Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Patient care priority as Cheboygan hospital closes

Excerpt from Detroit Free Press: (click for entire article)

With Cheboygan Memorial Hospital unlikely to reopen, officials said Thursday they are trying to make sure people in the area have access to doctors and other health services.

The hospital closed unexpectedly this week after a sale to Flint-based McLaren Health Care fell through over issues with federal licensing and certification for Medicare and Medicaid services. Cheboygan Memorial had 25 beds for regular patients and a 50-bed long-term care unit.

EMS crews and local ambulances are taking emergency patients to other hospitals, including McLaren-Northern Michigan in Petoskey, 36 miles away. Also, officials at the Mackinac Straits Health System in St. Ignace and Otsego Memorial Hospital in Gaylord said they were standing by to receive Cheboygan patients.

U.S. Federal budget proposal could pressure hospitals

Excerpt from Reuters: (click for entire article)

Fitch believes that the House of Representative's federal budget proposal published this week, if enacted in its current form, would pressure the credit ratings of not-for-profit hospital and healthcare system.  This proposal was authored by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin.   
   
The budget proposes making several significant changes to Medicare and Medicaid.  It would raise the Medicare eligibility age to 67, cap Medicare spending, and offer a set amount to be directed to private health insurance companies for those who turn 65 after 2023. It would also reduce spending on Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from the current level of 2% of GDP to 1% in 2030.   
   
While the proposed block grant provision of Medicaid grants may provide greater flexibility to tailor specific health programs and service packages, there is the potential to use federal Medicaid grants for non-acute services. We believe that this would have a significant impact on the vast majority of hospitals - for profit and not-for-profit - in the country.  

It’s the Little Things (and the Routine Things) That Count

Excerpt from Doc in the D: (click for entire article)

Every day I hear a patient care story at Henry Ford Hospital that absolutely inspires me and fills me with pride.

These are often heroic efforts of clinical expertise and team work, with many of our people working against all odds to perform care that saves a patient from what appears to be an impossible situation. These “miracles on the Boulevard” seem almost routine.

Times of crisis also seem to bring out the best in Henry Ford.

I noticed this years ago when we lost electricity on Campus on two occasions.

You could not have had a group of people working together more incredibly to overcome not only the obstacles of minimum electrical power, but the even greater challenges of inadequate water so needed for thirst and cleanliness.

I sit back in awe of our people at these times.

Sign of a system in crisis

Excerpt from Herald Net: (click for entire article)

It's teeth-grinding news to read that more Americans are heading to hospital emergency departments for dental care. Well, not for dental care, exactly, since it's a hospital, not a dental office. Rather, more Americans are heading to hospital emergency departments for complications from not receiving any dental care, such as infections and pain.

"People showing up at emergency rooms for dental is really your sign that your system is breaking down," said Shelly Gehshan, director for the Pew Center's Children's Dental Campaign. "It's just not serving enough people. This is your symptom of a system in crisis."

An estimated 830,590 Americans sought help for dental ailments in the ER in 2009, according to the report, representing a 16 percent increase from 2006.

Rehospitalizations, antipsychotics focus of LTC quality measurements

Excerpt from McKnight's: (click for entire article)

Reducing rehospitalizations and the off-label use of antipsychotics were named top priorities by long-term care groups Wednesday.

The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living unveiled four main goals of their Quality Initiative at the association's fourth annual Quality Symposium in Houston. They are:

    Reduce hospital readmissions within 30 days during a skilled nursing facility by 15% by March 2015.
    Reduce nursing staff turnover by 15% by March 2015.
    Reduce the off-label use of antipsychotics by 15% by December 2012
    Increase the number of people who would recommend the facility to others up to 90% by March 2015.

Children's Hospital admits it broke state law with girl's surgery

Excerpt from Seattle PI: (click for entire article)

Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center blames miscommunication for not complying with state law and a recommendation by its ethics committee to have a court review part of a proposed treatment for Ashley, the disabled Seattle-area girl whose parents sought to keep her small through an experimental medical treatment.

Now, the hospital admits it broke state law by not making sure the court order was obtained and allowing the surgery to proceed.

Hospital: Sorry for handling of Amelia’s transplant quest

Excerpt from Philly.com: (click for entire article)

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia apologized Wednesday for the way it had communicated with the parents of Amelia Rivera, the 3-year-old disabled girl whose parents want her to have a kidney transplant.

In a statement released with the approval of the Riveras, the hospital expressed regret for how it had handled the situation.

Joe and Chrissy Rivera gained national attention in January when they said a hospital physician had recommended against such a transplant because of her mental disability.

Oakwood Healthcare to open hospice unit at Annapolis Hospital

Excerpt from Crain's Detroit Business: (click for entire article)

Dearborn-based Oakwood Healthcare System and Hospice of Michigan in Detroit plan to open on Feb. 23 a six-bed inpatient hospice and palliative care unit at Oakwood Annapolis Hospital in Wayne, officials said today.

It will be Oakwood’s first inpatient hospice unit.

With an annual budget of $70 million, Hospice of Michigan serves about 4,500 patients each year, with 85 percent cared for in their homes. It is one of the state’s largest hospices, with 16 regional offices.

CMS gives consumers access to more details about infection rates at America’s hospitals

Patti's Comments:  I know all to well from PERSONAL EXPERINCE how important this is.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        
Contact: CMS Media Relations Group
February 7, 2012                                                                    
(202) 690-6145

CMS gives consumers access to more details about infection rates at America’s hospitals
New data will save lives, cut costs.
           
Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are among the most serious of all healthcare-associated infections, resulting in thousands of deaths each year and nearly $700 million in added costs to the U.S. healthcare system. Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Hospital Compare will now include data about how often these preventable infections occur in hospital intensive care units across the country. This step will hold hospitals accountable for bringing down these rates, saving thousands of lives and millions of dollars each year.
 
“Including central line-associated bloodstream infections information on Hospital Compare will save lives and cut costs,” said acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “Adding this information to Hospital Compare extends the Administration’s commitment to make American healthcare safer.”
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in 2009, there were about 41,000 CLABSIs in U.S. hospitals. Studies show that up to 25 percent of patients who get a CLABSI will die from the infection. Caring for a patient with a CLABSI adds about $17,000 to a hospitalization. These infections prolong hospitalizations and can cause death.
 
“Today, consumers are getting access to data provided to hospital leaders and clinicians to monitor progress in reducing CLABSIs,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “This information allows CDC and CMS to highlight prevention and pinpoint where more work is needed on these avoidable infections.”
 
Today’s announcement builds on HHS’s efforts to make American healthcare safer. In 2011, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius launched the Partnership for Patients initiative, which seeks to reinvent American healthcare delivery in ways that keep patients from being injured or getting sicker in a care system designed to heal them. CMS has already recruited over 6,000 partners, including more than 3,000 hospitals, in this effort, which aims to reduce preventable harm in hospitals by 40 percent by 2014.
 
Hospital Compare is one of Medicare’s most popular web tools. The site receives about 1 million page views each month and is available in English and in Spanish. More information about Hospital Compare is online at  http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov. 
 
Consumers have relied on Hospital Compare since 2005 to provide information about the quality of care provided in over 4,700 of America’s acute-care, critical access and children’s hospitals. The website features free, easy-to-use information about these hospitals, including mortality and readmission rates for each, along with 10 measures that capture patient experience with hospital care, 17 measures that assess patient safety at each hospital, 25 process-of-care measures and three children’s asthma care measures. 

Safer measures for people with disabilities following scalding death

Excerpt from 660 News: (click for entire article)

Measures to keep people with developmental disabilities safer are being put into place by the provincial government.

The action stems from the death of a client in the Persons with Developmental Disabilities program after the 35-year-old was put in a scalding bath last October and died of his injuries a month later while in hospital.

Under the new plan, all PDD homes with two or more patients or with one person deemed as having significant needs will have to install temperature-limiting hardware on bathtubs.