by Scott McIntyre on Friday, October 23, 2009
Leave a CommentFeaturing hospital and health care headlines from the media and Web from October 17-23.
Iowa Headlines
Three Iowa Democrats hail Medicare breakthrough
The three Iowa Democrats who serve in congress says there’s been a “major breakthrough” on health care reform that will ensure Iowa doctors, hospitals and other health care providers are more fairly paid when they treat Medicare patients. (October 22, Radio Iowa)
St. Anthony fears taking big hit with health reform
St. Anthony Regional Hospital president and CEO Gary Riedmann and Ed Smith, vice president and CFO, say they don’t know what the final form of the health-care reform will be. But they are worried that existing Medicare-reimbursement disparities in Iowa, and its medium-sized rural hospitals, will be exacerbated – and that some provisions may run afoul of their Catholic mission. (October 20, Carroll Daily Times Herald)
Iowa a ‘big loser’ if health reform fails, hospitals CEO says
Reforming health care will increase access and improve quality, says the head of Iowa Health Systems. But CEO and President Bill Leaver believes it will also help Medicare recipients, a group of Iowans that is often nervous about health care reform proposals. (October 19, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
UI leaders reflect on legacy of Ignacio Ponseti
University of Iowa leaders today remembered the lasting legacy of Ignacio Ponseti, M.D., University of Iowa professor emeritus of orthopaedics, whose pioneering non-surgical, low-cost clubfoot treatment has benefited tens of thousands of children worldwide. Ponseti died Sunday afternoon, Oct. 18, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, following a sudden illness. He was 95. (October 19, Media NewsWire)
Increasing health literacy
As the leader for the Health Literacy Initiative at Iowa Health System, Dr. Mary Ann Abrams focuses on ways to improve patients’ understanding and use of health information so they can care for themselves and family members. She brings a background in pediatrics, prevention and population-based public health to the position that she’s held since 2003. (October 21, Des Moines Register)
Hospital board considers names for new facility
The Hamilton Hospital board of trustees discussed suggestions from the naming committee for the new hospital building Tuesday night, and though no final decision was made, the group stressed that “Van Diest” should be a part of the name. Board members George Heller, Steve Mourlam and Carroll Ose served on the committee. Heller said the group felt it was appropriate to honor the hospital’s $10 million benefactors. (October 21, Webster City News)
Shell Rock cuts ambulance service
Shell Rock will cut its ambulance services on Nov. 1 and turn to other towns for assistance in transporting patients to the Waverly Health Center. A dramatic drop in volunteers for the $65,000 ambulance rig left the town with only one option – switching to a first responder unit. (October 20, Waverly Democrat)
Permit for vets’ medical center OK’d
The proposed Veterans Affairs Medical Center cleared the first hurdle after the Plan and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a conditional-use permit at Monday’s meeting. Ottumwa Medical Clinic, Inc., had requested the permit to construct a 7,910 square-foot medical center in the area just east of the clinic’s driveway at 1005 E. Pennsylvania Ave. The property is zoned R-1 for single-family residential district. (October 19, Ottumwa Courier)
U.S. Headlines
Improving health systems means better care for less money
If there were a way to save $207.4 million, avoid 30,000 unnecessary hospitalizations and more than 2,000 premature deaths, we’d jump at it, right? That’s what Missouri would gain if its health system performed as well as the systems in Vermont, Hawaii, Iowa and Minnesota. Illinois has even more at stake. (October 21, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
California hospitals urge nurses union to stop H1N1 scare tactics
The California Nurses Association has announced a one-day strike for Oct. 30 at 39 hospitals across California, Nevada and Arizona. Although CNA claims that the strike is about H1N1 preparedness, the labor union has publicly acknowledged that it is in contract negotiations or organizing campaigns at these same hospitals. (October 20, Reuters)
Not quite a house call, but not far off
Set aside your frustration with your doctor: the long waits for an appointment, the hurried visits, the sense that there’s never really time to talk in depth. Now imagine this. The phone rings and it’s the doctor’s office reminding you that it’s time for your flu shot and to have your cholesterol levels tested. This may seem like a fantasy, but it’s a new model of care known as a “medical home” emerging in Illinois and across the country. (October 19, Chicago Tribune)
Key senator: Healthcare cost disparities must end
Sen. Tom Harkin, leader of the powerful Senate Health Committee, said Friday that vast differences in Medicare costs — as exist between the high-cost Miami and lower-cost areas — must be ended to make for sensible healthcare reform. “These huge disparities can’t continue,” the Iowa Democrat said in a teleconference sponsored by the consumer group Families USA. (October 17, Miami Herald)
In health debate, those numbers are just numbers
As Democrats try to reform healthcare and essentially reorder one-sixth of the U.S. economy, the Congressional Budget Office is charged by Congress with assessing the effect on the federal budget and the impact on American lives. The Senate majority leader has vowed to hold no vote on a health plan until the CBO passes judgment. But the agency, while almost universally praised for honest and impartial analyses, does not have a crystal ball to determine the exact numbers. (October 19, Washington Post)
Ill-conceived ranking makes for unhealthy debate
During the health-care debate, one damning statistic keeps popping up in newspaper columns and letters, on cable television and in politicians’ statements: The U.S. ranks 37th in the world in health care. The trouble is, the ranking is dated and flawed, and has contributed to misconceptions about the quality of the U.S. medical system. (October 21, Wall Street Journal)
GE, Lilly to broaden cancer research
General Electric Co., as part of its $6 billion Healthymagination project, announced it will work more closely with drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. on cancer research and will launch a $250 million healthcare venture-capital fund. The $250 million “Halthymagination Fund” will invest in companies globally that are developing diagnostic, information-technology, and life-science technologies aligned with the Healthymagination campaign GE launched in May. (October 22, Wall Street Journal)
by Scott McIntyre on Thursday, October 22, 2009
Iowa Governor Chet Culver has released details regarding implementation of the recently announced 10 percent across the board budget reduction. The plan calls for a 5 percent Medicaid payment reduction for Medicaid providers, including hospitals, effective December 1.
IHA’s initial analysis indicates the impact of this cut on Iowa hospitals will exceed $18 million for the remainder of the 2010 fiscal year. The total amount of Medicaid cuts to all provider groups, including physicians, affected by the 5 percent reduction will be $55.4 million.
Iowa hospitals already lose more than $170 million a year because Medicaid payments fail to cover the cost of care. Hospitals will be working the governor and Legislature to stop any further reduction to Medicaid provider payments.
A big reason Medicaid cuts must be avoided: the program has the highest return on investment for Iowa’s state budget. Not only do Iowa’s poorest residents receive high-quality health care, but the state receives almost three dollars from the federal government for every dollar it appropriates to Medicaid, a benefit that no other state program provides.
“These cuts come at time when the economy is driving more citizens into Iowa’s Medicaid program, putting even more pressure on Iowa hospitals as they try to make ends meet,” said IHA President and CEO Kirk Norris. “Just like the implication of lost jobs at state agencies, even lower Medicaid payment forces evaluation of employment positions within hospitals; the big difference here is that the jobs affected are actually responsible for the health of patients.
“IHA and its membership are committed to working with the governor and the Legislature to find solutions that meet the needs of both hospitals and the poorest of Iowa’s population. This is not the time for the state to stand down on its commitment to Iowa’s Medicaid program and those who make it work.”
by Scott McIntyre on Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Virginia Gay Hospital in Vinton will be celebrating an important milestone in its ongoing $8.5 million expansion and renovation project. Improved areas will be open for public touring this week, including imaging services (with new equipment and private waiting areas, emergency services (now with five fully equipped private exam rooms), therapy and rehabilitation (featuring a new hydrotherapy pool) and acute care, which is now fully private and completely remodeled.
It was 95 years ago this year that former Vinton resident Virginia Gay willed $50,000 to the city for the purpose of building a hospital. With that initial donation (worth more than $1 million in today’s dollars), the hospital was able to open in 1923. Today, her namesake hospital has more than 200 employees and provides more than $9 million to the local economy.
Much like Virginia Gay herself, the people of Vinton and Benton County continue to invest in their hospital. More than $2 million was raised to support the $8.5 million effort.
by Scott McIntyre on Monday, October 19, 2009
IHA was saddened to learn that Dr. Ponseti died over the weekend, so we are breaking from our alphabetical list of weekly Iowa Hospital Heroes to honor him here today. Our sympathies to Dr. Ponseti’s family and his colleagues at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where his work will no doubt be carried on with the same resolve and compassion that Dr. Ponseti exhibited for more than 65 years.
Ignacio Ponseti
Physician
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City
Ignacio Ponseti, M.D., attended Medical School at the University of Barcelona in Spain and graduated in 1936. Following his graduation, the civil war in Spain started and he became embroiled in this war for three years. At the end of the war, Dr. Ponseti found himself at the losing end and had to flee the country or face severe punishment or possibly death.
He fled to Mexico and in 1941 came to Iowa City at the invitation of Dr. Arthur Steindler. Since then, Dr. Ponseti has devoted his entire academic endeavor in the pursuit of a safe and highly successful method to treat clubfoot problems. He created a non-surgical method for the successful treatment of clubfeet that carries his name. The Ponseti Method was promoted heavily by families of children born with clubfeet and for more than 60 years these often desperate families have found their way to Iowa City and Dr. Ponseti. Today, parents who search the Web for clubfoot treatment will see scores of testimonies attesting to the effectiveness of the Ponseti Method.
Babies from all over the United States and the world have converged into Dr. Ponseti’s clinics. Following a treatment consisting of cast applications, the average baby’s feet are corrected in a matter of weeks. Parents leave Dr. Ponseti’s clinics with tears of joy, realizing their baby’s feet are no longer deformed and that these children will enjoy a normal life because of his innovation and care.
Even at age 95, Dr. Ponseti continues to come to work on a daily basis. Scores of physicians from every corner of the globe come and spend time with Dr. Ponseti to learn the Ponseti Method. Dr. Ponseti’s method is now practiced in almost every country in the world.
Dr. Ponseti personifies everything that the Hospital Heroes Award stands for.
by Scott McIntyre on Monday, October 19, 2009
Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and Web from October 10-16.
Iowa Headlines
Officials call for end of prescriptions on paper
Iowa Health System officials called Monday for doctors statewide to get rid of prescriptions on paper and go entirely electronic. Monday, the group announced their partnership with Allscripts to launch what’s being called “e-prescribe Iowa.” (October 12, KCCI-Des Moines)
Donors help open new Jones County hospital
Stepping in from the cold October winds and snowflakes, hundreds of people took in the upgrade the Jones Regional Medical Center looks to offer. (October 10, KCRG-Cedar Rapids)
Hospital project receiving multi-million dollar boost
The multi-million dollar piece of the puzzle for Guttenberg Municipal Hospital’s construction and renovation project has been obligated. The USDA Rural Development Program has announced $16.9 million in loan funds will be directed to assist the hospital’s project, which will upgrade infrastructure and enhance emergency room, surgical, occupational and cardiac rehab services. (October 12, Dubuque Telegraph Herald)
Hospital receives loan for new facility
Van Buren County Hospital received some good news this week. The hospital in Keosauqua is the recipient of $200,000 federal loan through the Community Facilities Loan and Grant Program. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley made the announcement. The money will be used to help fund a $1.1 million facility on the hospital’s campus. (October 10, KTVO-Kirksville, Missouri)
If America is going to reform its health care system, it’s going to have to change its priorities. “We’re going to have to start rewarding physicians for value, not volume,” Decorah’s Dr. Kevin Sand told about 20 people during a health care forum sponsored by the Upper Iowa League of Women Voters last week. (October 14, Decorah Journal)
Central Iowa organizations prepare for H1N1
Though it wouldn’t come with rising waters or rip through downtown with tornado-force winds, an H1N1 pandemic would present many of the same challenges to Iowa businesses as a natural disaster. (October 10, Des Moines Business Record)
Some worry about safety of new flu vaccine
Jodi Tindell takes her children to the doctor for all their immunizations. Hepatitis B; polio; measles, mumps and rubella. The Tindell kids even roll up their sleeves for annual seasonal flu shots. But her children won’t be receiving the new H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, vaccine. (October 11, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
Black honored for supporting hospitals
Dennis Black has been named the Iowa Hospital Association Legislator of the Year in the Iowa Senate. (October 14, Newton Daily News)
U.S. Headlines
Health insurers emerge as Obama’s top foe in reform effort
Attacks on the leading Democratic reform plan this week by the insurance lobby left little doubt that two of the most powerful institutions involved in the debate — the White House and the nation’s insurance companies — have abandoned any real hope of forging a compromise. What was a tenuous truce has turned quickly into an all-out battle, with both sides ratcheting up the hostilities. (October 14, Washington Post)
Cedars-Sinai radiation overdoses went unseen at several points
Late last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Cedars-Sinai revealed that 206 stroke patients who received scans at the prestigious Los Angeles hospital were overdosed with radiation. Now doctors and safety experts around the country face a troubling question: In an era of supposedly fail-safe medical technology, how did the problem go undetected for 18 months? (October 14, Los Angeles Times)
Minneapolis-area healthcare rivals to work together
Two of Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, area’s biggest medical groups will collaborate in a seven-year effort to slow the rise of medical costs. HealthPartners and Allina Hospitals and Clinics announced that they plan to try out new payment formulas to reward quality and improve patient satisfaction, ultimately producing lower costs in the area. Allina is the Twin Cities’ biggest clinic and hospital group; HealthPartners is the state’s third-biggest health insurer and also has a chain of clinics. (October 14, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Health bills in congress won’t fix doctor shortage
Even as Congress moves to expand health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, it’s doing little to ensure there will be enough primary care doctors to meet the expected surge in demand for treatment, experts say. The American Academy of Family Physicians predicts that the shortage of family doctors will reach 40,000 in the next 10 years, as medical schools send about half the needed number of graduates into primary care medicine. (October 12, Kaiser Health News)
Mayo Clinic policy on Medicare, Medicaid raises questions
The Mayo Clinic is no longer accepting some Medicare and Medicaid patients, raising new questions about whether it is too selective to serve as a model for healthcare reform. The White House has repeatedly praised Mayo and other medical centers, many of which are in the Upper Midwest, that perform well in Dartmouth College rankings showing wide disparities in how much hospitals spend on Medicare patients. (October 13, Los Angeles Times)
