Minnesota Hospital Association

Newsroom

June 15, 2015

MHA Newsline: June 15, 2015

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 herereturn 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 websitereturn 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