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. 

Olivia Goodyear (left) and Beka Prull donated $350 from their lemonade stand to the hospital in Anamosa.

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. 

Senior softball players from Chariton High School auctioned off this quilt they created and donated the funds to Lucas County Health Center.

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.

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

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. 

Miller receiving the IHA Excellence in Governance Award in 2007

“Mike was an avid learner and an educator,” said Roger Struve, chairman of the LCHC Board of Trustees.

“He sought to stay abreast of current events and to educate himself continuously about the health services industry. Mike used his knowledge to teach his fellow Trustees. He had a keen intellect and was able to assess the social and political environment to help us plan for the future of health care in Lucas County. Mike was truly visionary in his work on the LCHC Board of Trustees.”

This week, the people and patients within the Lucas County Health Center community and all Iowans for that matter have lost a tremendous leader and a friend. However, while David “Mike” Miller’s life and service to his community may be over, the impact of his work will resonate for a long time to come. 

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:

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.

Nathan Wright, founder of Lava Row, took a few minutes to chat with IHA about some of the hot topics involving social media and health care as well as provide some tips hospitals can use as they begin the process of implementing social media as part of their full marketing strategy.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gPO8CefR6Y

The subject was volunteerism in America and the big news was Iowa ranking second in the nation, with almost 40 percent of Iowans providing volunteer time.  Only Utah, at 44 percent, ranked higher.  The source of all this is the Corporation for National and Community Service, a program of the federal government that promotes and provides information about volunteering, and the results of its Volunteering in America survey and report.

Individual Iowa communities were also leaders, with Iowa City (second), Des Moines (sixth) and Cedar Rapids (15^th) among the top mid-sized cities.  This is significant, because one of the more interesting facts from the data is that the smaller the community, the more people tend to volunteer.  So the competition among the mid-sized cities was particularly strong. 

Regional Health Services of Howard County volunteers put in hundreds of hours creating quilts that are then auctioned to raise money for the hospital.

Hospitals, of course, provide a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to serve their community. Keeping in mind that the vast majority of Iowa hospitals are small (fewer than 25 beds), Regional Health Services of Howard County in Cresco is a typical example, with a corps of 85 active volunteers. That main group is supplemented by many others who contribute time, particularly to the hospitals hugely successful quilt auction.  All told, the hospital benefits from more than 27,600 hours of volunteer service.  Similarly, a group of about 70 volunteers at Wright Medical Center in Clarion donated more than 6,700 hours to the hospital. 

Iowa City’s high ranking certainly has something to do with the two hospitals there. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has about 1,200 volunteers, many of them full-time college students, who put in 98,000 hours of service.  At Mercy Iowa City, 440 volunteers contribute about 26,000 hours a year. 

Hospital volunteers are also energetic fundraisers who often run the hospital gift shops.  That revenue, along with separate fundraising efforts by the volunteers, provides money to buy new equipment and make other improvements. For example, at Mary Greeley Medical Center (MGMC) in Ames, one of the auxiliary’s special projects is to update the hospital guest house, which provides nearby lodging for families of MGMC patients.  Volunteers also help fund hundreds of scholarships given by their hospitals (and IHA) each year. 

And though it is difficult to quantify because, like most businesses, Iowa hospitals don’t formally track employee volunteer time, IHA firmly believes Iowa hospitals give as good as they get when it comes to volunteering.  This anecdotal example is likely very typical: 

Last summer, employees at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids committed to fill every slot for one week of work on the local Habitat for Humanity project, and they did it – 30 slots, eight hours a day for five straight days.  The response was so great and the Habitat people were so pleased that the St. Luke’s employees have pledged to do it again this year.

What the scientists found as they were gauging consumer understanding of evidence-based medicine was that many consumers follow a conventional wisdom, believing the best care is provided in large, expensive and shiny new doses.  As one focus group participant put it, “I don’t see how extra care can be harmful to your health. Care would only benefit you.” 

Fully one-third of the study participants agreed with this view.  Telling them that not all care meets accepted quality standards and that more or new (and therefore unproven) care could actually be harmful simply did not compute.  (The Associated Press took on this issue in a six-part series last week).

The good news (sort of) is that 40 percent of consumers weren’t sure either way, meaning that they are open to the concepts of comparative effectiveness and evidence-based medicine.  Most consumers trust their providers implicitly and generally believe that what their physician prescribes is best for them. 

However, this kind of passivity also means they may not be prepared to challenge or even engage a provider – most don’t bring any kind of research to appointments or even take notes.  Forty percent said they didn’t ask questions because the physician seemed rush or they were unsure how to talk to him or her.

Confused or intimidated consumers could also be swayed another direction, toward those who couch evidence-based health care as “rationing” or worse.  More than a few consumers in the Health Affairs study were already in that camp:  “Using medical guidelines sounds like…your doctor can’t give you other treatment without approval,” one said.  “It’s taking away your choice and putting the decision in somebody else’s hands.”

Such is the double-edged sword of empowered consumers and their role in high-value health care.  But with transparency, patience and well-planned outreach (the researchers have produced a communications toolkit for providers), health care consumers will embrace evidence-based medicine and join high-value hospitals, like those in Iowa, as allies in assuring that they receive the right care, in the right place and at the right time.

Due to a flawed formula, many who use the Medicare Part D prescription drug program do not receive the needed level of benefits leaving them on the hook for much of hte cost of prescription drugs.  The health care reform bill included rebates to beneficiaries affected by this and hopes to offset some of the cost.

The president will also take questions from seniors across the country as well as discuss efforts to combat senior scams and fraud in advance of the first mailing of the rebate checks.  An estimated four million seniors nationwide will receive rebate checks.

The event will be broadcast on C-SPAN and can be seen from the following locations in Iowa:

National Council on Aging
Iowa City Johnson County Senior Center
28 South Linn Street
Iowa City

Alliance for Retired Americans
Machinists Hall
2000 Walker
Des Moines

Alliance for Retired Americans
Black Hawk Labor Temple
1695 Burton Ave
Waterloo

Alliance for Retired Americans
IBEW 405
1211 Wiley Blvd. SW
Cedar Rapids

Cedar Falls Senior Center
528 Main Street
Cedar Falls

Buchanan County Senior Center
400-5th Avenue
Independence

Marshall County Senior Center
20 ½ E. State Street
Marshalltown

Kimball Ridge Senior Center
2101 Kimball Avenue
Waterloo

Bing Health Maps is simple enough to use: just pick a state and then one of the “Community Health Indicators,” which are based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  The map will re-center on the state you have chosen and color-code the counties within that state according to unit-based reporting. 

You can select health indicators such as “Birth Indicators” (low birth weight, premature births, births to women under 18, etc.); “Death Measures” (homicide, lung cancer, stroke, etc.) or “Health Risk Factors” (obesity, smokers, high blood pressure, etc.). If the map’s opacity doesn’t clearly show the differences from one county to the next, there’s a slider to increase or decrease it.

You can also call up county-specific data at any point.  Just move your mouse to a given county and the county’s name will appear, then click on the name to get the specific information. 

Bing Health Maps is one of several recently revealed online tools that are being pushed through an HHS initiative to make the department’s huge store of data more accessible and useful.  Another example, also from Bing, has Hospital Compare-based patient rating information included with search results when looking for a specific hospital. 

A less serious, though somewhat intriguing example is a game posted on MeYou Health that challenges players to put together a combination of health-related measures that will help their hometowns “win” against other cities.  The game focuses on community health measures like motor vehicle fatalities, unemployment and insurance coverage. 

Perhaps in the future we’ll see a similar game based on hospital and health care quality and safety measures.  If that happens, here’s some advice: go with Iowa.