Arnett Carbis Toothman Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) & Advisors is a large regional accounting firm that specializes in providing a wide range of audit, reimbursement consulting and tax services to hospitals and health systems.  To learn more, visit www.aftcpas.com.

KHA thanks Arnett Carbis Toothman for their bronze  level sponsorship.  KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

Community Hospital Corporation (CHC) is a not for profit owner, operator, and consultant to community-based hospitals.  Services include leasing/ownership, management, operational/financial consulting, and post-acute services through CHC ContinueCARE.  To learn more, please visit www.communityhospitalcorp.com.

KHA thanks CHC for their bronze  level sponsorship.  KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

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TechSolve's Lean Healthcare Solutions drives process improvement in every aspect of health care.  Their patient-centric "hands-on" approach is based on Lean principles to produce a high quality outcome in the shortest amount of time.  To learn more, please visit www.techsolve.org.

KHA thanks TechSolve for their bronze level sponsorship.  KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

KHA's Kentucky Hospital Research & Education Foundation (KHREF) recently purchased the publication and distribution rights to "Critical Questions Every Board Needs to be Able to Answer."  This comprehensive publication was developed by The Walker Company and is a useful tool for governance orientation sessions, and ideal for recruiting and orienting new trustees.  It is also a valuable educational resource for more experienced hospital trustees.  As a KHA member service, all KHA members are invited to review and make use of this governance document.  You may access it through the members only section of the KHA Website.  

If you have any questions, or need your KHA members only login, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via email at pkirchem@kyha.com).

As health care experts, you are the best voices to educate decision-makers on the solutions available to improve Kentucky's poor health status.  Join KHA for a training that will delve into how health advocates raise the level of awareness on important issues such as smoke-free policies.

The free training will be held at KHA on Thursday, December 4 at 12:30 p.m. (ET). Then stay and learn the KHA Legislative Priorities for the 2015 Kentucky General Assembly.  The meeting will conclude with a press conference to communicate Kentucky hospitals' support for a statewide law to restrict indoor smoking in public places and work places like restaurants and bars.  

The training will explore the problem of smoking and secondhand smoke in Kentucky, as well as how a smoke-free law is part of the solution.  KHA supports a statewide smoke-free law...

On Thursday, November 13, 2014, the Kentucky Society for Healthcare Public Relations & Marketing (KSHPRM) held its annual Thoroughbred Awards in conjunction with the KSHPRM conference at Keeneland.  Thoroughbred Awards honor and recognize excellent work throughout the Commonwealth in the areas of health care marketing and public relations.  

Organizations are eligible to submit entries in 32 categories ranging from print and television advertising to websites to campaigns.  All entries are sent to a sister society in another state for judging.  This year, entries were judged by the Tennessee Society for Marketing and Public Relations.  In total, 14 organizations submitted 73 entries for consideration.  To see the KSHPRM Thoroughbred Award Winners for 2014, please click here for the full press release.  To see pictures of the event, please visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/128370147@N05/sets/72157649343099555/

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The Office of Health Policy (OHP) published a memorandum on October 8, 2014, requesting comments by December 8, 2014, on modernizing the Kentucky Certificate of Need (CON) program.  The OHP sites changes in the health care delivery system and an emphasis on the Triple Aim as a driver in the need to modernize the CON program to ensure access to appropriate levels of care, growth in outpatient services and a focus on ensuring a comprehensive continuum of care.  

The OHP is requesting broad comments in the form of white papers or studies. KHA is undertaking a comprehensive study of the value of the CON program which will be released to our hospital members very soon.  The paper provides evidence supporting the KHA position to uphold a strong CON program in the effort to ensure access to high quality services where need is demonstrated through the CON process.  

KHA encourages every Kentucky hospital to submit a comment letter to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in support of the CON program...

Based upon a request from the KHA Strategic Planning Committee, the Association is a creating a new Action Alert System for its members.  If you have not already signed up by creating an account with Reach Alert, please take a moment to find the email from Ginger Dreyer at KHA on October 8 with your personal registration code.   Or, contact Ginger at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via e-mail at gdreyer@kyha.com) to obtain your personal registration code.

The KHA Action Alert System  will advise you of breaking, time sensitive information and of pending legislation, changes in the law or other situations that require your immediate attention. 

You will get to decide how you wish to receive alerts: cell phone text messages, automated voice call to a cell phone and/or email.

KHA will use the Action Alert System for timely, though not necessarily, emergency messages....

In an effort to spread the word and to make sure that health care providers (and school personnel) are familiar with the Caregiver Authorization Law, KHA is alerting hospitals that when caregivers come in and present an affidavit stating they are the primary caregiver of the child, that health care treatment is then authorized.

The law was passed last year (SB 176) and it allows a relative caregiver to sign an affidavit to access key services for the children in their care without the need for legal custody or guardianship.  Caregivers can complete an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, stating that they are the primary caregiver of the child, and then by presenting the form, they can authorize health care treatment, educational services, and school enrollment.

The Kentucky Youth Advocates worked with an attorney from Legal Aid to create a model affidavit which is essentially a form that caregivers can complete to create their own affidavit, based on what is now statute.  The form can then be presented...

Coroners, funeral home personnel, physicians and others responsible for the registration of death certificates will soon be required to electronically file information needed to complete death certificates, using the Kentucky Electronic Death Registration System (KY-EDRS).  

The change will take effect January 1, 2015, phasing out the paper based system currently used by the Office of Vital Statistics in conjunction with electronic reporting.  The transition to exclusive electronic filing, mandated by state law, is anticipated to speed the process, while maintaining the accuracy and security of the records.

Additional information is available on the KY-EDRS website at this link.

In September, all hospital chief financial officers received in the mail this one page survey on the programs and services each hospital provided in 2013 in relation to the IRS-defined community benefit categories.

KHA will again publish a comprehensive statewide community benefit report similar to report distributed earlier this year.

To publish a statewide report, it is important that all acute care and specialty hospitals complete the one page survey, regardless of their not-for-profit or for-profit status.  KHA requests the surveys be returned by November 15.

Please ask your hospital CFO if they have returned the survey.  All information contained on the worksheet will be de-identified and only presented in aggregate.

If you have any questions, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

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The Kentucky Society for Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing (KSHPRM) will meet next Thursday, November 13, in Lexington for their annual fall conference and Thoroughbred Awards Luncheon.  The agenda includes topics related to risk communication and working with the media on Ebola and other public health issues; top of mind branding: fundamentals of a winning brand strategy; and the new rules of brand engagement.  

Please encourage members of your hospital public relations, marketing and communications team to attend the fall educational offering and to be on hand when the Thoroughbred Award Entries are presented for achievements in hospital marketing and public relations campaigns.  

If you have any questions, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 00-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

This training, on Wednesday, November 5, will cover general awareness, safety, security and function specific regulations for shipping infectious substances (Category A and B) and dry ice in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation (49CFR).

Personnel from the Kentucky Division of Laboratory Services will provide the training.  The suggested audience is primarily for hospital personnel who have a role in the packaging and shipping of Category A and B infectious substances and who do not have a current certification.  

If you have any questions, please contact Dick Bartlett at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via email at rbartlett@kyha.com).