Across the U.S., hospitals and health systems are working to address the opioid crisis. To help in their efforts, the AHA developed a new toolkit to provide guidance and information to hospitals and health systems on how they can work with their patients, clinicians and communities to stem this epidemic.

The primary goals of the toolkit include: 

Reviewing the multifaceted role of hospitals and health systems in fighting the epidemic, which includes reiterating the key activities that every hospital should be undertaking; and Offering sources of expertise, ideas, and resources to assist hospitals in fulfilling their roles.  The toolkit was created with input from subject matter experts, including psychiatrists specializing in addictions, chief medical officers and other clinical experts, pain management professionals and a number of specifically identified stakeholders...

Health Care Quality Week is the week dedicated to celebrating the contributions professionals have made in the field and bringing greater awareness to the profession of health care quality. Health care quality professionals work in every health care setting to enhance care delivery, optimize value and improve outcomes by leading activities in one or more of the following core quality functions:

Patient safety Regulatory and accreditation Quality review and accountability Performance and process improvement Health data analytics Population health and care transitions Take a moment this week to thank your quality and patient safety team for the work they do every day to help your hospital care for patients and have the best outcomes possible for the patient, their family and the health care team! For more information, visit http://nahq.org/about/healthcare-quality-week.

Join the Kentucky Hospital Association and the Kentucky Hospital Improvement and Innovation Network (K-HIIN) team in celebrating International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW) this week! The 2017 theme for IIPW is Antibiotic Resistance. It is critical that health care professionals across the continuum preserve antibiotics for the future. By joining your friends, family members and health care colleagues in celebrating IIPW,, you are raising awareness of the role infection prevention plays in improving patient safety.

Infection preventionists work tirelessly every day to keep patients and their families, as well as staff members, safe from infection! Please take time this week to thank them for all they do!

Throughout 2017, many changes have and are expected to occur in The Joint Commission Accreditation process and the effects it will have on accredited organizations. With the implementation of the Project REFRESH SAFER Matrix for scoring and the changes related to Pain Management, there will be some interesting challenges for all health care organizations. The Joint Commission Update 2018 on December 12 in Louisville will provide information needed to understand and manage these accreditation process changes. 

Topics to be discussed are:

The Project REFRESH and the SAFER Scoring Matrix Survey Preparation/Tracer Prep, Antimicrobial Stewardship Suicide Risk and Psychiatric Unit tracer information frequently cited and challenging standards 2018 Requirements for Education and Identification of important Electronic Medical Record Navigation Points. View the brochure...

KIPSQ members making care safer in KY by discussing Patient Identification Errors at the PSO's Safe Table Event on October 10.

Reach and network with Kentucky hospital decision makers by becoming a sponsor of the 2018 KHA Quality Conference. This event attracts nearly 200 health care professionals from Kentucky hospitals.

Attendees include hospital chief executive officers, chief nursing officers, quality directors, infection preventionists, pharmacy directors, chief medical officers and other health care professionals. The conference features recognized health care leaders and subject matter experts while providing multiple networking opportunities with key hospital decision makers.

For details, view the event sponsorship brochure.

If you have any questions,...

The West Virginia Hospital Association (WVHA) invites careLearning clients in both Kentucky and Ohio to their Live User Group Meeting on October 13 at the WVHA Office in Charleston, West Virginia. The meeting is free to all careLearning clients and lunch is included.

View the the agenda for program details.

To register, visit http://www.wvha.org/Events/Registrations/careLearning-Fall-2107-User-Group.aspx.

Please complete one registration for each person that plans to attend, limit two (2) people per organization, by October 10.



If you have any questions please feel free to contact Peggy Engelkemier at careLearning (peggyeng@carelearning.com) or Jim Kranz at WVHA (orjkranz@wvha.org).

KHA and the K-HIIN group recently recognized Eric Nordman, antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist at St. Elizabeth Edgewood as the latest Patient Safety Hero Awardee.  Tracie Shelton, director of patient safety/accreditation and infection control nominated Nordman for his efforts in leading patient safety improvements throughout the hospital.  

As per Shelton, Nordman holds a Bachelor’s degree and MBA from Northern Kentucky University, and he holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati. He served as the Antimicrobial Stewardship Team Lead for the Quality Transformation C-diff initiative. He met with and educated hospitalists and gastroenterologists on appropriate testing and best practice ordering protocols for C-diff. He created an EPIC report to identify patients with...

On October 3, KHA participated in the annual state hospital association meeting with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Region IV Office in Atlanta. Associations heard updates from CMS regarding enforcement of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), post payment audits by Medicare Advantage plans, pilot programs to reduce hospital readmissions of nursing home residents and more. A specific report on EMTALA violations being seen in Region 4 will be sent to members.

If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Galvagni at KHA (ngalvagni@kyha.com).

Registration is now open for the Fall KHA District meetings. Make your plans now to attend! View the flyer for agenda details. Online registration is available for your convenience.

If you have any questions, contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (pkirchem@kyha.com).

The status of the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) surveys for respective State Fiscal Years (SFY) is now available. Several facilities are listed for the 2014 reviews and are requested to submit their information as soon as possible if they have not. 

Final settlements and resolution of appeals of prior SFYs are currently underway in abeyance pending the result of ongoing litigation at the federal level regarding payments from Third-party Payors.

The Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services and the 5 Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) are hosting provider forums across the state. These forums are designed to allow any and all health care providers (including behavioral health and substance use providers) who have contracts with MCOs and serve Medicaid consumers to meet face-to-face and discuss concerns about proper billing, prior authorizations, prompt pay, appeals processes or any other specific issues related to the continued implementation of Managed Care.

In attendance will be senior level staff from each Managed Care Organization, senior staff from the Department of Insurance (DOI), Office of Inspector General, Department for Medicaid Services, Department for Public Health, Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, and the Office of the Secretary.

October 17 in Hopkinsville October 23 in Louisville October 25 in Morehead October 31 in Somerset November 3 in Highland...

Thanks to Kentucky Congressmen Hal Rogers, James Comer and John Yarmuth for signing a Dear Colleague letter urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to abandon its proposal to reduce Medicare Part B payment for drugs acquired through the 340B Drug Pricing Program. "Given the important role that the 340B program plays in our communities, we strongly urge CMS to abandon this proposal and redirect its efforts toward actions to address the cost of drugs via other policies that would not harm our constituents," the representatives wrote. 

CMS has proposed to pay for separately payable, non pass-through drugs purchased through the 340B program at the average sales price (ASP) minus 22.5%, rather than the current rate of ASP plus 6%. Two hundred twenty-eight members of the House of Representatives signed the letter to CMS. Eighty-five Kentucky hospitals qualify to receive 340B discounted outpatient drugs. Please join KHA in thanking Congressmen Rogers, Comer and Yarmuth.

For further...