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UPDATE
- May
8 , 2008
2008
Legislative Session Ends
Speaker
James Amann Relinquishes
Leadership
The
General Assembly concluded its 2008 session at midnight last
night. As always, the final days of the legislative session
were long, hectic, and filled with last-minute activity, none
of which, however, revolved around passing a revised budget
for FY 2009. As previously reported, Democratic leaders and
Governor Rell reached an agreement late last week to let the
2009 budget enacted last year stand. This will break a 15-year
tradition of reopening the budget every year since the state
adopted two-year budgets in 1993. Toward the end of session,
House and Senate Republicans attempted to add their FY 09
budget alternative, known as the “Do Something Budget,” to
several bills being debated. Through parliamentary maneuvers,
Democrats ruled that the amendment could not be added to the
underlying bills. The threat by the Republicans to add their
alternative budget to the many bills awaiting action slowed
legislative business in both chambers.
A
dramatic drop in state revenues since February forced legislative
leaders and the Administration to revisit their plans to revise
the FY 09 budget. Both Governor Rell and the Appropriations
Committee proposed modest increases to a targeted number of
programs, but were forced within the last two weeks of the
session to scrap those plans, relying instead on the spending
plan passed into law last summer. Nursing homes, non-profit
private provider agencies, and municipalities had lobbied
for FY 09 increases, but now will have to provide services
without additional appropriations. By maintaining the FY 09
budget, Medicaid increases for hospitals and other healthcare
providers will not be legislatively modified.
Senate
Democrats, led by Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Willliams
Jr. (D-Brooklyn), said legislators will return in special
session to reauthorize the real estate conveyance tax before
the new fiscal year begins July 1. Without legislative action,
municipalities will lose $40 million in revenue from the expiration
of this tax. The expiration of the real estate conveyance
tax was a major source of contention between the Connecticut
Conference of Municipalities and the state's realtors.
In
the waning hours of the session, both the House and Senate
passed and transmitted to the Governor the Department of Public
Health's (DPH) yearly “technical reviser bill”, HB
5701, An Act Concerning Revisions to Statutes Pertaining To
The Department Of Public Health. This bill makes
technical and other changes to a variety of DPH statutes,
some of which have a direct impact on hospitals. CHA worked
with the Co-Chairs and the Ranking House Member of the Public
Health Committee to eliminate problematic language that would
have substantially expanded the authority of DPH to include
summary powers against licensed healthcare institutions. This
proposal was stripped from the final version of the bill,
which was sent to the Governor for approval.
In
addition to the flurry of legislative activity during the
final days, legislators took time to honor their colleagues
who have announced plans not to seek reelection in the fall.
In addition to Speaker Amann, several legislators who have
been supportive of hospitals have decided to either seek higher
office, or retire from elective politics. A complete list
of those legislators not seeking reelection will be compiled
and distributed at a later date, with an accompanying request
to send thank you notes to those legislators who were supporters
of hospitals.
The
Legislature adjourned, Sine Die, at midnight.
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Senate
Panel Launches Hearings on
Health Reform
At
the first in a series of U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearings
on health reform held on Tuesday, May 6, 2008, former Health
and Human Services Secretaries Donna Shalala and Tommy Thompson
shared their views on reform strategies.
According
to Shalala, “80% of Americans like what they have, but they
want lower cost.” She said any health reform plan will “have
to make a very clear case about how they would be better off,
particularly on the finance side,” and that reforms to Medicare
would trigger similar reforms throughout the system, and should
include electronic medical records and comparative effectiveness
research to promote best practices.
Thompson
said reforms should promote wellness and prevent chronic disease,
obesity, and smoking, which drive up healthcare spending.
He also said companies should be encouraged through tax incentives
to instill prevention and smoking cessation in the workforce,
and called for electronic prescribing to reduce medication
errors.
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CHA's
Quality and Patient Safety Training Kicks Off
CHA
launched its Quality and Patient Safety Training Institute
on May 6, 2008, with its initial course offering designed
to provide front-line quality improvement managers, patient
safety officers, nursing directors and managers, and infection
prevention professionals with innovative tools to drive improvement
in quality and patient safety for their organizations. The
four-session program, Achieving Excellence in Quality
and Patient Safety, will enable participants to expand
their knowledge of current and emerging trends and innovations
in quality and patient safety, and strengthen their statistical
and analytical skills. The program was enthusiastically received
by 40 member-participants representing a broad range of disciplines,
25 acute care hospitals, and other healthcare providers in
Connecticut. The next session will be held on May 22, 2008,
followed by two additional sessions in June.
The
second course in the Institute's three series curricula, Quality
101 – The Basics, is described below and registration
is now underway.
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Save
the Dates!
Quality
101 – The Basics
Quality
101 – The Basics is a two-session education and training
curriculum, developed by CHA's Patient Safety Organization
(PSO), for healthcare professionals who are not directly involved
in quality improvement and patient safety but must have a
working knowledge of “the basics” of quality and performance
improvement.
Session
One: The Importance of Communication to Quality
and Patient Safety will be held on Thursday, May 22,
2008 from 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (registration begins at 8:00
a.m.). Participants will learn about the factors that influence
quality and patient safety with an emphasis on the impact
of communications and teamwork, standard communication tools,
and the different styles of communication and their impact
on performance. Presenters for this session are Brian
Fillipo, CHA Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety,
and Joan Evans, Chief Learning Officer, Moses Cone Health
System.
Session
Two: Innovative Tools and Techniques for Quality
Improvement will be held on Monday, June 16, 2008 from
8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (registration begins at 8:00 a.m.).
Brian Fillipo, CHA Vice President for Quality and Patient
Safety, and Sherri Barnhill, Collaborative Consultant and
former Patient Safety Officer, will provide a review of the
basic process improvement tools. Among the tools to be reviewed
are flowcharts, cause and effect diagram, root cause analysis,
run charts, and the Plan-Do-Study-Act process.
For
more information, contact Laura Jackman at (203) 294-7257
or jackman@chime.org.
For the program brochure, click
here. To register, click
here.
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Essentials
for the ED – Compliance, Coding, and Regulatory Updates for
Physicians, Nurses, and Managers
On
Monday, May 12, 2008, CHA will host Essentials for the
ED – Compliance, Coding, and Regulatory Updates from
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.).
The program is specifically designed for physicians, nurses,
and managers, who need an up-to-date, working knowledge of
the coding complexities in the ED. Managing the wide variety
of conditions that are treated in the ED environment, the
limited insurance information available from patients to facilitate
the process, the payer issues relating to medical necessity,
and the complexity of ED services is essential to ensure financial
success of the ED.
The
program's speaker, Caral Edelberg, is the president of Medical
Management Resources of TEAMHealth in Jacksonville, FL. She
is a nationally recognized author, lecturer, and leader in
the field of emergency medicine billing, coding compliance,
and reimbursement.
For
more information, contact Laura Jackman at (203) 294-7257
or jackman@chime.org.
To register, click
here.
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Building
Healthy Collaborative Workgroups
CHA's
four-program series on Creating a Positive Work Environment,
which began last November, will conclude with its final program,
Building Healthy Collaborative Workgroups on Thursday,
June 12, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (registration begins
at 8:30 a.m.). One of the great challenges facing hospital
leaders today is recruiting, managing, and retaining a skilled
workforce. This program will help managers build healthy workgroups,
which take responsibility for the success of the team, and
know that when the entire team performs well, each team member
is successful and productive.
Managers
at all levels who are responsible for the performance of others
and wish to build productive and satisfied workgroups should
attend. Gail Scott, president of Gail Scott and Associates,
educator and consultant for more than 20 years, and highly
regarded speaker by members attending prior CHA programs,
is the program presenter.
Members
who participated in the November and December programs will
receive a 25 percent discount for this final program. For
more information, contact Laura Jackman at (203) 294-7257
or jackman@chime.org.
To register, click
here.
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CHA's
Annual Meeting
Join
your colleagues at the 90th CHA Annual Meeting on Tuesday,
June 17, 2008, at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington, CT, to
celebrate the many accomplishments of Connecticut hospitals,
discuss the challenges of the future, enjoy first-rate entertainment,
and network. CHA's Annual Meeting will also feature the annual
business meeting, election of the Board of Trustees, and presentation
of CHA's annual awards.
This
is an exciting year to participate in CHA's Annual Meeting
as we celebrate 90 years of CHA's dedicated service to Connecticut
hospitals and communities. The theme for this special anniversary
event is Celebrating 90 Years: Helping Hospitals Care
for Communities.
Entertainment
will be provided by the Capitol Steps. For more information,
contact Laura Jackman at (203) 294-7257 or jackman@chime.org.
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