In
this issue
Mental
health training for every community
With mental health issues prevalent in every community, how do
you meet the needs quickly? Since 2014, Fairview Health Services has offered the evidence-based Mental
Health First Aid program to teach community members how to help someone in a
mental health crisis, just as people would learn CPR to help when someone
stopped breathing.
To build capacity in short order, Fairview trained multiple staff and community
members – 21 in all – to lead Mental Health First Aid courses within their
communities in a culturally appropriate way. As a result, attendees feel more
comfortable with talking about the topic and debunking the stigmas attached to
mental health within their own communities.
Visit the MHA website to learn more and read the full Community Benefit Report. return to top
Healthcare
Leadership Institute to explore generational diversity, multigenerational
leadership, dyad partnerships
The MHA Healthcare Leadership Institute, themed “Health Care in
Transition,” will be held March 7-9 at the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West in
Plymouth. For more information or to register, download the conference brochure or visit MHA’s website. Reserve accommodations online.
Concordia University of St. Paul Professor Richard Brynteson’s presentation,
titled “Generational Diversity,” will examine the distinct generations in the
workforce and explain what conflict points arise between them. He will also
speculate on what the next generation will bring to the workforce.
A panel presentation, “Multigenerational Leadership,” will explore the
importance of developing open communications and deep understanding of varying
perspectives. Panelists include:
- Deborah Dittberner, M.D., chief
medical officer, Douglas County Hospital, Alexandria
- James Bymark, vice president,
clinical development, Fairview Range Regional Medical Center, Hibbing
- Andrew Houlton, M.D., chief
medical officer, North Memorial Health, Robbinsdale
- Amy Long, site administrator,
Mayo Clinic Health System, Fairmont
During the “Creating a Successful Dyad Partnership” panel presentation,
CEO/physician leader teams Tim Rice and John Halfen, M.D, from Lakewood Health
System in Staples and John Strange and Gary Peterson, M.D., from St. Luke’s
Hospital in Duluth will share how their organizations developed effective dyad
partnership models by working together to build trust; open communication; a
culture of cooperation; and a shared vision of how to deliver value to their
organizations, patients and the communities they serve.
The Minnesota Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators (MN BENHA) has
approved the content of this Institute for 14.25 clock hours. return to top
Allina
Health’s “The Heart of New Ulm” program to be featured on PHF webinar
The Public Health Foundation (PHF) will host a webinar on March
21 from 12-1 p.m. featuring “Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New Ulm,” a program
led by Allina Health’s New Ulm Medical Center in partnership with Brown County
Public Health, the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, city leaders and
government, local public schools, the local chamber of commerce and the local
department of parks and recreation.
The program successfully reduced heart attacks and improved heart disease risk
factors in New Ulm. Over the first five years of the program, which included
data on three-fourths of all community residents, results included significant
improvements in blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose.
Improvements were largely driven by individuals at high-risk levels at the start
of the program.
Learn more and register for the webinar on the PHF website. return to top
Congress
approves short-term spending agreement, includes Medicare extenders
Congress approved a short-term budget agreement
that included many health care-related provisions, including reauthorization of
the Medicare extenders and funding for community health centers.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 includes the Medicare extenders; the Medicare
dependent hospital adjustment, ambulance add-on payments and Medicare
low-volume adjustment are extended for five years through 2022. However, the
payment methodology for the low-volume adjustment will use total discharges,
not Medicare discharges, beginning in FY 2019. Under the bill, the Medicare
therapy caps are repealed for services provided on or after Jan. 1, 2018.
The bill provides two years of funding for community health centers and extends
funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for an additional
four years through 2027. CHIP funding was extended for six years under the
previous short-term spending bill. Funding for the National Health Service
Corps and Teaching Health Center GME Program is also extended for two years.
The bill extends the enforcement moratorium on direct supervision of outpatient
therapeutic services for critical access hospitals and certain rural hospitals
for 2017. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) through
rule-making extended the moratorium for calendar years 2018 and 2019.
The Bipartisan Budget Act provides $6 billion over two years to address opioid
abuse, including $4 billion to fight opioid abuse, expand substance abuse and
mental health treatment, and support law enforcement activities. The National
Institutes of Health is provided $2 billion for opioid-related research.
The bill eliminates Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts for FYs 2018
and 2019 and repeals the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Independent Payment
Advisory Board.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, the Bipartisan Budget Act will reduce Medicare
hospital payments when a hospital discharges a patient to hospice care early in
their stay, similar to CMS’s post-acute care transfer policy.
The bill removes the mandate that meaningful use standards become more
stringent over time, providing relief from Stage 3 requirements. Additionally,
the Bipartisan Budget Act extends the Medicare sequester for two years through
2027 and reduces funding for the ACA’s Prevention and Public Health Fund.
From the Minnesota Congressional delegation, Sens. Klobuchar and Smith and
Reps. McCollum, Nolan and Paulsen voted yes on the bill. Reps. Ellison, Emmer,
Lewis, Peterson and Walz voted no on the bill. return to top