Act (AHCA) — legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). After working on policies to further improve AHCA, Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Oregon) and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) introduced technical and policy amendments to the legislation:

Allow states to opt out of the per capita Medicaid allotment baseline and instead receive federal funds through a block grant. The grant would only apply to traditional adult and children Medicaid populations. Allow states the flexibility to implement reasonable work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. Modeled after work requirements in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program with funding for elderly and disabled populations calculated through a per capita allotment. Freeze and unwind the ACA's Medicaid expansion. Help low- and middle-income individuals and families who do not receive...

The American Hospital Association will hold its annual meeting in Washington, DC, May 7-10. KHA has booked a block of rooms at The Washington Marriott Wardman Park for KHA members planning to attend. If you wish to stay at the KHA host hotel, the Marriott Wardman Park, please complete the AHA Hotel Reservation Form and return to Carol Walters at KHA (cwalters@kyha.com) by Friday, March 31. The reservations will be submitted to the hotel by KHA.

Please, register online at www.aha.org to attend the conference.

On Tuesday, April 11, KHA Solutions Group Affinity Partner SunRX will host a free webinar on 340B Trends and Drivers. SUNRx is excited to provide eligible entities with access to this 340B Industry Update. This exclusive webinar will provide the latest updates in 340B including the impact of the Trump Administration.

Speaker details and login information are available at http://www.new-kyha.com/Portals/5/EventBrochures/SunRxWebinar.pdf.

If you have any questions about the webinar or about how SunRx can help with your 340B program, please contact Darrell Trent at KHA Solutions Group (dtrent@kyha.com).

Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) and Long-term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Provider Preview Reports are now available.  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) encourages providers to review their performance data on each quality measure based on Third Quarter 2015 to Second Quarter  2016 data prior to the June 2017 LTCH Compare refresh, during which this data will be publicly displayed. Providers have until the end of the 30-day preview period (March 30, 2017) to review their data. Corrections to the underlying data will not be permitted during this time. However, providers can request a CMS review during the preview period if they believe their data is inaccurate.

For more information:

...

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is collaborating with the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), which will merge with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in May, to celebrate Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 12-18) through a series of activities recognizing the importance of keeping patients safe in all health care settings:

An ...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the attestation deadline for providers participating in the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program to Monday, March 13, 2017, at 11:59 p.m. (PT).

Providers participating in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program must attest to the 2016 program requirements by March 13, 2017, to avoid a 2018 payment adjustment.

If you are participating in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, please refer to http://chfs.ky.gov/dms/EHR.htm...

CMS has posted frequently asked questions concerning the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (MOON). The “MOON FAQs” are available on the CMS website at www.cms.gov/bni.

As a reminder, the requirement for Hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) to use MOON began on March 8, 2017.

Don’t miss out on the March 14 KIPSQ Safe Table on Health IT Safe Practices at the Crowne Plaza Louisville Airport. This event will be held in conjunction with the KHA Quality Symposium, March 14-15.

The safe table will begin at 9:00 a.m. (ET) with speakers from ECRI Institute and end with lunch speaker Wes Butler. Please plan to attend this exciting event and learn more about the risk of copy and paste. This is a free event for KIPSQ members, and CEU hours are provided.

Event Links Quality Symposium Brochure Symposium Registration Safe Table Agenda...

The Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy (KCSP) will host its 2017 Spring Conference, Smoke-free Partnerships: Past. Present. Future at DoubleTree Suites in Lexington on Tuesday, April 18.

This year's conference will feature the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Dr. Brian King, who was a contributing author to the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health; the lead author of the CDC’s 2014 update to the evidence-based state guide, “Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs;" and one of the editors of the Surgeon General's 2016 report, E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults.There will also be continuing education (CE) credits again this year through CHES, CME and KBN. To register, visit https://uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0MLhq5GQbAAIR2l. The conference is free to attend, and registration will be open until...