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Winter 2000 Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio

In This Issue:

(Click on the title of the article to jump directly to it. Click on the "Return to Top" link to return to this index.)

Preventing Medical Errors: Strategies That Work

Meeting Calendar

Fifth Annual Blood Competition

Focus on the Community

Health Careers Recruitment and Retention Task Force Being Formed

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

New Hospital Council Officers Named

Grant from the Stranahan Foundation Furthers Healthy Communities Foundation Efforts

Mission of the Hospital Council

Hospital Council Board of Trustees

Preventing Medical Errors:
Strategies That Work

Mark Your Calendar — Friday, February 4, 2000
Central Park West Banquet Facilities, 3141 Central Park West Drive


Primum non nocere. Above all, do no harm. Healers have lived by this motto for thousands of years. The minimum patients expect is safe and compassionate care. But in today’s complex, high tech world of medicine, even the best intentions can, on occasion, have unwanted and unintended consequences.


In light of the recent report from the Institute of Medicine on medical errors, the Northwest Ohio Healthcare Education Collaborative invites health care professionals to attend a program on this topic. The program features John R. Combes, M.D., senior medical advisor at The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), and a shared physician executive with the American Hospital Association (AHA). The program will be held Friday, February 4, 2000 from 12:30- 2:00 p.m. at Central Park West Banquet Facilities, 3141 Central Park West Drive, Toledo, Ohio.

The program will focus on reducing medical errors from a systems perspective. Dr. Combes will discuss: the Institute of Medicine Report on medical errors; common sources of errors; steps for standardizing and simplifying processes to reduce the potential for human error; education; and long term changes that can be made in organizational systems to increase patient safety.

Northwest Ohio Healthcare Education Collaborative
The Northwest Ohio Healthcare Education Collaborative is comprised of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Northwestern Ohio Regent’s Advisory Council, Healthcare Executives of Northwest Ohio (HENO), Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio, and the Northwest Ohio Chapter of Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Meeting Calendar

Board of Trustees
February 25 - 10:00 a.m.

Executive Committee
January 21 - 3:30 p.m.
February 18 - 3:30 p.m.
March 17 - 3:30 p.m.
April 21 - 3:30 p.m.

Finance
February 29 - 2:00 p.m.
April 26 - 2:00 p.m.

Healthy Communities
Foundation (HCF)
April 12 - 12:00 Noon

HCF - Lucas County
February 24 - 12:00 Noon
March 13 & 14 - Interviews

Human Resources
March 10 - 1:00 p.m.

Medical Records
February 1 - 2:00 p.m.
April 4 - 2:00 p.m.

Nurse Executives
To Be Announced

NORTR Trauma Board
March 15 - 9:30 a.m.

Public Relations
February 8 - 12:00 Noon

Risk Managers
March 8 - 2:30 p.m.

Safety & Security
February 17 - 12:00 Noon
April 20 - 12:00 Noon

Social Work
January 18 - 2:30 p.m.
March 20 - 1:00p.m.
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Fifth Annual Hospital Blood
Collection Competition Exceeds Goal

Collecting 40% more blood than last year, Hospital Council members exceeded the blood collection goal set by the American Red Cross Blood Services for the 1999 competition.

Fifteen hospitals competed in the competition which resulted in the collection of more than 1,116 units of blood to meet the needs of the Western Lake Erie Region. Nine member hospitals exceeded their goal: St. Charles Mercy Hospital, Medical College of Ohio Hospitals, St. Luke’s Hospital, Wood County Hospital, H. B. Magruder Hospital, Fostoria Community Hospital, Henry County Hospital, Memorial Hospital, and Bellevue Hospital. Fostoria Community Hospital was named the Grand Champion of the 1999 American Red Cross/Hospital Council Blood Competition by collecting the highest percentage over their goal.


Fostoria Community Hospital collected 347% over their goal by collecting 52 units of blood from July to October. Learning of the achievement, Brad Higgins, president and ceo of Fostoria Community Hospital said, "I am extremely proud of our employees for their strong response to the critical, ongoing need for blood."

St. Luke’s Hospital received accolades for collecting the most units of blood in the competition and was also the recipient of the Lucas County Award for collecting the highest percentage over their goal. St. Luke’s Hospital collected 192 units of blood, which was 325% over their goal. Jack Bartell, III, president and ceo of St. Luke’s Hospital remarked, “ . . . the Hospital Council’s Blood Competition provides a valuable lifesaving service for Northwest Ohio and we are looking forward to doing our part again in next year's competition.”

Focus on the Community

The Healthy Communities Foundation of the Hospital Council is a partner in presenting four community building programs in the first half of 2000:

Health Education “Programs That Work”
Tuesday, February 29, 2000
3:30-8:00 p.m. (includes dinner)
St. Luke’s Hospital
5901 Monclova Road, Maumee, Ohio

The program will showcase ten of the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) researched and approved programs in the areas of violence and conflict prevention, tobacco and alcohol prevention, and promoting responsible sexual behaviors. To register, contact Terry Carey, American Cancer Society, 419-891-9200.

Drug Abuse: Signs, Symptoms, and Interventions for Professionals Who Work With Youth
Monday, March 6, 2000
3:00-6:00 p.m.
Lucas County Prevention Partnership
5902 Southwyck Blvd., Suite 100, Toledo, OH

This seminar will focus on the latest trends in drug use among youth, as well as identifying signs and symptoms of use and possible interventions. To register, contact Cathy Sperling, Community Prevention Partnership, 419-866-3611.

Creating and Implementing a Fund Development Program
Tuesday, March 21, 2000
9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
Lucas County Prevention Partnership
5902 Southwyck Blvd., Suite 100, Toledo, OH

This program will give participants information to help create a fund development program or update their current fund raising program. To register, contact Cathy Sperling, CPP, 419-866-3611.

Outcome Measurement Training
Thursday, June, 1, 2000
1:00-4:00 p.m., Location TBA

This program will focus on the concept and components of outcome measurement and
how to apply it to measure the effectiveness of programs. To register, contact Jan Ruma
at 419-842-0800.

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Health Careers Recruitment and Retention Task Force Being Formed

Based on national and local concern that a nurse shortage is developing, Trustees of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio have asked the Council to spearhead the formation of a multi-disciplinary Health Careers and Recruitment Task Force to develop strategies to reverse this trend.

According to a survey conducted by the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), the current shortage is caused by: competition for qualified nurses from managed care, pharmaceutical, and non-health-related companies; low enrollment in four year nursing programs; and a nursing workforce nearing retirement age. Locally there is evidence of the shortage; in the last year the time it takes to fill open nursing positions has increased. On the Hospital Council survey of the top 15 most difficult positions to fill, nursing positions accounted for more than 33% of the list.

Health Careers Recruitment and Retention is not new to the Hospital Council. In the late 1980s, the Council coordinated a program that increased the profile of health careers and provided scholarships to students. The program phased out in 1995 as enrollment in health career programs increased.

The new task force will review the components of the original program, conduct a needs assessment, and recommend strategies for the Council to adopt. Professionals interested in participating on the task force should contact W. Scott Fry, president and ceo of the Hospital Council, at 419-842-0800.



Northwest Ohio Regional Trauma Registry


It is hard to believe that just a year ago the Northwest Ohio Regional Trauma Registry (NORTR) Board met for the first time. In less than a year, due to the dedication and extra efforts of the physicians, nurses, medical records directors and other key staff at our 21 hospital members, the trauma registry is up and running! Data from the first three quarters of 1999 has been submitted electronically to the State of Ohio Department of Public Safety Trauma Registry for most of our members. The fourth quarter deadline for Trauma Registry participants is February 15.

As data collection and reporting begins for 2000, the Trauma Board will be reviewing 1999 data to design reports for hospital and community purposes. A Trauma Registry Symposium is scheduled on May 17 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. for the NORTR Trauma Board, Medical Advisory Committee, and Data Coordinators.

If you don’t receive notice of the meeting, but would like to attend, please contact Jan Ruma at 419-842-0800.
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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

If you thought preparing for Y2K was costly, you haven’t heard about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA requires a major overhaul of the nation’s health care information systems. The federal government is expected to release regulations to guide the implementation soon. It is estimated that it could cost two to three times as much as the millennium effort. Hospitals, nursing homes, doctors’ offices, insurers and claims administrators are required to comply with HIPAA.

HIPAA implementation is being coordinated by the Health Care Financing Administration’s Office of Clinical Standards and Quality. The act deals with several areas including: the right of patients to control who sees their medical information; the need for health care institutions to safeguard medical information from hackers; and the requirement that all parties in the health care system adopt a standard electronic format.

The requirement that everyone who holds or transmits medical information use a standard format, meaning identical claim forms, medical records, laboratory reports, and so on, is expected to be very costly in the short-term. Standardization should allow health care institutions and payors to communicate much faster and more efficiently. This requirement is expected to allow health plans to do a better job of monitoring the quality of care and pay bills faster. Public health authorities should be able to pick up signs of an illness cluster much earlier.

New Jersey hospitals began the process of standardization a year ago with the help of a five million dollar grant from their state health department to develop a standard electronic format to file reports. New Jersey hospitals are now sending the health department clean, encrypted data at 60% less cost. New Jersey hospitals estimate they will save three million dollars over five years and increase the amount of data they handle.

The Wall Street Journal, Monday, January 3, 2000

New Hospital Council Officers Named

The new slate of officers for the year 2000 was approved by the Board of Trustees of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio at the recent annual meeting. They are as follows:

Chairman - Scott Shook, president & ceo of Riverside Mercy Hospital

Vice Chairman - Richard Sipp, vice president for administration at Medical College Hospitals

Treasurer - David R. Norwine, president & ceo of H.B. Magruder Memorial Hospital

Secretary - Robert Coholich, president & ceo, Defiance Hospital

Immediate Past President - Al Gorman, ceo of Memorial Hospital

Grant from The Stranahan Foundation Furthers Healthy Communities Foundation Efforts

The Lucas County Healthy Communities Foundation was awarded $145,000 by The Stranahan Foundation to further its efforts toward health improvement. The Stranahan Foundation Grant is designated to support the Shots 4 Tots Mobile Immunization Program and to create The Stranahan Coalition Program.

Designed to collaboratively meet community health needs, the Healthy Communities Foundation of Lucas County Hospitals and Health Systems was created in 1998 by Medical College of Ohio Hospitals, Mercy Health Partners, ProMedica Health System, and St. Luke’s Hospital. Managed through the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio, to date, the Foundation has supported the Lucas County Health Needs Assessment, the Lucas County Health Department’s Shots 4 Tots Mobile Immunization Program, and purchased child restraint systems for county EMS vehicles.

The Stranahan Coalition Program is being developed by the Lucas County Healthy Communities Foundation Task Force to serve as a catalyst to develop channels of community collaboration and bring resources to community coalition projects with the potential to have a meaningful impact on the health status of residents.


 

Through the program Lucas County coalition leadership will be convened to communicate across efforts, share health information, and provide educational programs.
Grants will be awarded to coalition efforts to further their health improvement programs. Coalition leadership interested in being part of this program should contact Jan Ruma, Director of the Healthy Communities Foundation at 419-842-0800.

Organized in 1993 by the Lucas County Health Department, Shots 4 Tots has raised the immunization rate for children from birth to two years of age from 33% in 1993 to 78% in 1998 through the formation of an immunization task force. The task force developed a mobile shot van program that has increased access to immunizations by providing free immunizations in a variety of locations throughout the county. In 1998, 4,000 children were immunized through the program. In 1998, the Lucas County Healthy Communities Foundation selected Shots 4 Tots as one of its first projects to fund. The Stranahan Foundation grant will continue to develop this relationship.

The Stranahan Foundation was created in 1944 by two brothers, Frank D. and Robert A. Stranahan, founders of the Champion Spark Plug Company in Toledo, Ohio. The Foundation seeks to improve the quality of people's lives by supporting groups and institutions that give people the tools to become educated, healthy, self-reliant and contributing members of our society.

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Mission of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio

The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio is a member driven organization that both represents and advocates on behalf of its member hospitals and emerging health systems, and provides collaborative opportunities to enhance the health status of the citizens of Northwest Ohio.

HOSPITAL COUNCIL OF NORTHWEST OHIO - BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Michael Winthrop, The Bellevue Hospital
Robert Coholich, Defiance Hospital (Secretary, HCNO Board)
Dennis Sokol, Firelands Regional Health System
Patrick J. Martin, Fisher-Titus Medical Center
Randall Kelly, Flower Hospital
Brad Higgins, Fostoria Community Hospital
E. Dean Beck, Fulton County Health Center
David Norwine, H. B. Magruder Memorial Hospital (Treasurer, HCNO Board)
Kim Bordenkircher, Acting President, Henry County Hospital
Richard Sipp, Medical College Hospitals (Vice President, HCNO Board)
Al Gorman, Memorial Hospital (Immediate Past Chairman, HCNO Board)
Mark D. Shugarman, Mercy Hospital of Tiffin
Dale Thornton, Mercy Hospital of Willard
Scott Shook, Riverside Mercy Hospital (Chairman, HCNO Board)
Cathleen K. Nelson, St. Charles Mercy Hospital
Daniel P. Schwanke, St. Francis Health Care Centre
Frank J. Bartell, III, St. Luke’s Hospital
Steven L. Mickus, St. Vincent Mercy Medical
Jan McBride, Toledo Children's Hospital
Barbara Steele, The Toledo Hospital
Michael Miesle, Wood County Hospital


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