Gov. Rick Snyder delivered his second State of the State speech Wednesday, providing an outline of the 2011 successes and 2012 challenges and expounding on several health care priorities. Notably, the governor announced Pure Michigan Fit, a collaborative pilot program with the MHA, Gerber Products Company and the Michigan Grocers Association. Under the initiative, designed to combat childhood obesity, parents and caregivers will get the nutritional information they need to raise healthy children. Snyder acknowledged that, since he first identified the epidemic as a dashboard priority in his previous State of the State address, the proportion of the state's population that is obese increased by 1 percent to 32 percent. The new endeavor illustrates that reducing obesity remains a priority for the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Snyder also renewed the call for legislative approval of the MiHealth Marketplace, a proposed online, market-based program that will help citizens make informed decisions regarding high-quality and affordable health care. The MHA supports the concept of health insurance exchanges and has encouraged lawmakers to take action to prevent a federally mandated system being imposed on Michigan. However, several Republican leaders have indicated a preference to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, which includes a mandate for Americans to purchase health insurance if they lack workplace coverage. Lastly, Snyder asked lawmakers to require insurers to cover evidence-based therapies for autism, as is required in 27 other states.

Neither the highly debated legislation that would negatively impact Michigan's auto no-fault insurance system nor details on how the administration intends to spend an unexpected revenue surplus were raised in the address. Members with questions should contact Dave Finkbeiner at the MHA.

Back to Top

Smith (left) and Seaman discussed the important role of health care in Michigan's economic recovery.

Last week, Detroit's WJR News Talk Radio broadcast Paul W. Smith "Live in Lansing" on location to preview Gov. Rick Snyder's State of the State address (see related article) and discuss likely political action with state leaders.

David Seaman, executive vice president of the MHA, was interviewed by Smith, discussing the role of health care as an economic engine and employer, an investment opportunity in the future of Michigan, and a leader in quality and patient safety. The full interview, which also emphasizes community partnerships and personal responsibility to improve health, can be heard online or viewed at the MHA's YouTube channel.

As a sponsor of the broadcast, the MHA developed a 30-second message that has aired for two weeks on WJR 760 AM and also could be heard in the minutes preceding the interview.

Notable interviewees during the event included Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, State Speaker of the House Jase Bolger (R-Marshall), Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. For more information, contact Kevin Downey at the MHA.

Back to Top

The early registration discount for the MHA Health Foundation Winter Leadership Conference, scheduled for Feb. 16 and 17 at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa near Traverse City, ends today. This year's conference is driven by the theme A Healthy Future: Caring for Our Communities and will focus on the shift toward personal and societal accountability for health, as well as ways that administrators, physicians and caregivers can work together to create innovative health care delivery models. The conference includes case studies on providing critical health care services to uninsured and underinsured populations. Learning intensives will focus on reducing employee health care costs, a regional evidence-based medicine collaborative targeted at reducing sepsis, and the movement toward a regional trauma system.

To ensure availability at the Grand Traverse Resort, reservations should be made as soon as possible. Enter code "MHA0212" on the group reservation section of the website to receive the conference discount rate. For additional information or to register, contact Erin Steward at the MHA.

Back to Top

Hospitals taking part in local collaborative efforts to enrich the overall welfare of their communities are encouraged to nominate those programs for the 2012 Ludwig Community Benefit Award. First presented in 1990, the annual award honors MHA-member health care organizations that demonstrate community benefit by improving the health and well-being of their communities through collaborative health, economic or social initiatives. Nominations for the 2012 Ludwig Community Benefit Award are due Feb. 9.

Named for Patric E. Ludwig, former MHA president and president of Bronson Healthcare Group, Kalamazoo, the award honors hospital programs that carry on the legacy of leadership and community partnership that Ludwig demonstrated throughout his life.

In addition to the well-deserved recognition, the MHA Health Foundation's Community Health Improvement Fund is providing the Ludwig Award recipient with a $3,000 cash award to assist in its efforts to improve the health of the community. The fund was established in 2004 to support innovative community-based health improvement programs led by Michigan hospitals. For more information, contact Clark Ballard at the MHA.

Back to Top

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced the availability of wellness plan grants for employers across the nation as part of the Affordable Care Act.

Originally planned for implementation in October 2010, the National Healthy Worksite Program will convene a group of up to 15 employers in each of seven regions that are located within a small, defined geographic area that has high rates of chronic disease. Michigan has been placed in Region 3 with other Great Lakes states including Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The effort aims to help employers adopt evidence-based prevention and wellness strategies that will lead to measureable health outcomes and reduce instances of chronic disease; for many employers, these diseases are the most costly and prevalent health problems in their workforce. Overall, the program intends to guide employers to good employee health through prevention, reduced chronic illness and disability, and improved productivity.

The areas selected for participation must have the necessary community resources to sustain the wellness program upon the official completion of the National Healthy Worksite Program. Each group will include employers with workforces ranging from one to 1,000 employees.

The initiative is consistent with Michigan hospitals' and health systems' continuing efforts to be leaders in improving the overall health and wellness of their communities through such efforts as smoke-free campuses, Healthy Food Hospitals and a wide range of health screening and promotion programs offered to staff, patients and community members. MHA-member organizations interested in applying for the program are encouraged to visit the MHA's dedicated health care reform Web page, where details from Friday's informational webinar are available. To be considered for the program, organizations must be certified as eligible employers. The certification process is open from Jan. 20 to Feb. 24, and final grant determinations will be announced in April. For more information, contact Ruthanne Sudderth at the MHA.

Back to Top

The DNV Healthcare accreditation program, National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (NIAHO^®), integrates requirements based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Conditions of Participation with the internationally recognized ISO 9001:2008 standards for the formation and implementation of the quality management system. The MHA Health Foundation webinar The Basics of DNV Accreditation and ISO 9001 will help hospitals determine if the DNV Healthcare accreditation program is right for them. The webinar will outline how the ISO 9001:2008 quality management system can be an effective approach to improving processes and performance and what to expect of a DNV Healthcare hospital accreditation survey. The webinar will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. Feb. 9 and MHA members can register for a connection fee of $195. For more information, contact Leigh Anne Jewison at the MHA.

Back to Top

The January issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety includes an article highlighting the Opportunity Estimator, a tool designed to engage clinicians and hospital leadership, educate staff about preventable harm and avoidable costs, and evaluate the impact of performance on financial and clinical outcomes, such as infection rates. Published estimates of mortality and costs associated with central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are used to translate a hospital's individual CLABSI rate into the number of potentially preventable deaths, excess dollars and excess intensive care unit (ICU) days. In addition, the tool estimates the potential savings in deaths, dollars and ICU days based on graduated reductions in CLABSI rates from participating in a CLABSI intervention.

The tool emerged from an application created in 2004 for teams participating in the MHA Keystone: ICU collaborative to estimate the potential harm and financial losses attributable to the CLABSI rate within a hospital or individual unit. Created by Johns Hopkins University Quality and Safety Research Group, Baltimore, the Opportunity Estimator went live in October 2009 for hospitals participating in the national On the CUSP: Stop Bloodstream Infections initiative, a program that seeks to replicate the efforts of MHA Keystone: ICU.

MHA-member hospitals are encouraged to use the Opportunity Estimator to monitor progress in reducing CLABSIs and to engage clinicians and hospital leadership. Opportunity Estimators are under development for ventilator-associated pneumonia, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, surgical-site infections and pressure ulcers. Members with questions should contact Sam R. Watson at the MHA.

Back to Top

The Healthy Food Hospitals initiative is working to make a difference in hospitals across the state. Begun a year ago as a result of an MHA Board of Trustees directive, this voluntary statewide campaign calls for the multifaceted adoption of healthy eating experiences for hospital patients, employees and visitors in acute-care hospitals To date, 95 hospitals have pledged to participate. Hospitals that have not joined this effort are encouraged to do so by completing and submitting a pledge form. For more information regarding this initiative, contact Paige Hathaway at the MHA.

Back to Top

Mental illness affects one in four adults and is the leading cause of disability in the United States. There are multiple challenges to the delivery of inpatient mental health services, most predominantly with treatment options and costs. The MHA Health Foundation webinar Psychiatric Medical Care Units: Improving Outcomes and Reducing Cost examines strategies participants can adopt to improve quality and reduce the cost of psychiatric care in their organizations, using Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, as an example. The webinar will outline treatment approaches using a recovery-resilience model of care, effective ways to engage interdisciplinary teams, the use of evidence-based assessment tools to improve patient safety, and treatment approaches for people who are addicts and homeless. The webinar will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. Feb. 28 and MHA members can register for a connection fee of $195. For more information, contact Leigh Anne Jewison at the MHA.

Back to Top

The MHA will host an education session for hospitals with representatives from PHBV Partners LLP (formerly Clifton Gunderson's Team Health Care) and the Medical Services Administration for state fiscal year (FY) 2009 disproportionate share hospital (DSH) audits. The state has previously audited FYs 2005 through 2008, and FY 2009 audits will begin following the meeting. All hospitals that received Medicaid DSH payments for state FY 2009 will be subject to the audits. The session will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 21 at MHA headquarters, Lansing, and via conference call. Registration information will be available in the near future. Members with questions should contact Vickie (Seal) Kunz at the MHA.

Back to Top

In late September, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded the Medicare administrative contract for Jurisdiction 8, comprised of Michigan and Indiana, to Wisconsin Physician Services (WPS). Due to protest of the contract award by unsuccessful bidders, limited information has been released regarding the transition to WPS as the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), initially expected to occur by summer. When fully operational, the MAC will replace the Medicare Part A fiscal intermediary and Part B carriers that have administered Medicare since its inception. The Government Accountability Office is reviewing the contract in response to the protest and is expected to finalize the MAC award in February. Status updates are available on the CMS website. Members with questions should contact Vickie (Seal) Kunz at the MHA.

Back to Top

• An MHA Keystone: ICU workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids. Discussion and activities will focus on the areas of early mobility and reduction of catheter-associated urinary tract infection. For more information, contact Chris George at the MHA.

• MHA Patient Safety Organization Safe Table meetings will be held from noon to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at MHA headquarters, Lansing. This members-only meeting will discuss pediatric and neonatal services. For more information, contact Steve Levy at the MHA.

• A Health Care Pharmaceutical Waste Management Workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Lansing Community College West. Sponsored by the MHA and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the workshop is designed to provide practical implementation steps to compliance with the hazardous waste regulations applicable to health care pharmaceutical waste. For more information, contact Paige Hathaway at the MHA.

• MHA Patient Safety Organization Safe Table meetings will be held from noon to 2:30 Thursday at Treetops Resort, Gaylord. This members-only meetings will discuss the culture of safety in the operating room. For more information, contact Steve Levy at the MHA.

• An MHA Patient Safety and Quality Member Forum will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday at the Schoolcraft College Vis-Ta-Tech Center, Livonia. Additional forums are scheduled for Jan. 31 in Lansing and Feb. 3 in Gaylord. The forums will outline the activities of the MHA Patient Safety Organization and the MHA Keystone Center for Patient Safety & Quality and will look ahead to the critical endeavors of providers in 2012 through both existing collaboratives and new ventures in chronic disease and prevention. For more information, contact Janice Jones at the MHA.

• The 2012 Michigan Health Care Human Resources Conference is scheduled for April 26 and 27 at the East Lansing Marriott at University Place. Sponsored by the MHA in partnership with the Michigan Healthcare Human Resources Association, this conference provides a unique opportunity for all Michigan health care human resource professionals to come together for two days of professional development, continuing education and networking. For additional information, contact Neil Mac Vicar or Wendy Knight at the MHA.