Association News includes the leadership developments,
legislative initiatives and changes, ideas and commentary
pertinent to our members. It keeps you ahead of what’s happening
and demonstrates the true value of your membership—relationships,
representation and advocacy.
The Los Angeles City Clerk certified a petition titled City
of Los Angeles Public Health Protection Act that requires
the Los Angeles City Council to establish its own Public Health
Department. The City can create the department by way of an
ordinance or place the issue before voters possibly in June 2014.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors, on a 4-1 vote, approved a
$2 million budget augmentation for the MSI Hospital Pool this
week. Hospitals will lose well over $200 million in actual costs
in this year’s MSI program. Supervisors Nguyen, Bates, Nelson
(Chairman of the Board), and Spitzer voted to support the
appropriation; Supervisor Moorlach dissented.
Health care professionals interested in learning more about,
Sepsis, Surgical Safety, Perinatal Safety and HAI – C. Difficile
can review highlights from the most recent Phase II kickoff
Southern California Patient Safety First Collaborative meeting.
Do you feel prepared to answer questions on how dual eligibles
will impact your hospital? If you feel an overview will help you
in your role of communicating effectively on this topic, register
now for HASC’s complimentary one-hour webinar, Introduction to
Dual Eligibles for the Administrative Professional,
Friday, June 21, 10-11 a.m.
George Mack, HASC vice president, Payer/Provider and Member
Relations, will provide insight on this topic, including valuable
tips on:
HASC’s biggest charity event of the year, Charity Golf Classic,
is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 21, at Oakmont Country Club. Each
year this popular event brings together c-suite hospital members
and associate members for a day of golfing and networking in
support of National Health Foundation (NHF).
More than 200 people attended the Patient and Family Centered
Conference June 3 at the Renaissance Hotel Long Beach. Presented
by National Health Foundation and PFCC Partners, the conference
explored the challenges, solutions and successes related to PFCC
within a diverse health care network. Attendees represented a
spectrum of hospital staff including CNOs, RNs, social workers,
physical therapists and hospital administrators.
These popular 20-minute interactive webinars demonstrate the
value of the PDS tool including how it can help identify
opportunities for revenue enhancement, improved contract
negotiations, and strategic business development for hospitals
and health systems.
In this 20 minute interactive webinar, we will go over the
various graphs in PDS and talk about how to use and share each
one. This is a great class for those who are new to PDS or
those who may need a quick brush up. Bring your questions!
It is my pleasure to announce that Martin Gallegos (Marty) has
accepted my offer to be HASC’s Senior Vice President for Health
Policy and Communications.
For the past 11 years, Marty has been the Senior Vice
President/Chief Legislative Advocate for the California Hospital
Association (CHA). From 2001-2002 he was the Director,
California Office of the Patient Advocate (Governor Gray Davis
appointment).
While the Orange County Board of Supervisors and County staff
continue to contemplate Budget adjustments to comply with $73
million in annual lost revenues from the state, the most current
figures for the County’s program for the uninsured (Medical
Services Initiative, or MSI) now show hospital actual-cost losses
at $200 million. This is up from $125 million in the 2011-12
program year.
There is still time to register for the 2013 Patient and Family
Centered Care Conference. Presented by National Health Foundation
and PFCC Partners, the conference will take place June 3 at the
Renaissance Hotel, Long Beach.
While working to launch the Affordable Care Act, Covered
California seeks to develop a community-based approach to
outreach, beginning with a series of regional town halls to
provide an update to stakeholders and solicit feedback on efforts
and plans. Covered California’s next town hall meeting will be
held in Los Angeles.
Covered California board members and Executive Director Peter Lee
will lead the discussion for the Los Angeles regional town hall.
Topics to be addressed:
Don’t miss out: Sign up online for the HASC 3rd Annual Health
Care Provider Wellness Conference, June 13-14, in San Diego.
Themed Wellness, Work & Community: Strategies for Sustainable
Cultural Change, the event will make the business case for
wellness programs that result in healthy and engaged employees.
How can you improve quality and safety during care transitions?
Find out at this engaging webinar, Improving Patient Care
Transitions to Reduce Readmissions.
Orange County hospitals have learned from county officials that
payments for inpatient services to the uninsured in the county’s
MSI Program are currently projected at 17 percent of actual cost
for the 2012-13 program year. This compares with 28 percent in
the 2011-12 program year, and 53 percent in 2010-11.
HASC presents the Health Benefits and Wellness Partnership
(HBWP), a brand new program designed to help hospitals
substantially reduce the cost of employee benefits.
HASC is uniquely positioned to provide what is in essence a group
purchasing vehicle for employee benefits. Many hospitals can
expect to save 4% to 10% of the cost of benefits, a significant
savings considering hospitals in Southern California spend more
than $1.5 billion annually on employee benefits.
There is still time to register for the 2013 Patient and Family
Centered Care Conference. The day-long event, presented by
National Health Foundation and PFCC Partners, will take place
June 3 at the Renaissance Hotel, Long Beach. Attendees will learn
about Patient and Family Centered Care (PFCC) initiatives taking
place across a variety of health care settings and be inspired to
advance PFCC in their own facilities.
PDS University presents Managed Care Strategy, a 20-minute
webinar that will focus on how you can use PDS data to evaluate
your contracts, set targets for negotiations, and improve your
overall rates. PDS data is a powerful tool to help you tell your
story and level the playing field during payer negotiations.
The session is scheduled for Thursday, May 23, 11 a.m. Register
now!
For more information on upcoming HASC events, visit the HASC calendar.
HASC is urging hospital CEOs, government relations
representatives and facility directors from hospitals within the
city of Los Angeles to formally oppose the Final Implementation
Plan for Exclusive Commercial and Multifamily Franchise Hauling
System, prepared by the Bureau of Sanitation, at this week’s City
Council meeting. Hospital representatives are testifying in favor
of a hospital exemption.
The CSU Institute for Palliative Care, in partnership with the
Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, presents Building
Bridges, Building Connections, a workshop and community dialogue
to focus on building bridges toward greater cultural sensitivity
while also facilitating connections between professionals and
members of diverse communities.
HASC will host its third Health Care Provider Wellness
Conference, a dynamic gathering of wellness leaders and decision
makers from across health care settings, June 13-14. The
conference explores ways to improve health habits and implement
cost-effective health and wellness programs for employees within
our hospitals and health systems.
Registration is currently open for Improving Patient Care
Transitions to Reduce Readmissions – A Multifaceted Approach, a
webinar scheduled for Thursday, June 20, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In this 20-minute webinar on April 26, learn ways PDS can help
you identify revenue opportunities, set measurable goals, track
those goals, and take meaningful next steps. We will also talk
about ways to share PDS data throughout your organization to
improve your overall revenue strategy.
On April 18, the Fontana Medical Center held a VIP Grand Opening
Reception in anticipation of the opening of the new Kaiser
Permanente Fontana Hospital on May 7. The event was also a
celebration of Kaiser Permanente’s 70-year history in Fontana;
the first Kaiser Permanente hospital in Southern California
opened at the Kaiser Steel Mill in Fontana in 1943.
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