MHA Monday Report Aug. 21, 2023

MHA Monday Report

MHA Joins Partners to Urge Childhood Vaccinations

The MHA participated in a press conference Aug. 17 alongside representatives from I Vaccinate, the Franny Strong Foundation, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Ascension Michigan and Pontiac Middle School, to urge families …


Opportunities for Training and Placement of CHWs Available to Hospitals

The MHA has multiple higher education partners that recently received Health Resources and Services Administration grants to increase the number of community health workers (CHW) and health support workers, and these institutions are …


DEA Listening Sessions on Prescribing Controlled Substances via Telemedicine

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will be hosting two listening sessions to receive additional input concerning the practice of telemedicine with regards to controlled substances. Hosted virtually and in person from 9 a.m. …


MHA Webinar on Maximizing Contributions of Physician Board Members

How can leadership utilize the distinct skills and expertise of physician board members? The MHA webinar Maximizing Contributions of Physician Board Members will take place from noon to 1 p.m. EST Oct. 17 will present …


The Keckley Report

Paul KeckleyNot for Profit Hospitals: Are they the Problem?

“The issues facing the U.S. health industry are complex. The role hospitals will play is also uncertain. If, as polls indicate, the majority of Americans prefer a private health system that features competition, transparency, affordability and equitable access, the remedy will require input from every major healthcare sector including employers, public health, private capital and regulators alongside others. It will require less from DC policy wonks and sanctimonious talking heads and more from frontline efforts and privately-backed innovators in communities, companies and in not-for-profit health systems that take community benefit seriously.

No sector owns the franchise for certainty about the future of U.S. healthcare nor its moral high ground. That includes not-for-profit hospitals.

The darkening cloud that hovers over not-for-profit health systems needs attention, but not alone, despite efforts to suggest otherwise. Clarifying the community-benefit standard is a start, but not enough. Are NFP hospitals a problem? Some are, most aren’t but all are impacted by the darkening cloud. …”

Paul Keckley, August 14, 2023


News to Know

  • The Healthcare Association of Hawaii has compiled a list of trustworthy local organizations that are accepting monetary contributions amid the recent wildfires of Maui, Hawaii.
  • The MHA encourages MHA chief nursing officers and other Michigan hospital leaders to register for Hospitals for Patient Access Advocacy Day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 13.
  • QURE Healthcare was approved for associate membership June 2023.

MHA in the News

The MHA received media coverage the week of Aug. 14 following a press conference Aug. 17 where Michigan health officials urged families to get kids up-to-date on routine vaccines ahead of the new school year. …

MHA Joins Partners to Urge Childhood Vaccinations

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (top left); Jonnie Hamilton, DNP, PNP-BC, NE-BC, Medical Manager, Ascension; Ruthanne Sudderth, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Michigan Health and Hospital Association; Veronica Valentine McNally, President, Franny Strong Foundation and Founder, I Vaccinate Campaign; Colleen Hall-Young, DNP, Pontiac Middle School’s health center.

The MHA participated in a press conference Aug. 17 alongside representatives from I Vaccinate, the Franny Strong Foundation, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Ascension Michigan and Pontiac Middle School, to urge families to get their kids up-to-date on routine vaccines as the new school year begins.

Vaccination rates for Michigan children ages 19 to 36 months have fallen below 70% in more than half of the state (52 of 83 counties), according to June 2023 data from the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR).

Ruthanne Sudderth, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at the MHA, encouraged families to get the safe and effective vaccines that are available to help protect their own children, as well as those who cannot get vaccinated in their communities. Speakers at the event also highlighted the latest vaccine data, the safety review processes that vaccines undergo in the U.S., the status of COVID-19 boosters and answered questions from the media regarding vaccine hesitancy and data trends.

The MHA will continue to promote vaccine safety and effectiveness information throughout the program year.

Members with vaccine questions can contact Ruthanne Sudderth.