News Stories
Aug/27 - Grand Marais hospital appoints new administrator : Aug 27, 2010
Kimber L. Wraalstad was CEO of a North Dakota hospital
Kimber L. Wraalstad was recently named administrator of Cook County North Shore Hospital &
Care Center in Grand Marais.
She replaces Diane Pearson, who is retiring as administrator after more than 20 years.
Wraalstad comes to Grand Marais from Rolla, N.D., where she was president and chief executive
officer of Presentation Medical Center, a 25-bed critical-access hospital. According to a news
release from the Grand Marais hospital, during Wraalstad's 16 years there, she, for example,
directed the conversion of the hospital to a critical-access hospital; coordinated a conversion of
the provider-sponsored rural health clinic to a federally qualified health center; led recruitment of
physicians and practitioners; and coordinated the development of a regional data center for nine
critical-access hospitals.
Wraalstad is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She holds a master of
health administration degree from St. Louis University in St. Louis and a bachelor of science
degree in business administration from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.
Aug/27 - HealthEast Medical Transportation opens new headquarters : Aug 27, 2010
HealthEast Medical Transportation (HEMT), a provider of emergency medical care, marked the
official opening of its new 46,000-square-foot headquarters Aug. 18 with dignitaries celebrating
HEMT's contributions to communities, patients and St. Paul's East Side.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman hailed HealthEast Care System's redevelopment of a former 3M
property that covers 46 acres. He was joined by St. Paul Port Authority President Louis Jambois
- the port authority helped facilitate the project.
The new facilities include a training center that can accommodate up to 150 students in the
HEMT EMS Academy, an emergency communications center, a service center for HEMT and
other vehicles and administrative offices.
"The people who will benefit the most from what happens inside this building will never see the
inside of this building," said Ann Schrader, HealthEast chief operating officer. "It's the
education and training and the professional services that will serve them, from the moment the
call for emergency medical services comes in to the moment we bring patients to the hospitals."
HEMT employs more than 120 full-time employees and transports more than 30,000 patients
yearly.
HealthEast provides emergency 911 ambulance service for 10 communities in the northern half of
Dakota County. The organization grew out of its former EMS facilities.
Aug/27 - Health Care Auxiliary of Minnesota August newsletter issued : Aug 27, 2010
The Health Care Auxiliary of Minnesota's (HCAM) August 2010 newsletter is now available
here: [PDF].
The issue covers topics like the organization's conference next month, new leadership
development education sessions and new members that have joined the organization.
Previous editions of the Quarterly can be found at www.mnhcam.org/quarterly.asp.
Aug/27 - Registrations being accepted for MAPS
Nov. 4-5 patient safety event in Brooklyn Center to be accompanied by Nov. 3 preconference
Registrations are now being taken for the Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety (MAPS) "People
and Partnerships: Bridging the Gap for Patient Safety" conference Nov. 4-5 in Brooklyn Center.
A preconference will also take place Nov. 3.
As always, this year's conference is designed for health care professionals, leaders, managers,
educators and others interested in improving patient safety in all clinical settings. The event will
focus on the key elements related to technical and cultural changes that drive and lead patient
safety improvement. Presenters will build on the creation and measurement of high reliability in
delivering safe patient care that goes beyond technical fixes to address adaptation and change.
Speakers and breakout sessions are all designed to give participants the strategies and tools to
enhance and sustain patient safety efforts.
Register for the conference and/or preconference in any of the following ways:
- Download the conference brochure and registration form: [PDF] and fax or mail the form
to the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) at the address indicated; or
- Visit the MHA Events site and log-in to register online. (You may obtain a user ID and
password by contacting MHA at this e-mail address.
Also, award entries are being accepted until Sept. 15. Visit the MAPS Web site for more information.
For more information, contact Tania Daniels, MHA vice president of patient safety, at (651) 603-
3517.
Aug/27 - Fairview's U of M Medical Center reaches enrollment limit for GAMC patients : Aug 27, 2010
After today, the hospital will not accept new patients under the new health care program for the poor
The University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview has exceeded its client enrollment limit as
a coordinated care delivery system (CCDS) under the new General Assistance Medical Care
(GAMC) program.
As a result, the state will suspend new GAMC client enrollment for the hospital after today,
Aug. 27.
A CCDS is a care model, operated by a hospital that may include services by area clinics and
other providers as part of a coordinated system to care for some of the state's poorest residents.
Eligible enrollees who have signed and dated their enrollment forms by Aug. 27 can still enroll at
the U of M Medical Center.
On Aug. 6, North Memorial Medical Center's participation as a CCDS was suspended because it
had also reached its limit.
In related news, state officials told the Star Tribune Monday they will re-evaluate the enrollment
patterns and payment formula for hospitals participating in the experimental health plan. The
state revised its GAMC program last spring. However, only four of 17 eligible Minnesota
hospitals elected to participate because the program was underfinanced and not reasonable from
the beginning, said Minnesota Hospital Association President and Chief Executive Officer
Lawrence Massa.
"The hospitals that agreed to become a coordinated care delivery system are reaching their
enrollment limits after fewer than three months, and therefore tens of thousands of GAMC-
eligible patients remain without any practical access to health care other than through their
community hospital's emergency room," he said. "Hospitals across the state deserve credit for
doing their best under the circumstances, but it is painfully clear that this GAMC experiment is as
unworkable and underfinanced as predicted."
The revised program was created under a compromise negotiated in the final hours of the state
legislative session in May.
The other two CCDS organizations - Hennepin County Medical Center and Regions Hospital
- remain open to new GAMC clients. Obtain details at the Minnesota Department of Human
Services' Web site, or by calling (651) 431-2670 or (800) 657-3739.
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