In
this issue
University
of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital honored with MHA Innovation of the
Year in Patient Care Award
MHA on June 1 honored innovative programs and outstanding leaders in health
care at its 34th annual awards ceremony.
University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis received the
MHA Innovation of the Year in Patient Care Award in the large hospital
category, which recognizes hospitals for developing innovative ways to meet the
needs of patients and ensure that they are delivering safe and high-quality
care.
The hospital was recognized for its Birthplace and NICU Early Onset Sepsis Prevention
Collaborative. Typically, newborns at risk for Early Onset Sepsis are admitted
to the NICU for labs, IV placement and the administration of 48 hours of
empiric antibiotics, even if they have no signs of infection.
In November 2016, University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital
implemented the Escobar tool to identify newborns at low and moderate risk and
allow them to remain with their mothers while receiving IV antibiotic therapy
and close observation. This project minimized maternal and newborn separation,
facilitated breastfeeding, decreased the cost of care and provided a more
positive patient experience.
Additional award winners will be profiled in upcoming issues of Newsline. To
learn more about the award winners, visit the MHA website. return to top
Park
Nicollet Methodist Hospital honored with AHA award
Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park was honored with a 2018
Citation of Merit award as part of the annual Quest for Quality presented by
the American Hospital Association (AHA) at the organization’s annual Leadership
Summit July 26-28.
The Quest for Quality Prize recognizes health care leadership and innovation in
improving quality and advancing health in communities. All recipients
demonstrate a commitment to improving access; providing high-quality, safe
care; creating value; partnering with patients and families; focusing on
well-being; and providing seamless, coordinated care.
“To be awarded the Citation of Merit is an incredible honor, and demonstrates
Methodist Hospital is among the very best in the nation,” said Roxanna Gapstur,
president, Methodist Hospital. “The entire HealthPartners organization is
committed to improving affordability, creating a quality experience, improving
health equity and ensuring that we guide our patients through their care to
avoid unnecessary admissions or readmissions.”
Learn more on the HealthPartners website and the AHA website. return to top
Mental
Health Innovation Grant recipients selected
The Department of Human Services (DHS) has selected recipients
for the first round of grants under the new Mental Health Innovation Grant
program. The program was designed with the dual goals of improving access to
community-based mental health services while trying to reduce the need and
length of stays at Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center and the state-operated
community behavioral health hospitals.
This grant program was a legislative initiative of MHA’s and was part of the
2017 health and human services budget. Funds come from a portion of the
revenues paid by counties to the state for treatment costs for county resident
stays when the individual no longer meets the level of care criteria.
A competitive request for proposal process was published in early 2018. Some 40
submissions were made by hospitals, counties and tribal governments, totaling
$18.2 million. DHS selected six grant recipients, allocating the $2.171 million
appropriated by the Legislature. All grants are for 18 months, with an option
to be extended by six months.
Grant recipients are:
- Adult Mental Health Initiative
Region V+: Transition Services
- Serving Aitkin, Cass, Crow
Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
- 18 mos. $195,718 (24 mos.
$260,958)
- American Indian Family Center:
Healing Journey
- Serving the American Indian
community in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and
Washington counties
- 18 mos. $163,819 (24 mos.:
$218,425)
- Hennepin County Adult
Behavioral Health: Behavioral Health Care Center
- Serving Hennepin County
- 18 mos. $650,305 (24 mos.
$867,074)
- Human Development Center:
Emergency Department Case Management
- Serving Duluth
- 18 mos. $261,331 (24 mos.
$348,442)
- Kanabec County: Care
Connector/Navigator Model
- Serving Kanabec County
- 18 mos. $146,634 (24 mos.
$195,512)
- White Earth Mental Health
Program: Holistic Health Practitioners
- Serving the White Earth Nation
- 18 mos. $210,418 (24 mos.
$280,558)
"We are pleased to see this MHA legislative priority come to
fruition,” said Mary Krinkie, vice president of government relations, MHA. “DHS
has identified some worthy initiatives, including projects with involvement
from hospitals and health care systems.”
Another RFP will be released in 2019 for the second round of grants. MHA
members are encouraged to respond. return to top
Prepare
for Aug. 14 primary election
Minnesota’s primary election is Aug. 14. Unlike many election
years, this primary election will have many competitive intraparty elections,
where voters will be choosing which candidate from their selected political
party they would like to see move onto the general election in November.
In addition to the federal congressional races that are every two years and the
state house of representative races that are every two years, Minnesota has a
competitive primary in both the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party and the
Republican Party for governor. In addition, Minnesota has the unusual
circumstance of two simultaneous U.S. senatorial elections.
MHA encourages political participation and voting, which has been made easier
than ever with expanded early voting option. Minnesota residents may contact
the secretary of state’s office and get a ballot directly mailed to their home.
In addition, all Minnesota voters have at least one location where they can
vote early in person with an absentee ballot. Depending on where you live,
there may be additional locations.
Minnesotans do not register to vote by party and individuals are
free to vote in the Republican Primary, the DFL Primary or another political
party primary; however, Minnesota has a closed primary, which means voters can
only vote for candidates in one political party. There is one primary ballot
that lists DFL candidates in one column and Republican candidates in a separate
column. A primary ballot will be voided if it includes votes in more than one
column for more than one political party.
Candidates for public office appreciate hearing from local hospital stakeholders
with personal expertise about health care issues and issues affecting their
community’s hospitals and clinics. MHA board members, hospital CEOs and
government relations officers recently received an email with information about
connecting with candidates in their service areas. These resources are
available on the MHA Member Center. For assistance accessing the
Member Center, contact Ashley Beno, member services and
communications specialist, MHA, 651-603-3545.
With questions, contact Mary Krinkie, vice president of government
relations, MHA, 651-659-1465, or Kristin Loncorich, director of state government relations, MHA,
651-603-3526. return to top
CMS
issues FY 2019 IPPS final rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its
hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) final rule for fiscal year (FY) 2019. The
final rule will increase Medicare rates for prospective payment system
hospitals by 1.85 percent in FY 2019 compared to FY 2018, after accounting for
inflation and other adjustments required by law. FY 2019 begins Oct. 1, 2018.
Some of the major provisions made by CMS include:
- Finalizes its proposal to
require hospitals to publicly post their charges in a machine-readable
format effective Jan. 1, 2019; hospitals will be required to update this
information at least annually, or more often as appropriate.
- Finalizes its proposal to
continue its three-year transition to using Worksheet S-10 data to
determine the amounts and distribution of disproportionate share hospital
uncompensated care payments, which began in FY 2018. The agency also will
implement audits of the Worksheet S-10 data.
- Consistent with CMS’ Meaningful
Measures initiative, finalizes the removal of 18 measures from the
inpatient quality reporting program that are “topped out,” no longer
relevant or where the cost of data collection outweighs the value. The
agency also will deduplicate 21 IQR measures, removing them from the IQR
but retaining them in other programs. However, CMS does not finalize its
proposal to remove the safety measure domain from the hospital value-based
purchasing program.
- Finalizes its proposed changes
to the Promoting Interoperability program that provide a new scoring
approach and flexibility to meet meaningful use requirements.
- Finalizes an EHR reporting
period of a minimum of any continuous 90-day period in both 2019 and 2020.
CMS also clarifies actions that may be taken to vet and register apps
chosen by patients.
While MHA is pleased that CMS has taken steps in quality
reporting to reduce administrative reporting burden, the agency has created
potential duplication and additional administrative burdens for hospitals to
publicly report charges. In its comment letter, MHA wrote, “MHA and many other
hospital associations support transparency and have undertaken price
transparency work similarly. CMS should not require hospitals to duplicate or
replace these existing publicly available resources.” CMS recognizes these
efforts have been in place but did not feel compelled to change its position.
With questions, contact Joe Schindler, vice president of finance, MHA,
651-659-1415. return to top
Register
for Aug. 14 medication safety conference
The 2018 Medication Safety Learning and
Networking Day will be held at the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West in Plymouth on
Aug. 14. The content is intended for quality and safety personnel, nurses,
providers and pharmacists.
Read the event brochure and
register online. Please purchase
a meal ticket for food and beverages directly from the Crowne Plaza for a $52
fee online. The meal ticket
includes breakfast, coffee breaks and a lunch buffet.
Livestreaming of the event will also be provided. Remote viewers will need to
register in advance for the morning and/or afternoon livestream to view and
earn CEs for the event.
The morning session includes a patient story, overview of the new DHS opioid
prescribing guidelines and panel discussions on medication reconciliation and
medication shortage management. Register for the morning livestream.
The afternoon session includes presentations on monitoring and responding to
controlled substance diversion and preparing for new USP 800 requirements
(hazardous drug handling and administration). Register for the afternoon livestream.
There will be question and answer time after each presenter and online
participants will be able to ask questions in a chat box for presenters.
With questions, contact Joy Benn, quality and process improvement
specialist, MHA, 651-659-1441. return to top