The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sponsored a National Provider Call on Thursday, October 25, 2012 featuring speaker Ginger Boyle, MD, CCS, CCD-P, practicing family physician in Spartanburg, South Carolina, faculty with the Spartanburg Family Medicine Residency Program, and an AHIMA certified coder. Boyle is also a physician advisor for the Spartanburg Regional Health System case management/utilization review, clinical documentation integrity, and documentation integrity programs.

Boyle explained how her health system is preparing for ICD-10 implementation from several dimensions including the Steering Committee, the Awareness and Education Committee, HIM Management and ICD-10 code-specific training, documentation improvement and integrity, operational implementation, testing and the transition.

"Physician education and buy-in are critical, and without it we will have a garbage in/garbage out scenario," Boyle said. "Physicians can be taught, they should focus on the good ICD-10 brings us, ICD-10 is not an oncoming train, and with a well-planned implementation, we can achieve smooth, sweet success," she added.

Topics covered by other speakers during the call were general ICD-10 requirements and CMS implementation planning, an update on national coverage determinations and ICD-10 and an update on ICD-10 and administrative simplification. The PowerPoint presentation from the call is available at: www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/NPC/National-Provider-Calls-and-Events-Items/2012-10-25-ICD-10-Call.html. A transcript and audio will be available in the near future.

On October 26, close to 40 hospital constituents participated in WHA’s Telephone Town Hall with U.S. Representative Sean Duffy. And on October 29, 60 hospital constituents will meet personally with U.S. Senator Ron Johnson at WHA’s hospital listening session at Holy Family Memorial in Manitowoc.

"Wisconsin health care providers have a great story to share with our elected officials about their commitment to high value care and better outcomes," said WHA President Steve Brenton. "WHA strongly believes that opportunities for hospital constituents to talk personally with Members of Congress are essential for moving health care forward in ways that do not continue to disadvantage high value states like ours."

WHA’s next Telephone Town Hall will be held November 13 and 15 and is entitled: "Post Election Analysis: What the Results Mean for Wisconsin Health Care." Featured presenters will be WHA President Steve Brenton and Executive Vice President Eric Borgerding, who will describe what the elections mean in terms of decisions to be made on Medicaid and health insurance exchanges as well as on Congressional activities during the lame duck session and beyond.

The WHA Hospital Listening Sessions along with Telephone Town Halls have been a mainstay over the past year as a means for WHA to educate and motivate hospitals on important issues. 2012 events held or scheduled to date include:

• Telephone Town Hall – Supreme Court PPACA ruling with Health Policy Source’s Billy Wynne
• Telephone Town Hall – Post Election Analysis: What the Results Mean for WI Health Care
• Telephone Town Hall with U.S. Rep. Ron Kind
• Telephone Town Hall with U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy
• Hospital Listening Session with U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble
• Hospital Listening Session with U.S. Rep. Tom Petri
• Hospital Listening Session with U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson

Additional events are in progress so watch The Valued Voice for details in the coming weeks and months. For questions, contact WHA’s Jenny Boese at jboese@wha.org or 608-268-1816.

Two care transition workshops were recently held in Rice Lake and Viroqua with nearly 300 representatives attending from hospitals, public health agencies, nursing homes, aging units, aging and disability resource centers, assisted living facilities and home health care agencies.

The workshops brought representatives from the local "care continuum" together to discuss hospital readmission trends, identify best practices for preventing readmissions, and to examine potential collaborations that could be used to reduce readmissions.

Stephanie Sobczak, WHA manager of quality improvement, facilitated an exercise with the groups where the participants diagrammed their local system of care and then identified opportunities for improvement. It is helpful for care providers to take a systems view of their local care continuum before focusing on the details. This establishes a shared framework for problem solving on a bigger scale, according to Sobczak. Participants were encouraged to continue group meetings and move forward with their efforts to ensure smoother patient transitions in their communities.

"The real benefit of these events was to establish new relationships among care providers so they can come together to improve communication and processes related to transferring patients from the hospital to other sites of care," according Sobczak. Plans are underway to determine the level of interest for additional workshops.

The workshops were sponsored by the Wisconsin Hospital Association, the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health, MetaStar and several other key stakeholders representing long-term care and community organizations. These groups are all members of the Wisconsin Transition of Care Steering Committee, of which WHA is one of the founding members, and they share a commitment to facilitating work at the local level.

Over the past week State Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn) visited several of the hospitals he now represents due to legislative redistricting. Those visits included Beloit Health System and Fort Healthcare in Fort Atkinson.

During his time at both hospitals, Sen. Kedzie was able to talk and learn from each hospital’s respective senior leadership about their commitment to the community, recent innovative initiatives as well as health care issues of importance.

In addition, Sen. Kedzie was able to tour both facilities and see firsthand how each hospital is committed to providing high-quality, high-value care.

Tom Kaster, WHA quality improvement advisor, recently visited three hospitals participating in WHA’s Partners for Patients quality initiative.

Kaster’s visits included Tomah Memorial Hospital, Tri-County Memorial Hospital in Whitehall, and St. Joseph’s Community Health Services in Hillsboro. All three hospitals have improvement leaders that are participants in the HRET Improvement Fellowship.

"It is very obvious their involvement in the fellowship has given them an advantage to bring IHI’s model for improvement back to their facilities and initiate outstanding quality improvement projects. It is easy to see that these leaders understand how to build great improvement teams that can drive rapid improvement through small tests of change," said Kaster.

Tomah Memorial Hospital, Tomah

While at Tomah Memorial Hospital, Kaster met with a group of department leads, nurse managers and front line staff to present a general overview of Partners for Patients in our state. Tomah is actively working on the OB Adverse Events, CAUTI and Surgical Site Infections Partners for Patients initiatives. They talked about their progress on each initiative and what next steps they will be taking to further improve the culture of safety and quality of care at their facility. In addition, a group of front line staff and nurse leaders recently returned from the WHA Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) event and were brimming with excitement and positive energy about how they were going to work to improve outcomes in their hospital.

Overall, Tomah is extremely engaged, excited and focused on quality improvement. They are well positioned to continue to drive positive change and improve patient care throughout their organization.

Tri-County Memorial Hospital, Whitehall

Kaster met with both the falls reduction team and the readmissions improvement team at Tri County Memorial Hospital. They have made good progress in the Falls Reduction Initiative. In regards to their readmissions progress, they have been making great strides utilizing small tests of change. Fortunately, Tri-County Memorial’s Readmission team includes a member from their adjoining nursing home. This connection is providing them with valuable insight on how they can better coordinate care between the hospital and nursing home, which in turn has proven to reduce readmissions.

St Joseph’s Community Health Services, Hillsboro

St Joseph’s Community Health Services has been extremely active in their two WHA Partners for Patients Initiatives. Kaster had the opportunity to present on using small tests of change to test multiple interventions and drive rapid improvement, as well as strategies for displaying and interpreting data.

It was exciting to hear they have had success with implementing several great interventions, but are not satisfied with stopping there. They already had plans to launch additional evidence-based practices that are proven to reduce readmissions and falls.

Top of page (10/26/12)

The Partners of WHA has named Faye Deich, chief operating officer at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, and Jon Rozenfeld, former chief operating officer and executive vice president of St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, as their 2012 Best of the Best Administrative Award recipients. Each year, the Partners of WHA Best of the Best Administrative Award recognizes an on-site hospital executive who demonstrates a cooperative, supportive, enthusiastic, and well-defined relationship with his or her volunteer organization. Both awards were presented October 7 at the Partners of WHA Annual Convention in Madison.

Deich was nominated for this award by the Volunteer Partners of Sacred Heart Hospital. In nominating her, the Volunteer Partners indicated, "Our administrator is very vocal about the fact that our volunteers are an integral part of our mission. They bring something extremely valuable: themselves. Their service brings cheer and gentle assistance to many in need."

Rozenfeld was nominated for the 2012 award by the St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary members. In nominating him, the members stated, "Our administrator is an enthusiastic ambassador for the volunteers and Auxiliary members. (He) recognizes and takes seriously our role, motivation and overall success. Our administrator leads by example and is a role model for all administrators, staff, volunteers, and community leaders."

Partners of WHA, the statewide hospital volunteer organization, celebrated hospital volunteerism and recognized volunteer excellence at its state convention October 16-18 in Madison. More than 350 Partner’s members attended the conference.

The convention featured a hospital CEO panel discussion on health reform, access to health care and rising health care costs. The panel, moderated by WHA Executive Vice President Eric Borgerding, included WHA member CEOs Sandy Anderson of St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo; Terry Brenny of Stoughton Hospital; Frank Byrne, MD, of St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison; and Dan Neufelder of Ministry Health Care and Affinity Health System.

Partners of WHA also awarded their annual Wisconsin Award for Volunteer Excellence (WAVE Award) to four volunteer member organizations, honoring outstanding programs in the categories of community service programs, fundraising, in-service hospital volunteer programs, and community outreach/collaboration.

The 2012 WAVE Award recipients were:

Volunteers of UW Health Partners-Watertown Regional Medical Center: Safety Center

Safety Center offers a variety of child safety products with volunteers trained to answer questions and properly fit helmets. Volunteers present at community events each year, bringing car seats, helmets and smoke detectors to ensure people know how to use them and where to find the Safety Center. They also provide sleep sacks to each baby born at the hospital and have established a fund for needy families who can’t afford car seats.

St. Vincent Hospital Auxiliary: The HEAL Program (Helping Elevate thru Art & Love)

The HEAL Program gives ill children a way to communicate, express and understand their feelings through art and interaction with a therapy dog. Participants paint two pictures on canvas with the help of a volunteer art therapist and her dog. The children keep one painting and the other is displayed in the annual art show and sold, with the proceeds benefiting HEAL and the hospital’s Child Life program.

Partners of Stoughton Hospital: Dancing With the Stoughton Stars

Nearly 70 volunteers were needed to make this event successful, from the dancers, judges and instructors to the ticket sellers, greeters, and ushers. Six dancer couples from all areas of the community committed to securing sponsorships, dance lessons and costumes. More than 600 people attended the event and net proceeds of over $23,000 were raised to assist with the purchase of a digital medical imaging archiving system for Stoughton Hospital.

Partners of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls: Lake Wissota "Last Chance on the Lake"

This event is an effort to provide outdoor activity to the community in the winter months, promote fitness and healthy fellowship to all ages, and broaden the Partners support base in the community by collaborating with outside groups with similar goals. They offer a 10K and 30K ski course, a classic 10K course, a 10K snowshoe course and a children’s race.

Founded in 1951 as Wisconsin Hospital Association Auxiliaries, Partners of WHA, Inc. emphasizes volunteer service and participation in grassroots advocacy, public policy and community health education, and health career programs for Wisconsin hospitals. Additionally, Partners promotes leadership development offering resources and educational seminars to local hospital volunteer and auxiliary groups, and shares information on successful community health education initiatives, advocacy and fundraising activities and trends on volunteerism through a variety of channels, including its quarterly newsletter, Reaching Out. More information can be found at www.partnersofwha.org.

Fear of a bill should never prevent a patient from seeking care at a Wisconsin hospital. Wisconsin hospital charity care programs provided $232 million to more than 700 patients each day last year. The stories that follow illustrate the deep commitment and continuing concern that hospitals have to their patients to ensure they receive the care they need regardless of their ability to pay.

Wheaton Franciscan provides emotional healing for patient

After decades of on and off heart issues, Chris Maurer found himself with more health complications – kidney cancer. The 62-year-old always managed the medical expenses from his surgeries and hospital visits with private health insurance from his employer. But with the economic downturn, Chris lost his job and his insurance after working 40 years in consumer finance in the automotive industry.

Chris remained on his insurance plan for a time through COBRA, but after exhausting his savings and assets, he could no longer afford the premiums. Without health insurance to cover his medical bills, Chris began to lose hope as his health problems increased in severity.

"I had private health insurance for years, and I always took care of myself. I was faced with a situation that I didn’t know how to handle," said Chris. "I found myself with the daunting task of asking, ‘Where do I go? Who do I turn to?’"

In early 2012, as Chris was being treated at Wheaton Franciscan – Elmbrook Memorial for both heart and kidney complications, he was approached by Cris Liebhauser, the Wheaton Franciscan Financial Counselor. Not only did she help Chris apply for Wheaton’s Community Care Program, but she also connected him with resources to pursue coverage through Medicaid and Medicare due to his severe kidney condition.

"Wheaton’s timing couldn’t have been any better. You can really shut down in dealing with everything when you realize what you are going through and the possibility that things can get worse," said Chris.

Chris met criteria to receive free care from Wheaton to cover his IV treatments for anemia and other services. While he hopes to eventually have government insurance, Wheaton will pay for tens of thousands of dollars in uncovered costs for the kidney dialysis Chris requires.

After his financial counseling sessions and qualifying for Wheaton’s Community Care program, Chris began to feel less anxious and stressed in a time of uncertainty.

"So much of healing is related to your emotional state. It really impacts your immune system. Having support from Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare was a huge load of my shoulders," said Chris.

Cancer does not discriminate

Lung cancer does not discriminate by age or gender. Each year in the United States, lung cancer in non-smokers affects more people than AIDS.

Yet it was the startling discovery for a young newlywed couple beginning their life together to be told of a diagnosis of lung cancer. While both had full-time jobs, the wife had minimal health insurance coverage and the husband was uninsured.

The wife, 23 years old, was rushed into the Emergency Department at Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha with severe pain throughout her body. After a biopsy was performed, she was apprised of her diagnosis and the treatment that would be needed.

When the young couple met with a financial counselor to discuss payment options, they learned about Aurora’s Helping Hand program. An Aurora financial counselor assisted them in completing the application. We can only imagine their relief when they learned that the patient qualified for a 100 percent discount for the care and treatment she would need.

Team of hope

According to the American Cancer Society, one in two American men and one in three American women will develop cancer in their lifetimes. Each year, as a means of helping the millions of people whose lives are by touched by cancer, Memorial Health Center participates in the American Cancer Society’s Walk/Run of Taylor County.

In 2011, Memorial Health Center’s Team of Hope raised more than $3,000 for the American Cancer Society. This total was enough to put the team in first place among the 22 fundraising teams. Overall, the event raised $20,646.96 to help fund cancer research and the American Cancer Society programs that benefit people facing cancer.

This year’s Team of Hope was made up of more than 60 Memorial Health Center and Aspirus VNA Medford staff members, their family and friends.

Janesville Jets Team up with Mercy Health System to Fight Cancer

Mercy Health System’s "Paint the Rink Pink" event with the Janesville Jets helped raised awareness of and generated funds for cancer treatment. The event was held October 19 and October 20 when the Janesville Jets played the Coulee Region Chill in support of cancer awareness. The event was also sponsored by Bliss Communications, the Janesville Gazette and WCLO. After both games, the Jets will held a live auction of the specialty pink jerseys the players wore with net proceeds being donated to the Mercy Foundation with funds earmarked for the Mercy Regional Cancer Center. Mercy Health System handed out pink thundersticks each night and provided cancer awareness literature.