HEALTH e-NEWS+

Cherokee Uniforms is accepting nominations for the 2010 Inspired Comfort Awards program until May 31. The national award recognizes nurses and other non-physician health care professionals for exceptional service, sacrifice and innovation.

Nominations must include a description of the candidate’s outstanding performance, which must have taken place at least in part in 2009. The grand prize winner in each category will receive an all-expense-paid Caribbean cruise for two. Additional winners receive all-expense-paid trips to a 2011 U.S. medical conference of their choice, an annual membership to their preferred clinical association and a $1,000 medical wardrobe from Cherokee Uniforms. Additionally, those who nominated the grand prize winner in each category will also receive a $1,000 Cherokee medical wardrobe. Winners will be announced in October.

To submit a nomination, visit Cherokee Uniform’s Web site.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is seeking blanket waiver relief on behalf of hospitals for the use of amateur radio operations during hospital emergency preparedness drills. AHA’s proposal to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) states the reasons for allowing hospital employees who are licensed to operate amateur radio stations to participate in drills and training, as well as actual disasters and emergencies.

OHA encourages member hospitals to individually send comments in favor of this proposal to the FCC because of its ability to enhance disaster communication capabilities. A public notice was released requesting comments by April 2 and reply comments by April 19. View a template comment letter. For filing instructions, view the public notice under the headline ‘procedural matters.’ (Carol Jacobson)

Federal law requires hospitals and health care facilities to cooperate in conducting the 2010 census. Hospitals must work with census staff to identify hospital inpatients considered residents in the facility. Hospitals may elect to self-enumerate and create a list of these residents. Hospitals that do not self-enumerate will be assigned a census bureau crew leader to facilitate the enumeration process. The census employee will provide all needed materials.

Hospitals that choose to self-enumerate must determine what is least intrusive to patients and staff, the size and nature of the patient group to be counted, and confidentiality issues. Facilities that want to self-enumerate will have selected staff complete a training session and be sworn in as census takers. Hospital self-enumerating responsibilities will include: 

• Selecting personnel to help with the enumeration. 
• Creating resident lists of all persons living at the facility on April 1. 
• Getting enumeration materials from the Census Bureau Crew Leader.

View the full American Hospital Association Regulatory Advisory on health care facilities and the 2010 census. (Sean McGlone)

The third annual National Health Care Decisions Day is April 16. The American Hospital Association encourages hospitals to participate in this initiative to help Americans discuss future health care decisions and complete advance directives. Advance directives are documents patients complete to direct their medical care when they are unable to communicate their own wishes due to a medical condition. An advance directives packet is offered through the Ohio Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and creates a living will or health care durable power of attorney. It also designates organ and tissue donation. More resources about National Health Care Decisions Day are available online. View more information on advance directives by visiting OHA’s Web site.

A proposal to reorganize the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Division of Family and Community Health Services and the Division of Prevention was approved last week by the Public Health Council. The purpose of restructuring these two divisions is to blend related health areas and services to maximize the public health impact and achieve greater program and economic efficiency. The restructuring reduces the number of ODH bureaus from 19 to 17. The reorganization is expected to be in play by mid-May and the modifications are expected to save $200,000 per year. (Rick Sites)

The Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety announced its EMS Awards Program last week. The awards recognize outstanding achievements and honor those in Ohio’s EMS system whose accomplishments rise above the day-to-day excellence of the system. An award will be given to one person at each of the following certification levels: 

• First responder
• EMT-B 
• EMT-I 
• EMT-P

Nominations are due April 15 and criteria, eligibility, rules and instructions can be found in the awards packet. (Carol Jacobson)

The Most Favored Nation (MFN) Study Commission finalized its report last week, recommending that the legislature permanently ban the use of MFN clauses in health care contracts between insurers and hospitals. OHA will work with other supporters of a permanent ban and legislators to pass legislation implementing this recommendation. The final report will be distributed to the General Assembly by March 25. OHA thanks the hospital representatives who served on the commission: Michele Napier, revenue cycle manager at Mercy Health Partners; Leigh Brock Webster, senior director of managed care operations at the Cleveland Clinic; and Dr. William Kose, MD, Blanchard Valley Medical Associates. (Charlie Solley)