Tag: acute care

MHA Monday Report April 3, 2023

Monday Report
MHA Monday Report

capitol buildingMichigan Joins Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact

Michigan officially joined the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact March 29, creating an expedited pathway to licensure for psychologists who wish to practice telemedicine services across state lines. To date, 36 states are authorized to join …

Student Debt Relief Offered to Behavioral Health Providers

The MI Kids Now Loan Repayment Program will offer educational loan repayment for eligible behavioral health medical providers in Michigan. The program is available to behavioral health providers, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, therapists, …

Governance Webinar Series Outlines Trends and Advocacy Tactics

Board members must understand the issues tied directly to hospital and health system planning and performance, identify opportunities for improvement and support the leadership in advocating for mission-driven, patient-centered policies with key stakeholders. The MHA …

Required Occupational Survey Due June 30

Completed 2022 occupational mix surveys must be submitted by hospitals to the Medicare Administrative Contractor by June 30, 2023. Hospitals are required to complete the survey every three years, with results from the 2022 survey …

MHA Rounds Report - Brian Peters, MHA CEOMHA CEO Report — A Healthy Michigan is an Insured Michigan

The United States celebrated last month the 13th anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act. Simply put, when then-President Obama signed the legislation March 23, 2010, it was one of the most monumental healthcare policy changes in our lifetime. …

The Keckley Report

Paul KeckleyNot for Profit Health Systems are Soft Targets: Here’s Why

“There are no easy answers for not-for-profit hospitals/heath systems. The issue is about more than messaging and PR. It’s about more than Medicare reimbursement (7.5% below cost), protecting programs like 340B, keeping tax exemptions and maintaining barriers against physician-owned hospitals. The issue is NOT about operating income vs. investment income: in every business, both are essential and in each, economic cycles impact gains/losses. Each of these is important but only band-aids on an open wound in U.S. healthcare.

Near-term (the next 2 years), opportunities for not-for-profit hospitals involve administrative simplification to reduce costs and improve the efficiencies and effectiveness of the workforce. Clinical documentation using ChatGPT/Bard-like tools can have a massive positive impact—that’s just a start. Advocacy, public education and Board preparedness require bigger investments of time and resources. But that’s true for every hospital, regardless of ownership. These are table stakes to stay afloat. …”

Paul Keckley, March 27, 2023

News to Know

  • Registration is now open for the MHA Keystone Center Safe Patient Handling Conference.
  • The MHA is issuing a request for proposal for a $50 million competitive grant program for Michigan healthcare entities to expand access to pediatric inpatient behavioral health services.
  • The MHA will host an in-person Human Resources Member Forum at the MHA Headquarters in Okemos from 8:30 a.m. to noon April 26, with a virtual option available as well.
  • The Root Cause Coalition is accepting requests for proposals to present at the 8th Annual National Summit on the Social Determinants of Health Dec. 3-5 in Kansas City.

MDHHS Candida auris Patient Transfer Recommendations

Member News

Candida auris (C. auris) cases have been reported in multiple healthcare facilities in Michigan, including acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Auris is a yeast pathogen that can cause serious illness or invasive infections, including bloodstream infections. C. auris can spread from colonized or infected patients to the hands and clothes of healthcare personnel or to medical equipment and environmental surfaces, which may contribute to the spread of C. auris among patients in healthcare facilities.

With a continued increase in C. auris cases across Southeast Michigan, receiving healthcare facilities should take steps to learn a patient’s C. auris status and be prepared to implement setting-appropriate precautions when needed for C. auris, as they would for other multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO).

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recommends that Michigan healthcare facilities across the continuum implement the following infection prevention and control measures to prevent the spread of C. auris:

MDHHS also recommends the following measures for interfacility patient transfers:

  • Review both internal and external protocols to ensure the appropriate persons (including case managers, admissions coordinators, front-line clinical HCP, and transporters) are made aware of a patients’ C. auris and other MDRO status upon transfer.
  • Use an interfacility transfer form to communicate infection prevention information for all discharges to other settings. For Facility Transfer Resources and more information on HAIs, please go to Michigan.gov/HAI.

To learn more about C. auris contact the MDHHS Surveillance for Healthcare-Associated and Resistance Pathogens (SHARP) Unit. Members are encouraged to register for future SHARP webinars about C. auris.

Members with questions may contact Kelsey Ostergren at the MHA.

Health Equity Events to Explore Policy, Statewide Data and SOGI Training

Member News, Patient Safety and Quality

The MHA Keystone Center, the Michigan Public Health Institute and the Michigan State University Institute for Health Policy are hosting free events to provide an in-depth look at efforts to address healthcare disparities in Michigan and highlight areas of opportunity.

  • Oct. 21, 10 – 11 a.m.: Paving the Road to Health Equity – Advocacy and Policy. This event will feature proposed legislation and regulations related to health equity within Michigan. Participants will learn how to engage in the advocacy realm, the best way to reach out to lawmakers and the important role individual citizens have on the grassroots level.
  • Nov. 3, 9 a.m. – noon: Michigan Health Equity Summit, featuring Kevin Ahmaad Jenkins, PhD. This summit aims to provide an update on state healthcare disparity data, explore how Michigan hospitals can continue to expand upon their work in eliminating disparities, and highlight the work that select hospitals are doing to advance health equity for all Michiganders. Additional information is available in the event flyer.
  • Nov. 10, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.: Collection of SOGI Data Best Practices for the Acute Care Setting. In this training, Chris Grasso, vice president, health informatics and data services, and Alex Keuroghlian, MD, director of the division of education and training at Fenway Health, discuss best practices for collecting patient sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data and documenting SOGI in electronic health records. Registration is forthcoming.

Members may contact the MHA Keystone Center for more information.