Healthcare Council of Western Pennsylvania



August 2013Vol. 3? No. 6In This Issue HCWP Fall Conference Governance Institute Program Special Member Program Annual Medicare Update Legionella Prevention Strategy Session Stroke Webinar MA Modernization Update Medicare Wage Index HCWP Surveys Upcoming Member Meetings Future Meetings Past Meetings Allied Members Programs of Interest Sponsors:??Outstanding Line-Up for Hospital Council's Fall ConferencePhysician engagement, the future of health systems and health care, and the impact of health reform will be topics at Hospital Council's Fall Conference. The conference will be held on Friday, October 4, 2013, at the Regional Learning Alliance in Cranberry Township.Dan Collard, an executive with the Studer Group, will serve as the conference's keynote speaker. He brings his experience as chief operating officer and champion of improvement initiatives within a hospital group in the Southeast along with his knowledge and experience with health reform to the Conference. He also assisted three hospitals with successful turnarounds. Dan will also be the featured speaker at the invitation-only CEO breakfast, which will be held prior to the opening of the Conference.Capabilities for Success in the Post-Reform Heathcare Landscape, will be presented by Connie Cibrone, senior director of Client Services and Scott Pritchard, vice president of Client Development for Objective Health, part of McKinsey & Company. Connie joined McKinsey in 2009 and held a variety of leadership roles at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, including 10 years as president and chief executive officer. Scott joined McKinsey in 2005 and has worked with both hospitals and healthsystems as well as clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries.Andy Carter, the president of the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), will also give an update on HAP initiatives, including legislative and policy initiatives.A networking luncheon will immediately follow the program. In addition, the western Pennsylvania chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives will be hosting their fall program following the luncheon. As in the past, Hospital Council's Fall Conference is free of charge to both facility and Allied members. Hospital Council is able to offer this outstanding event to its members because of the generosity of Conference sponsors.This year's Platinum sponsors are Alpha Financial Services, Amerinet, Cowden & Associates, Corazon, and Cura Hospitality. Gold sponsors are Fox Rothschild, LLP, Highmark, and Littler Mendelson. Silver sponsors include Carbis Walker, Clinical Financial Services, Mi-Jack Systems, ParenteBeard, Perkins Eastman, and Strategy Solutions, Inc. Bronze sponsors include Bottom Line Systems and Sanofi.Members will receive an email "save the date" notice in the near future and an e-invitation will follow. For more information contact Pat Raffaele.??Special Governance Institute ProgramThe Governance Institute and Hospital Council have partnered to bring members of both organizations an outstanding program at Hospital Council's Conference Center on August 21st and 22nd. This two-day program, featuring expert faculty, is designed for teams from members consisting of chief executive officers, Boards of Directors, and other members of the C-Suite team. Conference sessions focus on healthcare financing, governance and quality, among others. Topics of the sessions include health costs and pricing, the role of the Board in Patient-Centered care, and the Hospital Consumer Assessment on Healthcare Provider Systems (HCAHCPS), the Baldridge Journey, and value-based purchasing. There will also be time to network at a reception on August 21st and at a luncheon on August 22nd.Members of The Governance Institute can bring up to five individuals to the program at no charge. Hospital Council members, who are not members of The Governance Institute, can pay for three participants and receive the fourth registration at no charge. Because of the generosity of sponsors, Hospital Council can offer this special program at a reduced rate of $450 per attendee. Conference sponsors include Amerinet and Cura Hospitality.Participants are also eligible to receive credits from several different organizations. To register and for more information click here. For more information contact Jane Montgomery? or Pat Raffaele.??Hold the Date: Special Member Program on Reform and Insurance ExchangesHospital Council members will be invited to a special member program featuring Joanne Grossi, Regional Director of the Department of Health and Human Services for Region III. In her role, she oversees several agencies and their work for several states including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The program will be held on September 25, 2013 at Hospital Council's Conference Center. The program will also feature William England, the Pennsylvania director for Enroll America. Bill will provide information to members on enrollment tools and resources related to the insurance exchanges. The program will be free of charge for Hospital Council members and more information will be available in the near future. Contact Pat Raffaele for more information.??Annual Medicare UpdateHospital Council and the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) are once again offering the Annual Medicare Update. This year's program will be held at Hospital Council's Conference Center on September 20, 2013 beginning with registration at 7:30 a.m. The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m.The program includes a Washington/Federal Update presented by Julie DiFrancesco and Steve Burrill of Deloitte. Julie is the director of the Cleveland Office for Deloitte and has extensive experience with provider reimbursement. She has been a frequent speaker at HFMA's Annual National Institute and the American Health Lawyers Association Conferences. Steve is a partner and national health care provider marketplace leader for Deloitte and has been with the firm for more than 30 years.As part of the program, Novitas Medicare auditors will provide a review of Medicare changes. Mark Hudak and Dave Cipollone, audit supervisors, will provide the update from Novitas Solutions. The afternoon will feature other topics of interest and will include presentations by the firm BKD CPAs and Advisors.The registration fee for members is $125 and registration is requested no later than September 13, 2013. For more information contact Denis Lukes. To register contact Monica Palmer.??Legionella Prevention Focus of Strategy SessionLegionella prevention, identification, and remediation is the focus of a strategy session on August 29, 2013. The program begins at 1 p.m. and is free of charge. The session is a collaboration of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, Hospital Council, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Allegheny County Health Department, and VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.The program is designed to inform participants about the complexity of the threat posed by Legionella, allow for discussion regarding Legionella prevention, and remediation best practices as well as any lessons learned from past outbreaks. The program will also include a review of standards regarding Legionella from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).Speakers for the program include representatives from the CDC, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Allegheny County Health Department, and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.For more information contact Millie Greene at the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. ??Upcoming Webinar on Stroke ProgramsPositioning Your Stroke Program for Success is the title of a special webinar that Hospital Council and Corazon will offer to members from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday,? September 5, 2013. The program will provide an overview of national trends in the neuroscience specialty with a focus on program development, new technology, the payor landscape and other topics.During the session, participants will learn about legislative and regulatory changes and the impact of these changes on stroke programs; development opportunities for both established and new stroke centers; how top performing programs are working to meet stroke quality benchmarks; and differentiate between certifying bodies.The session is designed for chief medical officers, chief nursing officers, and vice presidents of quality. The session is free of charge to Hospital Council members, however, registration is required. Click here for the registration form. For more information contact Jane Montgomery or Pat Raffaele.??Medical Assistance Modernization UpdateHospital Council continues to work on issues related to Medical Assistance (MA) Modernization with members and the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP). HAP has formed a number of Committees to further pursue these efforts. Two areas of focus are MA payments related to observation and also payments related to outpatient procedures. There has not been an increase in outpatient payments from MA since 1991. The goal of Hospital Council is to improve MA payments for its members. For more information contact Denis Lukes.??Medicare Wage IndexHospital Council is once again urging members to participate in a Medicare Wage Index Data Scrub this Fall. Hospital Council is asking for 100 percent participation from hospitals in the Pittsburgh and other core based statistical areas (CBSAs) so the wage index for the region's CBSAs can remain above the rural floor and potentially increase. In addition, Hospital Council is working with the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) on a possible wage index data scrub for Pennsylvania's rural hospitals. For more information contact Denis Lukes.??Survey UpdateFlash SurveyHospital Council recently released its Flash Survey for the nine months ending March 31, 2013. Of particular note in the survey is the decline of operating margins. Operating margins declined from 4.02 percent in the March 31, 2012 Flash Survey to 1.69 percent in this report. Also of note is that sequestration occurred subsequent to the release of the Flash Survey and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare reduced their case weight retroactively to July 1, 2012 in May. Participating members received a copy of the Flash Survey. For more information contact Denis Lukes.Benchmark Salary SurveyHospital Council will release the next Benchmark Salary Survey in the near future. The Survey reflects more than 50 positions and 60 Hospital Council members participated. Participating members will receive their copy of the survey through email in the near future, as well as their compa-ratio reports. In addition, Hospital Council offers custom surveys to participating members for a small fee. For more information about the survey contact Pat Raffaele or Carmela Breslin.??Upcoming Member MeetingsRisk/Quality CommitteeDisruptive behavior by hospital employees including clinical staff, will be the key topic of discussion at Hospital Council's Risk/Quality Committee meeting on August 14, 2013. Bill Maruca, a partner at Fox Rothschild, LLP will lead the discussion and offer strategies to effectively manage disruptive behavior. He will also review some court cases related to disruptive behavior. The meeting will be held at Hospital Council's Conference Center beginning at 9:30 a.m. In addition, video conferencing will be used to link the meeting at Hospital Council with participants at Dubois Regional Medical Center. Participants joining from Dubois will meet in the Assembly Room at the hospital's Central Resource Center. The meeting will conclude with a roundtable discussion and networking lunch. For more information contact Jane Montgomery.Fund Development CommitteeThe impact of the new privacy regulations on fundraising will be one of the key topics at Hospital Council's next Fund Development Committee meeting. The Committee will meet on August 27, 2013 at Hospital Council's Conference Center. Bill Maruca, a partner at the firm Fox Rothschild, LLP, will review the new regulations with the group. The Committee will also discuss best practices related to grateful patient programs. The meeting will conclude with a roundtable discussion and networking lunch. For more information contact Pat Raffaele.??Future MeetingsCNO CommitteeThe CNO Committee will meet on September 6, 2013 at Hospital Council's Conference Center. For more information contact Jane pliance CommitteeThe Compliance Committee will meet on September 13, 2013 at Hospital Council's Conference Center. For more information contact Pat Raffaele.Chief Medical Officers CommitteeThe Chief Medical Officers Committee will meet on September 13, 2013 at Hospital Council's Conference Center. For more information contact Jane Montgomery.??Past MeetingsHIM CommitteeThe Health Information Management (HIM) Committee met by audio conference on July 24, 2013. The meeting focused on ICD-10 preparation, planning and education. Other items on the agenda included a presentation regarding the new HIPAA rules and discussion of computer assisted coding. For more information contact Denis Lukes or Jane Montgomery.Practice Administrator CommitteeThe Practice Administrator Committee met on July 31, 2013. Mark DeRubeis, chief executive officer of Premier Medical Associates, discussed the strategies used to build their successful practice. He reviewed some of the contracting and compensation issues involved with the practice and discussed operational challenges associated with a medical home model. He stressed the need for a strong practice infrastructure. Additional agenda items included IDC-10 preparation and Hospital Council's recently released benchmark survey on physician practices. For more information contact Denis Lukes or Jane Montgomery.??New Allied MembersHospital Council Welcomes New Allied MembersAltair Management PartnersAltair provides asset management services for retirement plans, endowments and foundations. Altair's investment objectives are to provide consistent, low volatility, and superior risk adjusted returns. For more information contact Mike Schenk.Washington County Health PartnersThe mission of Washington County Health Partners is to educate, collaborate and advocate for better health in southwestern Pennsylvania. Washington County Health Partners is a State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP)-affiliated partner that most recently completed a joint Community Heath Needs Assessment for two of the region's hospitals. In addition, the Partners completed the implementation and strategy plan for the joint assessment. One hospital has contracted with Washington County Health Partners to complete the implementation and evaluation of the plan. For more information contact Lee Rutledge-Falcione, executive director.??Other Programs of InterestUniversity of Pittsburgh Offers Certificate ProgramA graduate certificate in Health Systems Leadership and Management is being offered by the Department of Health Policy and Management of the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health. The certificate is designed for physicians and other health care clinicians and providers. Many of the credits earned through the program can be used towards an advanced degree such as a Master's degree in Public Health or a Master's degree in Health Administration. As part of the program, the Department offers a Seminar in Health Systems Leadership for both the Fall and Spring semesters. The seminar can be taken separately and features several guest speakers who are executives from hospitals and healthsystems throughout the region. The seminar offers 1.5 credits and meets on Tuesday's beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the University's Graduate School of Public Health. For more information about either the program or the seminar contact Mark S. Roberts, MD, MPP.Physician-Hospital Alignment & Communications Focus of ACHE ProgramThe Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), will hold its next program on September 12, 2013 on Physician-Hospital Alignment & Communications Strategies to Ensure Collaboration. The program is offered in collaboration with Corazon, Inc., and will be held beginning at noon at Hospital Council's Conference Center. The program will help participants identify and address necessary steps to prepare for the evolving care delivery paradigm in healthcare as the delivery system makes the transition to a specialty-driven, patient centered approach.For more information email the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of ACHE.Upcoming Clinical Engineering & Supply Chain ConferenceThe Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Association of Healthcare Resources and Materials (AHRMM) is sponsoring the Third Annual Clinical Engineering & Supply Chain Conference on Wednesday, September 25, 2013 at The Four Points by Sheraton in Mars, Pennsylvania. The program is free of charge and participants can earn continuing education credits. Click here for more information.HCCA Offers East Central Regional Annual ConferenceThe Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) will hold the East Central Regional Annual Conference on Friday, October 11, 2013 at the Regional Learning Alliance in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. The program begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 4:30 p.m.The program features a comprehensive line-up of speakers and topics. Topics include HIPAA Privacy Compliance Audits by the Office of Civil Rights, Surviving and Thriving as a Compliance Officer, the Evolution of Technology in Healthcare, and others. There are two panel discussions as part of the program - one on Health Information Exchanges and the other on Compliance Operational & Program Structure. The program was designed by a Planning Committee chaired by Linda Lattner, director of Corporate Compliance and Insurance for St. Clair Hospital. Linda also serves as co-chair of Hospital Council's Compliance Committee and several members of the Compliance Committee served on the HCCA Conference Program Committee. Continuing education credits are available. For more information visit the HCCA website. Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania is a strategic partner with health care providers and affiliated organizations, enabling them to realize their mission while maintaining their status as economically viable entities.Visit:? :? 1-800-704-8434? ................
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