 |
 |
 |
|
|
What's New |
UPDATE ON ASHNHA’S 2008 ANNUAL MEETING IN TALKEETNA
WHEN: September 22-25, 2008
WHERE: Talkeetna, Alaska
THEME: Health Care Reform in Alaska
Here is a recap of the many offerings during the four day meeting. The meeting includes continuing education sessions, expert presentations on several topics, welcome by ASHNHA Chairman Al Parrish, comments from DHSS Commissioner Bill Hogan, networking opportunities, ASHPIN and ASHNHA Board meetings, discussion of ASHNHA’s 2009 Legislative Priorities, a great dinner event and more. There is something for everyone so be sure and come and bring others from your organization to take part in the meeting.  August 15 2008
August 4, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
James Shill, CEO of North Star Behavioral Health has announced his resignation effective August 22nd to assume the position of CEO of Tanana Valley Clinic (TVC) in Fairbanks effective August 25th. TVC is a multi-specialty clinic that has served the Fairbanks community for over 45 years. The clinic employs 40+ providers (physicians and mid-levels) with approximately 190 clinical and office support staff. James has been an active leader in the ASHNHA membership and within the Alaska health care community. August 4 2008
July 14, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
CONGRESS: President Bust has renewed his threat to veto H.R. 6331 which passed the Senate on a veto proof 69 vote margin. Not only does H.R. 6331 block the 10% Medicare physician cut that was scheduled for July 1, 2008, but thanks to language authored by Senator Ted Stevens it also includes a permanent 35% rate increase for Alaska physicians effective January 1, 2009. When I spoke with Senator Ted Stevens office shortly after the vote I was informed the Senator was absolutely estatic about the outcome. Senator Stevens has championed this increase for years and success is now at hand. In addition to the physician rate provisions H.R. 6331 also:
- Extends critical rural programs that are set to expire July 1.
- Provides improvements for “tweener” hospitals.
- Provides for Medicare rural hospital flexibility (FLEX) program reauthorization.
- Expands telehealth service sites.
- Addresses prompt pay for physicians.
July 14 2008
June 30, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
CMS: Secretary Leavitt announced today that he was suspending the 10% Medicare physician fee reduction scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2008 in order to give Congress time to address the fee reduction issue when they return from their break. Congress failed to stop the fee reduction by just one vote last Thursday evening on S. 3101. CMS will pend all physician claims with a service date of July 1 or later until Congress has a chance to review the planned reduction in the coming weeks.June 30 2008
June 13, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
CMS: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a new Medicare Claims Administrator for Alasks, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The new Administrator is National Heritage Insurance Corporation (NHIC). "This is another step toward improving service to beneficiaries and health care providers, as well as giving CMS greater oversight of the Medicare contractors that process and pay Medicare claims" said Acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems. NHIC will serve as the first point of contact for the processing and payment of Medicare fee-for-service claims from hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, physicians and other health care providers. NHIC will take over claims payment work now being performed by two fiscal intermediaries and one carrier in the four states. As the new Part A & Part B contractor, NHIC will immediately begin implementation activities and will assume full responsibility for the claims processing work in its four-state jurisdiction by December 31, 2008. June 13 2008(1)
May 30, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
CONGRESS: Has passed legislation delaying harmful Medicaid regulations until April 1, 2009. The Senate's version also bans self-referral to new physician-owned hospitals. The Senate version now goes back to the House, and could go to the President in June. The President has threatened a veto.May 30 2008
May 9, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Commissioner Karleen Jackson submitted her resignation to Governor Sarah Palin effective Friday, May 9, 2008. In a phone conversation with Rod Betit, Commissioner Jackson expressed her appreciation for the positive relationship she ejnoyed with ASHNHA and its membership during her term as Commissioner. She was particularly appreciative of the professional manner in which ASHNHA had handled areas of significant policy differences in the past two years. CommissionerJac kson intends to stay in Juneau for the foreseeable future as her husban's job is located here. May 9 2008
April 14, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT ASHNHA’s 2008 Session Goals:
ASHNHA went into the 2008 Session with the following goals:
1. Assure continuation of Alaska’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws for all communities.
2. Block efforts to impose legislated limits on overtime and on-call policies.
3. Clarify when purchase of imaging equipment must go through the CON process.
4. Establish an Alaska Health Care Commission to address health care issues.
While we were successful in accomplishing Goals 1 and 2, we did not accomplish Goals 3 and 4. Additionally, it is likely all of these issues will be back before us again in 2009. April 14 2008
March 21, 2008
PRESIDENT REPORT
SB 245 Health Care Transparency Act (SUPPORT) - This is the Senate companion bill to HB 337. SB 245 is presently in Senate HES where the Governor's CON repeal language has been completely deleted and replaced with ASHNHA's imaging language from Rep. Mike Kelly's bill (HB 345). SB 245 is scheduled for another hearing in Senate HES on Friday, March 28. March 21 2008
February 29, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Charlie Franz is retiring from South Peninsula Hospital after 12 years as its CEO. Charlie began his Alaska hospital administrator career at Bassett Army Hospital in Fairbanks in 1993. In 1996 he moved to Homer to take over South Peninsula Hospital. During his 12 year tenure, patient revenues have increased from $12 million to more than $30 million. In addition he has overseen the construction of a new long-term care unit, diagnostic equipment was added, and the hospital’s electronic and digital storage of radiology images was upgraded. And on February 16, 2008 the grand opening of a new Emergency Department, Imaging Center, Specialty Clinic and Admitting areas took place. The hospital is also transitioning to a Critical Access Hospital.
Charlie has been an active leader in the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, serving as a Board Member 1993-2008; Chairman, Acute Care Committee 1998-2002; Secretary 2001-2002; Vice Chairman 2002-2003 and Chairman of the Board of Directors 2003-2004 as well as serving on numerous committees and task forces to address specific health care issues. For the past three years he has represented Alaska as the state delegate to the American Hospital Association’s Regional Policy Board.
Charlie was one of the founding members of the Alaska Small Hospital Performance Improvement Network (ASHPIN) and very active in helping to establish and obtain funding for the Alaska Rural Telehealth Network which has made telemedicine service available to small communities across the state. Charlie volunteered to have South Peninsula Hospital serve as the test site for the system and was one the first of the small hospitals in the state to put this advanced technology into operation.
Charlie plans to stay in Homer and probably get in a lot more fishing.
ASHNHA’s staff wishes you the best Charlie and thanks you for the 12 years of exceptional service to the hospital/nursing home community. You will be missed not only for your professional contributions, but for your steady friendship through the years.February 29 2008
February 22, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
|
New CEO named for South Peninsula Hospital
|
Robert F. Letson has been hired as the new Chief Executive Officer at South Peninsula Hospital. Letson was one of over 70 applicants for the CEO position and was selected by a committee made up of representatives from the Board of Directors, medical staff and hospital administration.
Letson brings leadership and experience to the position, with over 21 years of proven success in not-for-profit hospital management and 13 years with for-profit hospitals. He has managed small to medium sized hospitals, as well as long term care facilities, outpatient clinics, Joint Commission accredited facilities and numerous capital construction and expansion projects. He is a Fellow of the American College of Health Executives and Board Certified in Healthcare Management. Letson received his Masters degree in Healthcare Administration from Georgia State University and his Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Stetson University in Florida.
SPH, Inc. Board President Walt Partridge states "The Board of Directors is pleased that Bob Letson has agreed to accept the position of CEO. The selection process was carefully orchestrated to yield great candidates, and Mr. Letson is its culmination. We are anxious to begin another chapter in the history of South Peninsula Hospital."
Letson will be relocating from College Park, Georgia. His experience has mainly been in the southeast part of the country where he served as the administrator for Gilmore Health System in Mississippi, Florence General Hospital in South Carolina, and the Hospital Corp America in Alabama and Georgia. February 22, 2008
January 18, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
In the news this week is the announcement by Governor Palin in her State-of-the-State address that she would be introducing legislation to repeal Certificate of Need. This came as quite a surprise after the CON Negotiated Rulemaking Committee simultaneously recommended that the State keep a CON process in its final report to Commissioner Karleen Jackson. The CON repeal bill has now been introduced as Senate Bill 245 and will have its first hearings this week (see legislative update details below). In addition to eliminating CON, the bill would establish a Health Care Commission and would establish extensive new reporting requirements for health care providers. To read the text of this bill see SB245 Text . The bill if passed would take effect July 1, 2008. ASHNHA strongly opposes SB 245. ASHNHA believes this legislation, if passed, will cause serious harm to the Alaska health care system. ASHNHA will be presenting its arguments for not passing this legislation as the debate intensifies in the weeks ahead. January 21 2008
January 11, 2008
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
ASHNHA’s February 18 & 19, 2008 Legislative Board meeting will cover a broad range of important topics as well as provide an opportunity for Board members to visit with their legislative representatives while in Juneau. Key topics to be discussed include (see agenda at www.ashnha.org ):
* review of ASHNHA’s inaugural Community Benefits Report compiled from data submitted by member facilities
* presentation of statewide survey results completed by the Cromer Group in December 2007 which collected input on public attitudes on key health care issues
* discussion of recent activities on Certificate of Need including recommendations reached by the special
* CON Rulemaking Negotiating Committee created by Commissioner Karleen Jackson
* review of key legislation before the 2008 Legislature
* a session offering a “Conversation with Commissioner Karleen Jackson”
* time for CEOs to meet with Legislators on key policy issues
* ASHNHA Board meeting to set policy and legislative direction for the 2008 Legislative Session.
January 11 2008
December 14, 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
.jpg "ashnhajpg(1)")
Merry Christms from your ASHNHA staff
December 14 2007
November 16, 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Physicians’ fears about expected Medicare payment cuts took a significant step toward reality with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issuing a final rule calling for a 10.1% reduction in payment rates beginning in January 2008. This move by CMS is expected to deepen the access crisis for Medicare seniors in Alaska.November 16 2007
November 7, 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
On September 5, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the “Phase III” final rule, the last of its three-part set of rules implementing the 1995 expansion of the physician self-referral ban beyond clinical laboratory services to include 10 other “designated health care services” (DHS). Under the law, a physician may not refer a Medicare or Medicaid patient for DHS to an entity in which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial interest, unless an exception applies. Phase III takes effect on December 4, 2007.November 7 2007
October 27, 1007
PRESiDENT'S REPORT
ALEX SPECTOR RECEIVES PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR MERITORIUM SENIOR
ASHNHA extends its congratulations to Alex Spector, Director of the Alaska VA Healthcare System, for receiving the 2007 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Senior Professionals. Each year the President of the United States recognizes outstanding leadership and service to the Federal Government by career civil servants. This award goes to only 5 percent of Senior Executive Service (SES) members. The recipients are leaders, professionals and scientists who have demonstrated exceptional performance in leading change, leading people and building coalitions, results-driven, and consistently recognized as a leader or authority in his/her field. October 26 2007
October 1, 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
WRANGELL MEDICAL CENTER HIRES NEW CEO TO SUCCEED RETIRING BRIAN GILBERT
Noel Rea has been selected by the Wrangell Medical Center Board to succeed retiring CEO Brian Gilbert. Noel is currently FLEX Coordinator for the Alaska Department of Health & Social Services and in that capacity has worked closely with Randall Burns in support of our small hospital members. Noel is expected to begin as Wrangell CEO in Jaunuary 2008.
Brian Gilbert, ASHNHA’s only Honorary Lifetime Member, is extremely pleased with the announcement. Brian had delayed his retirement to give the Board more time to look for his successor. Now he can get serious about spending more time hunting, fishing and traveling with his wife Patty. While Brian has promised Noel to be available during the transition, Brian has been fond of saying that the best gift an outgoing CEO can give to an incoming CEO is to get out of the way as soon as possible. Brian stated to Rod Betit " I am not going very far, if Noel needs me I will be here for him!’ October 1 2007
September 7, 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the nation’s largest public health system, begins publicly releasing data today on infection and death rates at its 11 hospitals. This comes in response to widespread concern about deadly, preventable and costly hospital‐acquired conditions and pressure to crack open the shrouded culture of many hospitals. "It does focus on the underbelly of health care," Alan D. Aviles, president of the Health and Hospitals Corporation, said in an interview. "But if you want to make improvements, you have to acknowledge the underbelly." In addition to New York City’s new public hospital report card, New York has an ongoing statewide Health Care Report Card that offers hospital data on average lengths of stay and rates of different medical procedures, adoption of health care information technology, death rates and staffing at critical care units, among other measures. Here is an extract from this year’s statewide report card showing four different quality measures for two hospitals in one region of New York State. September 7 2007
August 31, 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
A just released U.S. Census Bureau report puts the percentage of Americans without health insurance at 15.8% in 2006, up from 15.3% the year before, bringing the total number of uninsured to 47 million. David Johnson, chief of the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, attributed the expansion of the uninsured to the continuing decline in employer-provided health benefits, which have long been the main source of insurance for Americans. Although 59.7% of Americans still receive health insurance through an employer, that number falls with each new survey. The Census report also found more children living without health insurance: 11.7% of those under 18, or 8.7 million kids, now lack health coverage. Editors Comment: Employer numbers for Alaska are equally troubling. While the total number of Alaskans receiving health insurance through an employer is similar to the U.S. percentage, only 20% of Alaska’s health care dollars come from private employers. The remaining 80% comes from Medicare, Medicaid, government employers and self pay. For a health care system premised on a strong private employer foundation, this should give Alaskans reason for concern. Hopefully, Governor Palin’s Health Care Strategies Council can identify strategies to stop the erosion in private employer coverage.August 31, 2007
August 24, 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
South Peninsula Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Charlie Franz, has provided notice to the Board of Directors of South Peninsula Hospital, Inc. of his intention to retire. Franz has served as the hospital’s CEO since December 1995. Franz said, “Serving as the CEO of South Peninsula Hospital (SPH) has been a wonderful experience that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life. However, I have been in the healthcare profession for over 35 years and think it is time to pursue other interests.” Franz also said he wanted to give the Board ample notice of his retirement plans so they can locate a replacement and ensure a smooth transition.August 24 2007
July 20 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
CMS RELEASES 2008 OUTPATIENT PPS PROPOSED RULE
Highlights of the outpatient PPS proposed rule:
- Includes a 3.3 percent market basket update for outpatient PPS services
- CMS proposes that hospitals begin reporting 10 hospital outpatient quality measures in 2008 in order to receive the full payment update in 2009. These measures, which were adopted by the Hospital Quality Alliance, include five emergency department acute myocardial infarction measures, two surgical care improvement measures, and one measure each for the treatment of heart failure, community-acquired pneumonia and diabetes.
- Continued phase-out of the hold-harmless outpatient payment for certain rural hospitals with 100 or fewer beds by reducing from 90 percent to 85 percent the additional payment made to these hospitals.
- Increase of the fixed-dollar threshold for outliers to $2,000 from $1,825.
July 20 2007.pdf
June 29 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
The ASHNHA annual meeting is approaching quickly. If you do not have your hotel reservations it is very critical that you take care of that now. ASHNHA has every available room in Petersburg tied up and at this time there are only 10 rooms available. You can contact Brenda MacKinnon at 586‐1790 in ASHNHA Juneau to get information about making a hotel reservation. June 29 2007.pdf
All agenda and registration information is now available on ASHNHA’s new webpage www.ashnha.org . Again if you have any questions about meeting content or logistics please give us a call in Juneau.
ANNUAL MEETING
We now have all our sponsors. Thanks everyone.
Download Meeting Forms below:
Registration Form
Draft Agenda
Exhibitor Form
June 15, 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
On May 8, 2007 Governor Sarah Palin announced the appointment of 14 Alaskans to the Alaska Health Care Strategies Planning Council. Rod Betit, ASHNHA President/CEO was one of the members appointed to the Council. The purpose of the council is to develop a statewide plan identifying both short-term and long-term strategies that will effectively address the issues of access, cost and quality of health care. The Council must submit its recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature, by January 1, 2008. June 15, 2007.pdf
May 18, 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
ASHNHA met all of its goals during the 2007 Session. Here is a recap of how things turned out on our key measures. For a full report go to: May 18 2007.pfd
August 6-9, 2007
ASHNHA ANNUAL MEETING
This year's ASHNHA annual meeting is being held in Petersburg, Alaska from August 6-9, 2007. August 6 and 7 will be training days and the 8th and 9th Annual Meeting days. On the evening of August 7th starting at 6:30 will be the Welcoming Reception featuring Norwegian cuisine and entertainment. On the evening of the 8th, the annual banquet and auction will be held from 6-10 pm. Please remember to bring your auction items and your checkbooks to support ASHNHA's Political Action Committee.
Petersburg is a very small, quaint, and beautiful town of about 3700 people. Dress for the meeting is casual. A good pair of walking shoes are essential as this will be your means of transportation. (Unless you can convince us you are sufficiently handicapped, and then we can borrow the hospital van to pick you up and deliver you back to your hotel.) Dress in layers, please, as we cannot predict what the weather will be--might be rainy, might be nice. We will just have to wait and see.
|
|
|
|
View What's New Archive
|
General Information |
|
|
|
ASHNHA Annual Meeting 2008
The 2008 ASHNHA Annual Meeting will be at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge near Talkeetna, Alaska. The meeting will be September 22-25, 2008. The room rate is $151.20 plus 5% tax. Mountain View rooms are an additional $40 per night. You can check out the hotel at http://www.talkeetnalodge.com . Educational sessions will be on September 22 and 23, and the annual meeting September 24 and 25. A draft agenda can be found at: 2008 Annual Meeting Program(3)
To register for the annual meeting go to: http://www.regonline.com/ashnhaannualmeeting. Participants, vendors, facilities--everyone attending the annual meeting--all need to register through this website. Call Linda Fink at 907-321-1349 if you have problems.
|
|
|
|
View General Info Archive
|
|
|
