About this time of year, many school-age children have one thing in common: they are making their parents crazy. A combination of mid-summer heat (or monsoons – take your pick), a declining number of organized activities and general listlessness leads to the well known distress call of bored kids:  “There’s nothing to do.” 

The answer might be to send your kid to the hospital. 

Not for treatment, but for opportunities. Hospitals are always looking for volunteers and many have very active “volun-teen” programs. There are many pluses to hospital volunteering, particularly the lessons it teaches in responsibility, compassion and community.  These lessons are valuable whether or not the young person is considering a health care career, though one of the biggest benefits of hospital volunteering is the chance to work with health care professionals. 

Most of the time in volun-teen programs, there is a minimum age requirement (typically around 14 years old). But with some guidance and a little creativity, children of all ages can find a way to get busy by giving to their hospitals.  For example, a pair of young girls in Anamosa raised $350 at their lemonade stand that paid for a stove for Jones Regional Medical Center’s rehabilitation therapy department.  The stove helps injured patients learn to function in their homes again. 

Students in Panora made and donated more than 100 blankets to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.  The blankets will be used in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. 

Players from the Chariton High School girls’ softball team made one of their home games this summer an “all-pink” event and raised $2,700 for Lucas County Health Center’s free mammogram fund.  Each of the team’s players and coaches donated a handmade item that was auctioned off for the fund, including a quilt that was stitched by the team’s senior class. 

And in Newton, two boys celebrated their recent birthdays in typical fashion: by having a party and collecting gifts.  But instead of asking for presents for themselves, they requested that their party guests bring new and used DVDs, which were then donated to Skiff Medical Center for sick and injured children and their families to enjoy during their hospital stays. More than 30 DVDs were collected. 

Talk to your local hospital. You might just find out that instead of making you crazy, your kids will make you proud this summer.

On June 15 and 16, the Iowa Hospital Association hosted Crucial Conversations Training, which focuses on research-backed techniques for improving relationships among co-workers and addressing the issues that can sometimes result in tragedy. 

The training was led by Dr. Emily Hoffman – a master trainer and expert in the health care industry. Dr. Hoffman helped attendees work on bringing people to the table and engage in effective dialog, especially when having to converse with guarded or emotional individuals.

For more information visit: www.vitalsmarts.com

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hauqlzY8igs

David M. “Mike” Miller, Lucas County Health Center Trustee

This week, IHA mourns the loss of David M. “Mike” Miller, a long-time Trustee of Lucas County Health Center, Chariton, IA. On Wednesday, July 7 Miller was involved in a tragic car accident that ended his life and 35 years of dedication as both an LCHC Trustee and steadfast advocate for building and maintaining health care excellence. 

The accident occurred Wednesday morning when a 15 year old driver headed southbound on Highway 65 attempted to pass another vehicle. Upon spotting Miller approaching from the other direction, the driver lost control attempting to return to his own lane resulting in a head-on collision.

As a member of the Iowa Hospital Association, Miller went above and beyond and was regarded by many as a kind and trustworthy individual. A modest and gentle leader among his peers, Miller was awarded for his dedication in 2007 when he received the IHA Excellence in Governance Award for his commitment to improving the health care industry at both the state and federal level. Throughout the majority of his tenure as an LCHC board member, he held various executive positions including multiple terms as its chairman. Miller served five years on the national American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board and was an active member of the IHA Council on Education & Member Services and the Council on Health Information. 

In the wake of Miller’s tragic and untimely passing, LCHC workers as well as IHA members and staff have all expressed shock in hearing of the tragic news as well as sadness in light of remembering all that Miller had done over his long and successful career. 

Many Iowans are still unsure how exactly federal health reform and other recent health policy changes will impact their families, businesses and communities. As state and federal congressional races start to heat up, people are getting the chance to address these questions directly with the candidates.

On July 8-9, Senator Charles Grassley will be hosting the following open public town meetings in four different Iowa communities; each event is planned for one hour:

Thursday, July 8, 2010
Guthrie County Town Meeting	Audubon County Town Meeting
Guthrie County Courthouse	Exira Public Library
Public Meeting Room	114 West Washington, Exira
200 North 5th Street, Guthrie Center	4:00 p.m.
2:15 p.m.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Union County Town meeting	Madison County Town Meeting
City Hall/Restored Depot	Earlham Community Building
Council Chambers	150 East 1stStreet, Earlham
116 West Adams Street, Creston	4:30 p.m.
9:15 a.m.

It has only been a few weeks since the IHA Social Media and Health Care conference was held and already the internet is buzzing with some interesting discussion pertinent to the event’s topic. On Monday, Advertising Age published an article focusing on the role of social media in hospitals in light of the passing of federal health care reform.

While the article tries to point out that recent increases in hospital marketing dollars and social media tactics can be attributed to hospitals vying for market position in anticipation of reform changes, certain social media experts in the health care industry have raised a red flag.

Lee Aase, manager of syndication and social media at Mayo Clinic, recently spoke at the IHA Social Media and Health Care conference. Aase was prompted to post on his blog some thoughts on how his quotes were interpreted and what he thinks is the true relationship between health care social media and health reform. Aase defends Mayo Clinic’s social media efforts as not being in reaction to health reform, stating that the hospital’s efforts date back to 2005. He also states that health reform is likely a non-factor in the reason for why hospitals are beginning to embrace social media.

It can be expected that this debate on how social media will be used in the wake of health reform will be carried out for years to come. For now, Lee Aase and the Iowa Hospital Association both feel that it is premature to determine whether or not hospitals have been incorporating social media for the purpose of proactive marketing. It’s more likely that hospitals have been implementing social media in order to stay current on what has become a new era in marketing and communications.

A realistic scenario is to assume that the bright marketing individuals working in Iowa’s hospitals are more interested in testing these waters to see what sort of return on community engagement can be realized as opposed to jumping into a turf war, fighting for impression in a realm that’s still largely undefined.

What are your thoughts? Are your hospitals currently incorporating health reform into your marketing tactics? Discuss in the comments below or on Twitter by using hashtag: #ihahealthreform.