In this issue
MHA
honored for commitment to health care quality
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has recognized the
Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) for its leadership and innovation in
health care quality improvement and patient safety. The Dick Davidson Quality
Milestone Award is given to state, regional or metropolitan hospital
associations that demonstrate leadership and innovation in quality improvement
and contribute to national health care improvement efforts.
MHA is involved in a number of actions to continue reaching an even higher
level of performance. A nation-leading adverse health events reporting system,
multiple patient safety calls to action, and development of new methods of
measuring quality demonstrates MHA’s commitment to quality and patient safety.
Work to prevent pressure ulcers; eliminate early elective deliveries; reduce
preventable hospital readmissions; create a safety culture; prevent falls;
prevent healthcare-associated infections and adverse drug events have saved
more than 13,000 patients from harm and more than $93 million in health care
costs over the past three years.
The award will be presented to MHA on July 23 at the 2015 Health Forum-AHA
Leadership Summit in San Francisco. return to top
Member
spotlight: PrairieCare’s innovative Psychiatric Assistance Line
This past spring, PrairieCare, Maple Grove, received the MHA
Innovation of the Year Award in Patient Care, small hospital category. In 2014,
PrairieCare teamed with the Department of Human Services and the Minnesota
Psychiatric Society to create the Psychiatric Assistance Line (PAL). This
service creates immediate and free access to psychiatric consultation with
clinical social workers and board certified child and adolescent psychiatrists
to primary care providers. It allows individuals to receive care for
psychiatric disorders in their primary care setting – thus avoiding costly
referrals and lengthy wait times to be seen by a psychiatrist. Doing so also
supports primary care in the evidence-based assessment and treatment of
psychiatric disorders and ongoing care of complex conditions. In the first six
months. PAL provided more than 100 consultations to primary care providers,
helping each youth receive the care they needed right in their doctor’s office.
To learn more about the 2015 MHA award recipients, click here. return to top
MHA
releases 2015 Workforce Planning Tool statewide data summary
Last week, MHA distributed a summary of the MHA Workforce
Planning Tool 2015 data to members. MHA collects demographic data on 38 health
care job positions annually. MHA compiles a statewide summary to help paint a
current picture of the health care workforce within these 38 jobs, and to help
identify the most pressing workforce needs facing Minnesota hospitals and
health systems.
A few of the following themes emerged in this year’s summary:
- Following a dramatic drop in
2011, the retirement rate has risen over the past four years.
- Our health care workforce is
getting younger as Baby Boomers retire and Millennials join the workforce.
In 2015, the latter group is expected to surpass the former in numbers.
- Our workforce continues to grow
more diverse. Today, 10 percent of all workers in the jobs tracked are
non-white, while 14 percent of the state’s population is reported as
non-white.
- There has been an increase of full-time
positions.
- In 2014, 11.8 percent of Full
Time Equivalents (FTEs) exited their job positions. However, 15 percent of
FTEs reported were new hires, indicating that Minnesota hospitals and
health systems continue to add new jobs.
For more information, contact Ann Gibson,
MHA vice president, federal relations and workforce, 651-603-3527. return to top
University
of Minnesota Medical Center named regional treatment center for Ebola
The University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC), in
partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), has been named as
one of nine regional treatment centers for patients with Ebola and other
severe, highly infectious diseases. The new network will expand the U.S.’s
ability to respond to outbreaks of highly infectious diseases.
UMMC will serve Region 5, which consists of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, and will have the capacity to accept patients from
the region if local facilities are unable to provide sufficient care.
Additional funding has been awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services to ensure that the hospital is equipped to receive patients within eight
hours of notification and have the capacity and staff to treat at least two
Ebola patients at a time. UMMC has agreed to care for patients with Ebola or
other highly-infectious disease from within the region, another region in the
U.S. or individual who has been medically evacuated to the U.S.
All Minnesota hospitals will continue to be prepared to detect, isolate and
provide initial care/triage for a patient suspected to have Ebola. Minnesota
will continue to have the four designated treatment centers, focusing on
handling patients with Ebola or other special diseases.
For more information, view the HHS news release or visit the CDC website. return to top
Avian
flu update
Hospitals and clinics serving central Minnesota are encouraged
to ask patients presenting with influenza-like illness (ILI) about contact will
infected poultry, and should follow standard respiratory precautions while
evaluating patients. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) requests
clinicians notify them of any individual with ILI who has been in contact with
infected poultry while the patient is still in the clinic or emergency
department. There have not been any positive flocks in over a week, and the
incidence of seasonal influenza has dropped dramatically, so it is expected
that the chance of a patient presenting with influenza-like illness (ILI) is
very low.
USDA employees and their contractors have temporarily taken up residence in
Minnesota as they respond to avian flu and decontamination efforts. These
workers self-monitor and have been asked to inform MDH if they develop ILI, at
which point MDH would call local clinics to arrange for evaluations and
specimens to be collected. No human cases of the virus have been detected since
the outbreak began in March 2015.
For more information, visit the MDH website. For questions, contact Joni Scheftel, MDH, 651-201-5107 or Stacy Holzbauer, MDH, 651-201-5592. return to top
March
of Dimes accepting Nurse of the Year nominations
March of Dimes will host the annual Nurse of the
Year Awards on Oct. 17 to celebrate nursing excellence and recognize leaders in
nursing from across the state. Patients, families and colleagues are encouraged
to nominate nurses in 16 diverse categories; nominations are due July 1.
Individuals may choose to nominate more than one person or nominate the same
person in more than one category. To nominate a nurse, click here.
For questions and sponsorship opportunities, contact Abby Walker,
March of Dimes, 612-326-9435. return to top