Lucy Ciaramitaro 2 - MHA | Michigan Health & Hospital Association

MHA Podcast Explores Program Year Priorities with Michigan Medicine

October 14, 2022August 25, 2023 MiCare Champion Cast, Member News

The MHA released another episode of the MiCare Champion Cast, which features interviews with healthcare policy experts in Michigan on key issues that impact healthcare and the health of communities.

On this episode, MHA CEO Brian Peters is joined by T. Anthony Denton, J.D., MHSA, senior vice president and CEO of University of Michigan Health – Michigan Medicine, and 2022-2023 Chair of the MHA Board of Trustees. The two explore priorities for the new program year along with efforts underway to address workforce challenges, improve health equity and support sustainability.

Denton has a vast history working in healthcare – from human resources to administrative operations. He has worked on master program and facility planning, capital investments, workforce planning and execution, environmental sustainability, social determinants of health and programs that create positive community impact. He also serves on state, national and community boards and was recently chair of the MHA political action committee – also known as Health PAC – that raised more than $400,000 toward advocating for communities and healthcare organizations.

Part of the episode’s discussion focuses on The Pavilion at University of Michigan Health, a 12-story hospital breaking ground on their Ann Arbor campus. Denton shares insight on what led to the project, along with some key sustainability considerations as construction continues. The new adult inpatient facility is scheduled to open for patient care in the fall of 2025.

This podcast is part of the statewide #MiCareMatters campaign, launched in 2017, which aims to build a network of citizens — “MiCare Champions” — who will be called upon to engage in advocacy efforts to protect access to affordable healthcare services in Michigan. It is currently available via Spotify, iTunes and SoundCloud.

For more information, visit micarematters.org. Members with questions or who would like to submit ideas for future podcasts should contact Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.

MHA Creates Workforce Sustainability Communications Toolkit

October 6, 2022August 24, 2023 Member News

As hospitals and health systems across Michigan continue to face workforce challenges, the MHA has developed a downloadable communications toolkit focused on workforce sustainability. The toolkit includes:

Community letter template.
Infographic.
Letter-to-the-editor template.
Key messaging.
Newsletter template.
Social media posts.
Social media graphics.
Website banners and buttons.

Modifiable Canva templates are available upon request. The MHA also encourages those who haven’t to share the Crain’s Detroit Business op-ed recently published from MHA CEO Brian Peters on the unsustainable financial strain currently being experienced by Michigan hospitals and health systems.

Questions about the toolkit can be sent to Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.

MHA Podcast Explores the 340B Drug Pricing Program

June 2, 2022April 5, 2023 Member News

The MHA released another episode of the MiCare Champion Cast, which features interviews with healthcare policy experts in Michigan on key issues that impact healthcare and the health of communities.

On this episode, Karen Cheeseman, CEO of Mackinac Straits Health System (MSHS) and Leah Heffernan, retail pharmacy director at MSHS, explain what the 340B drug pricing program is and how it benefits Michigan’s rural communities.

The federal 340B Drug Pricing Program requires that drug companies sell discounted prescription drugs to entities that provide care in underserved communities, including those in rural communities like MSHS. Those interested in helping protect 340B can visit the MHA Legislative Action Center to contact state lawmakers in a few quick steps.

Cheeseman has been with the health system for 17 years, previously serving as chief operating officer and, prior to that, chief human resource officer. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and served on both the Small and Rural Health Council and Legislative Policy Panel at the MHA. Heffernan has been with Mackinac Straits as a retail pharmacy director for three years, working daily to ensure all operations run smoothly at the system’s retail pharmacy.

For more information, visit micarematters.org. Members with questions or who would like to submit ideas for future podcasts should contact Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.

MHA Showcases Healthcare Workers for National Hospital Week

May 19, 2022August 29, 2023 Member News

Every year, National Hospital Week serves as an opportunity to highlight hospitals, health systems, healthcare workers and the innovative ways they are supporting and connected to the community. For 2022, the MHA celebrated by showcasing member hospital and health system staff across social media channels. Each day of the week, short videos featured staff from across the state — nurses, volunteers, technicians, etc. — sharing what they love about working in healthcare.

The videos aligned with the American Hospital Association’s #WeAreHealthcare efforts, offering a more local perspective from caregivers who have taken on unimaginable challenges and risen to the occasion repeatedly over the course of the pandemic. Submissions came from healthcare workers across the state, including staff from Beaumont Health, Henry Ford Health, Hurley Medical Center, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services and Sparrow Health System.

The videos totaled more than 40,000 impressions (the number of times content was seen) and more than 1,500 engagements across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Questions about the MHA’s 2022 National Hospital Week campaign should be directed to Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.

Combating the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Week of March 21

March 25, 2022August 29, 2023 Member News, Issues in Healthcare, Top Issues - Healthcare

With the number of new cases trending downward, Michigan hospitals continued to have patients with severe cases of COVID-19 in their intensive care units (ICUs). As of March 25, 100 Michiganders with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were in ICUs, 44 of them on ventilators. They were among the 516 adults and 22 children hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases that day.

The MHA continues to keep members apprised of pandemic-related developments affecting hospitals through email updates and the MHA Coronavirus webpage. Important updates are outlined below.

Legislative Action Will Assist Hospitals in Providing High-quality Care

The Legislature has sent Senate Bill (SB) 247 to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to be signed into law, making significant changes to prior authorization in the state of Michigan. The MHA-supported bill would shorten the timelines for approval of authorization requests, ensure that emergency care can be provided without prior approval, and require insurers to post their prior authorization policies on their website and accept electronic requests, among other improvements to the process.

Whitmer signed SBs 246 and 435, increasing forgivable loan amounts for health professionals who work in medically underserved communities as part of the Michigan Essential Health Provider Program and expanding the physician specializations that qualify for the program to include behavioral health professionals. The new law also extends the sunset on the interstate Physician Licensure Compact, ensuring that physicians coming to Michigan from another compact state can quickly become licensed to practice in the state.

More information on these bills and other legislation affecting hospitals is available in a related article.

Vaccination Progress Among Michiganders Highlights Racial Disparities

More than 60% of all Michigan residents aged 5 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. However, only slightly more than 40% of Black residents are among those fully vaccinated. Nearly 28% of Michigan children aged 5 through 11 years have received their first dose of the vaccine, but fewer than 17% of Black Michigan children in that age range have received their first dose. Providers should continue efforts to reach families with young children and nonwhite patients to reduce the disparities in the impact of COVID-19 on different populations. For information on vaccines, contact Ruthanne Sudderth at the MHA.

MHA Creates State/Federal COVID-19 Guidelines Tracker

The MHA recently developed a tracking tool outlining state and federal COVID-19 protocols for healthcare personnel. The document is updated as agencies revise their guidelines or mandates and includes vaccination, masking and COVID-19 testing guidelines from both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The downloadable tool can also be found on the MHA website on the COVID-19 Resources page under Resources for Healthcare Professionals. Members with questions may contact Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.

Additional information on the COVID-19 pandemic is available to members on the MHA Community Site and the MHA COVID-19 webpage. Questions on COVID-19 and infectious disease response strategies may be directed to the MDHHS Community Health Emergency Coordination Center (CHECC).

Combating the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Week of March 14

March 18, 2022August 24, 2023 Top Issues - Healthcare, Member News, Issues in Healthcare

As Michigan begins the third year of living with COVID-19, new cases, hospitalizations and deaths are trending downward and hopes are high that a new variant will not emerge to cause another surge of disease. The state reported there were 2,770 cases recorded for March 17 and 18 (including about 825 cases attributable to older lab results), 648 adults and children were hospitalized with confirmed and suspected cases, and 50 deaths caused by the disease were recorded over the two-day period. These numbers are fractions of what was seen in December and January, when Michigan hospitals were at or near inpatient capacity.

The MHA continues to keep members apprised of pandemic-related developments affecting hospitals through email updates and the MHA Coronavirus webpage. Important updates are outlined below.

MIOSHA Will Not Increase COVID-19 Inspections of Healthcare Facilities

Barton Pickelman, director of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) within the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, has confirmed that MIOSHA will not be conducting additional, focused, COVID-19 compliance inspections of healthcare facilities in Michigan. Although a March 2 memo issued by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a 90-day COVID-19-focused inspection initiative for hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities, Pickelman noted that MIOSHA and other state plans are not required to adopt the federal OSHA initiative. Because MIOSHA has already conducted state emphasis programs for healthcare over the past two years, it is not adopting the federal inspection initiative.

Separate from the OSHA inspections, surveyors from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) will continue to check for compliance with requirements of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and state licensing agencies during regular survey visits or in response to specific complaints. LARA will confirm that facilities have written policies and protocols in place surrounding COVID-19 screening processes, are following their policies as written, and that these policies and protocols can allow either active or passive screening procedures, consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For more information, contact Laura Appel or Amy Barkholz at the MHA.

MHA Creates State/Federal COVID-19 Guidelines Tracker for Providers

To help hospitals and health systems keep track of COVID-19 guidelines, the MHA has developed a document outlining state and federal COVID-19 protocols for healthcare personnel, including vaccination, masking and COVID-19 testing guidelines from both the CDC and the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS). The downloadable tool can be found on the MHA’s website on the COVID-19 webpage under Resources for Healthcare Professionals. Those with questions may contact Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.

Doctor/Breakthrough Speaker Recalls COVID-19 Hospitalization in MHA Podcast

January 26, 2022April 27, 2023 Member News, MiCare Champion Cast

The MHA released another episode of the MiCare Champion Cast, which features interviews with healthcare policy experts in Michigan on key issues that impact healthcare and the health of communities.

On this episode, Michael Leonard, MD, partner at Safe & Reliable Healthcare, shares his personal experience with falling severely ill to COVID-19 in 2020. Leonard, who spent a total of 59 days in the hospital, gives a close-up look at what it was like as a tenured physician who was in great health to become a critically ill COVID-19 patient at a time when information was limited and hospitals across the country were overwhelmed. He also addresses some of the common misconceptions that still exist around COVID-19 and the vaccines and how listeners can best support healthcare workers.

Leonard will serve as a keynote speaker at the MHA’s major membership meeting Breakthrough on Feb. 17 and 18. Attendees will examine the evolution of the pandemic and its impact, how MHA members and partners can address the workforce shortage and drive policy and funding on this critical issue, how to lead critical conversations about health equity and use structures already in place to build capacity for advancing equity, and more. A full agenda, registration and additional details can be found on the education and events page.

Safe & Reliable Healthcare is an organization dedicated to providing guidance for providers to effectively assess and manage risk and minimize adverse events. Leonard has worked with healthcare organizations nationally and internationally to identify clear, effective and sustainable ways to enhance patient- and family-centered care, improve leadership, develop a culture of safety, work collaboratively, become highly reliable, and create an environment of continuous learning and improvement.

For more information, visit micarematters.org. Members with questions or who would like to submit ideas for future podcasts should contact Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.