In this issue:
Hospital
Spotlight: Hand hygiene helps Sanford Jackson dramatically reduce HAIs
Oct. 20-26 is International Infection Prevention Week,
drawing attention to the fact that everyone within a hospital plays a role in
infection prevention. One way hospitals are preventing infection is by building
awareness of best practices for infection prevention. In 2011, all Sanford
facilities started a WIPES Campaign to remind staff of key infection prevention
steps:
- Wash/Clean Hands
- Identify and isolate early
- Precautions use (use gown,
gloves and masks)
- Environment kept clean
- Share the commitment, raise your
hand
Sanford Jackson
Medical Center has also placed an emphasis on hand hygiene monitoring and
compliance and has raised its hand hygiene compliance scores from 52 percent to
92 percent, resulting in a dramatic drop in its hospital-acquired infections
(HAI). In fact, so far this year the hospital has not had a single HAI. To
learn more about Sanford Jackson Medical Center’s efforts to prevent infection,
contact Sanford’s Michele Storbeck, RN, infection control
preventionist, 507-847-6956. return to top
Hospitals
encouraged to participate in project to prevent CAUTI
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are the
most common type of health care-associated infection. As such, the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) identified CAUTI prevention as a national
priority through its Partnership for Patients program. Currently, 16 Minnesota
hospitals are participating in Cohort 6 of the national On the CUSP: Stop CAUTI. Since beginning in
2011, 79 percent of participating hospital units nationally have reduced CAUTIs
or maintained a rate of zero.
To significantly reduce Minnesota hospitals’ CAUTI rates, more hospitals need
to commit to CAUTI prevention. Hospitals are encouraged to join Cohort 7 of On
the Cusp: Stop CAUTI. MHA also urges hospitals that have not completed the CHAIN HAI road map and CAUTI gap analysis to do so.
Contact Karen Olson,
MHA patient safety/quality coordinator, for more information on CAUTI
prevention opportunities, or if you are interested in joining Cohort 7 of On
the CUSP: Stop CAUTI. return to top
HealthForce
Minnesota releases request for proposals for workforce grants
HealthForce Minnesota will award up to $60,000 in grants to
advance Minnesota's health care workforce, with individual awards expected to
range between $5,000 and $15,000. Proposals are due by noon, Nov. 4.
HealthForce is interested in proposals that fall under one of three priority
areas: leadership in healthcare; employer/educator partnerships; and charting
the future - the strategic framework for Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities. Awarded funds will be available in November 2013 and must be
spent by June 30, 2014.
Matching funds are not required but encouraged and proposals must include
support by one of HealthForce Minnesota's partners. View the request for proposals details
and scoring rubric. return to top
Communicating
observation status for your Medicare patients
When a patient visits
the hospital, physicians and caregivers are required to follow Medicare’s
specific rules and protocols for designating their status as inpatient or
observation. For patients whom a physician determines needs monitoring but does
not meet Medicare’s inpatient admission criteria, this can sometimes be
confusing.
MHA reminds hospitals that it is important to clearly communicate a patient’s
outpatient observation status to him/her. To help hospitals inform patients of
their status, MHA partnered with other key stakeholders to develop a standard consumer-friendly document. This tool was
tested with several Medicare beneficiaries to help simplify its language and
message.
If you have any questions about communicating outpatient observation status,
contact Joe Schindler, MHA vice president of finance, 651-659-1415. return to top
MHA
contributes to birth center study
MHA responded to a request from the Minnesota Department of
Health (MDH) to provide input regarding newly licensed birth centers in
Minnesota (read the letter). MDH is completing a
legislatively mandated study on birth centers.
MHA surveyed its members to better understand the kinds of experiences
hospitals and health systems have had since Minnesota began licensing birth
centers. Generally, only a handful of hospitals have received patients
transferred from a birth center.
MHA’s letter to MDH emphasizes the wide variation that exists in hospitals’
experiences with birth centers. For example, one hospital reported excellent
communication with, and timely transfers of, patients from a nearby birth
center. Other hospitals report little or no communication or coordination from nearby
birth centers, and delayed transfers jeopardizing the safety of the mother and
infant.
Based on its members’ feedback, MHA encouraged MDH to include recommendations
for statutory changes in its report to the Legislature. These changes would
require birth centers to have transfer processes and care protocols developed
in conjunction with hospitals as a condition of licensure. return to top
MHA urges state to leverage federal grant for health
information exchange
Earlier this year, the
State of Minnesota received a $47 million State Innovation Model (SIM) grant
from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In developing the
activities that will be funded with the new resources, the state issued a Request
for Information (RFI) seeking input regarding health information technology
(HIT) and data needs for delivering more coordinated, higher quality and cost
effective care.
MHA responded and emphasized the need for health information exchange (HIE)
capacity as a fundamental component of any care coordination or population
health initiative (read the letter). To further HIE in Minnesota,
MHA asked the state to support legislation to make it easier for health care
providers to exchange clinically appropriate patient data for the purposes of
care coordination.
MHA also encouraged the state to target the limited grant funding to projects
aimed at providing better, more coordinated care to the five percent of
residents who incur the greatest amount of health care expenses. By focusing on
these “high utilizers,” MHA contended, the state can simultaneously lower total
health care spending while improving the quality and outcomes of care for these
residents. Because many of these high utilizers cross health care settings from
emergency rooms to mental health services and pharmaceuticals, MHA wrote that
they represent an ideal group of patients for the grant funding, which is
designed to create greater alignment and communication across the continuum of
care.
For more information, contact Matt Anderson, MHA vice president of
regulatory and strategic affairs, 651-659-1421 or Mark Sonneborn, MHA vice president of information services, 651-659-1423.
return to top
Final
Medicaid DSH rule released
The Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule governing the methodology for
calculating adjustments to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH)
payments in federal fiscal years 2014 and 2015. This rule is especially
important this year because it includes the first cuts to DSH payments required
by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The final rule’s methodology will apply for only the first two years of the
scheduled DSH reductions, which are slated to increase in FY2016 and beyond. In
addition, in the final rule CMS does not factor individual state decisions on
Medicaid expansion into the calculation for DSH reductions because it does not
have sufficient data on the impact of state expansion decisions. Instead, CMS
is applying a five-factor formula adjustment including a lower adjustment
factor for low-DSH states such as Minnesota.
MHA will share more detailed information about the actual allotment levels once
it is published for 2014. For questions, contact Joe Schindler, MHA vice president of finance, 651-659-1415. return to top
MDH
issues FAQ on home care licensing changes
During the 2013 session, the Legislature passed a new law that
changes the way the Minnesota Department of Health licenses home care providers
(see July 2013 notice: Important notice to MDH licensed home care providers).
The current classes of licenses (i.e. Class A,B,C,F) will be replaced by two
types of home care licenses: either Basic or Comprehensive. While new home care
licensees will begin to comply with the new law beginning Jan.1, 2014, there
will be a transition period for existing providers. For more information,
please see the MDH FAQ online. return to top
Hospitals
asked to respond to AHA enrollment support survey
Last week, the American Hospital Association
(AHA) sent a survey to its hospital members asking for feedback on the
activities hospitals are engaged in to help people enroll in the new coverage
options that take effect Jan. 1, 2014. MHA encourages you to take a few minutes
to complete the survey by Oct. 25 to help AHA better understand hospital
enrollment activities. If you have any questions, contact AHA Member Relations,
800-424-4301. returnto top