The Wisconsin Hospital Association is fortunate to have many individuals who are willing to serve on Association councils and committees. This participation ensures that member constituencies are well represented in top-level discussions on issues facing the health care industry in Wisconsin. Every action taken by the Association is a result of member involvement and input.

There are many opportunities to be involved in the Wisconsin Hospital Association. Member participation in the Association will reach an all-time high in 2007, with nearly 190 individuals serving on one or more of WHA’s seven councils or committees. In addition, members also participate on state and local health-related boards, councils and commissions, providing valuable leadership on key health care issues.

Volunteer leaders are the backbone of a strong Association, according to WHA President Steve Brenton. "The Association provides a forum for discussing and developing responses and solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing Wisconsin hospitals," Brenton said. "This year Medicaid reimbursement will be a top-priority, along with consideration of proposals for health care reform," he added.

"We appreciate and place a high value on input and direction provided by our volunteer leaders," said Brenton.

For a list of council/committee members, visit www.wha.org - click on the "About" tab.

The WHA Council and Committees are:

Council on Finance & Payment
Chair: Tom Bayer, COO, St. Vincent Hospital, Green Bay
Primary WHA Staff: George Quinn
The Council on Finance & Payment will identify and examine financial problems and issues affecting the health care delivery system in Wisconsin.

Council on Public Policy
Chair: David Olson, President/ CEO, Bay Area Medical Center, Marinette
Primary WHA Staff: Eric Borgerding
The Council on Public Policy will oversee and coordinate the development of public policy initiatives for review and final action by the WHA Board of Directors. The Council will be responsible for coordinating the Association’s overall advocacy efforts that affect WHA members and staff, the media, government officials and other advocacy groups.

Council on Medical & Professional Affairs
Chair: Brad Manning, MD, Board Member, Wisconsin Medical Society
Primary WHA Staff: Dana Richardson
The Council on Medical & Professional Affairs will promote efficient hospital functioning and quality care through its efforts to monitor and influence professional practice. This is to be accomplished by assuring the quality and appropriate utilization of health care providers, promoting positive patient outcomes and efforts to continuously improve the value of care provided. This includes improvement in clinical and administrative practices affecting patient care, promotion of a working environment conducive to attracting and retaining qualified health professionals, improvement in patient outcomes, reduction in health care costs and medication errors, and the potential for individual and corporate health care consumers to understand information needed to assess health care quality.

Council on Rural Health
Chair: Bill Bruce, CEO, St. Joseph’s Community Health Services, Hillsboro
Primary WHA Staff: George Quinn
The Council on Rural Health will address the problems of hospitals located in Wisconsin’s rural communities and formulate the development of Association positions for solutions to these problems. It will also coordinate educational programming relating to the needs of these hospitals.

Advocacy Committee
Chair: Mary Starmann-Harrison, President/CEO, SSM Health Care of Wisconsin, Madison
Primary WHA Staff: Jodi Bloch
The Advocacy Committee will provide oversight to the fundraising activities of the Wisconsin Hospitals PAC and Conduit.

Council on Workforce Development
Chair: Mike Schafer, CEO/Adm., Spooner Health System
Primary WHA Staff: Judy Warmuth
The Council on Workforce Development will monitor the supply and distribution of the current health care workforce. It will work to assure that an adequate supply of workers are available to staff Wisconsin hospitals. The Council will provide input into WHA’s advocacy program related to workforce issues and will also initiate and support projects related to the workforce.

Audit Committee
Chair: Greg Britton, President & CEO, Beloit Memorial Hospital
Primary WHA Staff: George Quinn
The Audit and Investment Committee will oversee the annual audit, review Association investment policies and performance annually, and present results to the Board of Directors.

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Next week, Wednesday, January 3, is Inauguration Day at the Wisconsin State Capitol. The Legislature will then return to convene their first floor period. For the first time in four years, Republicans will no longer control the legislative agenda, at least in the Wisconsin State Senate. Conventional wisdom strongly suggests that health care will be a dominant theme over the next two years.

The 2007-09 Biennial Budget will take center stage in late January and will hopefully find WHA strongly championing Governor Doyle’s call for higher tobacco taxes directed to a secure fund that will exclusively be used to pay for health care programs… including a targeted expansion of Medicaid coverage for low income adults and enhanced Medicaid provider payments.

WHA’s Medicaid payment agenda next year includes a new dispaportionate share hospital (DSH) program targeting our highest Medicaid volume hospitals, increased hospital outpatient payments, full restoration of medical education support and higher nursing home payments. That’s an ambitious agenda but may be achievable with new funding from higher tobacco taxes.

WHA’s recently approved health reform principles appear to be in alignment with two Doyle Administration health care coverage expansion proposals that were endorsed earlier this month by the Governor’s Healthy Wisconsin Council. That group recommended expanding Medicaid eligibility to uninsured childless adults with incomes below 200 percent of federal poverty level. While specific details remain a work in progress, WHA should support the proposal provided that the new plan can be proven to cover the truly uninsured.

The Healthy Wisconsin Council also voted to recommend the creation of a Reinsurance Authority, a quasi-governmental entity that would be charged with developing, implementing and administering a reinsurance program for the small group health insurance market and for employers, including sole proprietors, who participate in the co-op program. The authority would also be charged with developing plans for a $100 million subsidy targeted at participants in co-op insurance programs and the smallest employer groups— in other words, the most vulnerable currently insured. One of the most promising aspects of this initiative is the fact that it targets a subsidy for privately insured individuals without making an effort to force them into government programs.

Finally, WHA will work with a broad coalition of stakeholders to again pass the Quality Improvement Act that was vetoed by Governor Doyle late last year. This legislation is a fundamental building block for maintaining Wisconsin’s leadership in private sector public reporting initiatives. WHA will also work with a health care coalition to address the serious issue of criminalizing medical errors. Good progress in achieving this goal began last week with the first meeting of a large group of common-minded stakeholders interested in addressing this issue.

Steve Brenton
President

Stories From Our Hospitals: Good Samaritan Health Center, Merrill
Good Samaritan Health Center Employees Join Together to Provide Holiday Meals for Merrill Food Pantry

Employees of Good Samaritan Health Center, Merrill spent the past few weeks collecting items to make the holidays a little brighter for those who need it most in the Merrill Community. In an annual effort organized by the Hospital’s missions committee, employees joined together to gather 40 complete meals that were donated to the Merrill Food Pantry.

"It’s great to get this level of support from the Hospital employees," said Dale and Jackie Kuck," co-directors of the Merrill Food Pantry. "We rely heavily on these efforts as well as donations to purchase about $60,000 worth of items each year for families that really need it."

The event was a true team effort as department employees collected items to complete a "kit" to donate to the Food Pantry while department directors, managers, supervisors and the Good Samaritan Foundation donated funds for a turkey or ham to complete the meal.

"This was a project that was easy to support," said Michelle Odegard, physical therapist assistant and member of the missions committee. "Once the ball got rolling in each department, it was exciting to see people joining together in this effort."

The Merrill Food Pantry relies on support from the employees of Good Samaritan as well as other members of the business community and area church’s to support nearly 3,000 people from throughout Lincoln County.

"We are proud to be doing our part to help Merrill residents who need it this holiday season," said Michael Hammer, president and chief operating officer. "It was amazing to see the collection grow and grow over the past few weeks with donations from every department in the hospital."