On July 24, Governor Jim Doyle signed the state budget into law. Completed in relatively record time (previous budgets have gone well into the fall), the bill actually decreases state spending by 2.1% in FY 04 and increases spending over the biennium by less than 1%. The bill includes a $400 million reduction in state agency spending and elimination of 2,300 positions, including 18 positions from the Bureau of Health Information (BHI). At the same time, the bill avoids across-the-board cuts in state health care programs such as Medicaid and BadgerCare.

The final package is a mixed bag of good news and bad news, indicative of a state budget at least $3.2 billion in the red. Despite some specific disappointments relating to Graduate Medical Education (GME) funding, there is some blue sky in this budget overcast.

"I cannot say we are entirely pleased with this budget," said WHA President Steve Brenton. "However, given Wisconsin’s fiscal crisis and looking at the devastating cuts being adopted in other states, this budget preserves many important health care programs and commits to building on others in the future."

As reported in previous issues of The Valued Voice, the budget includes several provisions that will have a direct impact on hospitals, including:

Graduate Medical Education (GME): With line item vetoes, the Governor provided about $12 million all funds ($5,037,900 million GPR and about $7 million FED) over the biennium for GME; a substantial change from his original budget proposal to eliminate all funding, but a decrease in the amount restored by the legislature of about $7 million. Since funding in the second year of the biennium is used as the base for the next budget, the Governor provided the bulk of funding in FY05. In his veto message, the Governor also indicated his desire to revisit funding levels for GME.

"I support reviewing the funding level for these payments in the 2005-07 biennium. Our teaching hospitals play an important role in preparing and training Wisconsin’s future physicians, and I am committed to maintaining this support now and in the future."
                    --Governor’s veto message

"With a physician shortage looming on the near horizon, these cuts will surely have a negative impact on our ability to train new physicians," Brenton said in a WHA news release. "At the same time, we are encouraged by the Governor’s willingness to restore some funding and by his commitment to fund these critical programs in the future."

Numerous times throughout his veto message, the Governor cited the Legislature’s rejection of his proposed transfer of $200 million from the Patients Compensation Fund to the Medicaid program as the reason funds were not available to restore more of GME and other MA-related programs.

"I would not be making the cuts I have been forced to make through vetoes if the Legislature had acted responsibly regarding federal funds and the Patients Compensation Fund," Doyle stated in his veto message. "(As a result) I have been forced to reduce spending in the Medical Assistance program … for graduate medical education, reimbursements to pharmacies and increases in daily rates to nursing homes."

Rural Hospital Supplement: The Governor approved the Legislature’s full restoration of the rural hospital supplement at $4.5 million all funds ($1.9 million GPR, $2.6 million FED) over the biennium. In his original budget proposal, the Governor proposed eliminating the program.

"This cut would have literally devastated some of our rural hospitals," said WHA Senior Vice President Eric Borgerding. "We are extremely pleased that the Governor reversed his original position and approved the Legislature’s full restoration of this program."
"Today, rural hospitals are breathing a sigh of relief," said Tim Size, executive director of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative. "This is very welcome news."

Privatization of Hospital Data Collection: With line-item vetoes, the Governor approved WHA’s proposal to privatize the hospital portions of the Bureau of Health Information (BHI). WHA will contract with the Department of Administration (DOA) to assume the hospital data functions now carried out by BHI, with oversight by the existing Health Care Information Board. The current $1.3 million in annual hospital assessments will end in 2004, with BHI transferring $750,000 in FY04 to WHA for program costs. WHA will assume these functions at a date yet to be determined in 2004. Eighteen positions at BHI will be eliminated. The budget includes a WHA initiative to expand data collection to include outpatient data, making the available data much more useful for hospitals and health care purchasers. Finally, further expansion of mandatory hospital data collection or reporting, including information gleaned from private medical information and patient chart reviews, will require approval by the full Legislature. Almost all of the vetoes were requested by WHA.

"Our members have been paying for this program for more than ten years," Brenton said. "WHA will operate in a more efficient and customer-focused manner." Wisconsin hospitals are currently assessed $1.3 million annually to pay for the state-run program and must also purchase the data that is collected. Hospitals are the largest purchasers of the information.

Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Funding: The Legislature approved the Governor’s budget recommendation to provide $9.8 million for a new Health Care Training Grant Program, designed to expand course capacity and access to health care education, and $6.5 million for the Incentive Grants Program, which awards grants to districts for the expansion of basic skills programs and development of new and emerging occupation programs.

"We are extremely pleased with the Governor’s commitment here," said Jerry Worrick, CEO of Door County Memorial Hospital in Sturgeon Bay. "Targeting these funds for health care will have a measurable impact." Worrick chairs the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Board.

"This funding will help our technical colleges address a critical need in our health care system," said WTCS President Richard Carpenter. "This is very positive, and I look forward to continuing our partnership with WHA as we build on the progress we have made and seek innovative solutions to our health care workforce shortage."

General Assistance Medical Program (GAMP): The Governor approved a provision directing the Department of Health and Family Services to use the intergovernmental transfer (IGT) mechanism to increase federal funding for GAMP by $3 million in FY05, and preserve this $36.6 million program through the current Milwaukee County budget cycle. With the approval of this provision, Milwaukee County will release $5.2 million of county funds for GAMP payments to Milwaukee hospitals.

"The GAMP program serves some of the neediest people in Wisconsin," said Bill Bazan, WHA’s vice president for Metro Milwaukee. "We commend the Governor, Legislature and Milwaukee County for working together in these difficult budget times to preserve this crucial program."

Medicare Crossover Claims: The Legislature approved the Governor’s proposal to restrict Medicaid reimbursement of co-pays and deductibles for outpatient treatment of certain Medicare patients; a total cut of $34.1 million all funds ($14.2 million GPR, $19.9 million FED) over the biennium. WHA has confirmed that 60% of these payment reductions can be claimed as "reimbursable bad debt" under Medicare and as such, will be reimbursed by Medicare. This reduces the total all funds cut to $13.6 million.

With all 131 vetoes, including the veto of $145 million in additional transportation spending, the Governor leaves a $205 million budget surplus. His intention is to use this money to address what will likely be a Medicaid budget deficit in the range of $140 to $222 million during this biennium. Stay-tuned!

For more details about each of these budget provisions, or to view WHA’s news release on the budget, visit WHA’s Web site at www.wha.org. If you have questions about the budget, or any other legislative matters, contact Eric Borgerding or Jodi Jensen at 608-274-1820.

Speaking at a news conference at Bellin Health on July 21, Sen. Russ Feingold along with his colleague, Sen. Susan Collins
(R-Maine), told the Green Bay audience that much of what he and Collins have worked on to help achieve Medicare fairness is included in the Prescription Drug Benefits Bill that passed the Senate in late June.

"For years we have been getting the short end of the stick on Medicare payments, and this bill will mean more than $250 million in Medicare dollars for Wisconsin over the next ten years," Feingold said. "This is not a partisan issue, it deals entirely with fairness in the distribution of Medicare dollars. There is more work to do, but these provisions are a huge step forward."

Feingold emphasized that Medicare fairness is not just a reimbursement issue for providers, rather, it also brings up the fact that seniors living in Wisconsin do not have the choices and the range of services that their counterparts enjoy who live in other areas of the country.

Collins, who described Feingold as a "fierce champion of good government" said she has worked with the Wisconsin Senator on a number of issues that focus on health care. "The Medicare program punishes, rather than rewards, those health care providers that deliver high quality, low cost services to Medicare recipients," Collins said. "When Medicare doesn’t pay its fair share, providers have no choice but to shift cost to other payers, which otherwise would not occur."

Bellin Health President George Kerwin pointed out that one of the goals at Bellin Health is to be a high-value provider. "We have been able to do this with national award winning quality and cost data," Kerwin said. "Unfortunately, health care systems such as ours are actually penalized financially for these accomplishments by the federal government. Medicare reimbursement is better in other states where cost and quality are out of control."

Ann Lucas, WHA vice president, external relations, praised Feingold and Collins and acknowledged their work to build a coalition around this issue. "This is the correct time to make the Medicare program an equitable and adequate payer of services. WHA is committed to working with our Wisconsin Congressional Delegation to finish the job and secure appropriate Medicare payments for beneficiaries and for those who meet their health care needs," Lucas said.

This past week, the Department of Health and Family Services held a hearing on their proposed "omnibus rule," which included proposed amendments to a number of DHFS rules, including HFS 124 regarding hospitals, and HFS 120 regarding data collection.

WHA had requested the hearing because of a number of concerns it had with proposed changes to the data collection rules. As a result of the WHA’s request, DHFS agreed to remove from the rule the provisions to which WHA objected. WHA’s letter to DHFS outlining WHA’s concerns and DHFS’s response can be viewed on the WHA Web site under Legal & Regulatory.

An additional proposed amendment to HFS 124 had been removed from the omnibus rule prior to the hearing. DHFS had proposed requiring hospitals to have all verbal and telephone orders authenticated within 72 hours. In 2000, DHFS had issued a waiver of the current 24-hour authentication requirement, permitting the orders to be authenticated within 72 hours or "promptly" in certain broad circumstances. In order to preserve the flexibility of the waiver, WHA objected to the change to a strict 72-hour requirement in the rule. This issue will be addressed in a future rule.

While public attention tends to focus on pending legislation, passing a bill is just the first step. Critical implementation details are established through an ongoing administrative rule/regulatory process that is often just as, if not more, important than the legislative process. The administrative rule described above is just one of several state regulatory proposals currently being lobbied by WHA’s government relations team. If you have specific questions about pending state or federal regulations, contact WHA General Counsel Laura Leitch at 608-274-1820.

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After a public hearing on Tuesday, July 22, the Senate Committee on Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care directed the Department of Regulation and Licensing (DRL) to consider making changes to administrative rules established the licensure of perfusionists. The rules, required by a 2001 law, define the scope of practice of perfusion, create requirements for temporary and permanent licensure, and establish testing requirements and processes. The Wisconsin Perfusion Society asked the committee to direct DRL to revisit the temporary licensing provisions. After it completes its review, DRL can return the rules to the committee with or without changes. The rules will not be promulgated until the committee completes its review. For more information, contact Jodi Jensen at 608-274-1820 or jjensen@wha.org.

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U.S. Rep. Dave Obey is bringing a major forum on public health to Rice Lake and Superior August 1. The forum, entitled, "From Bench to Bedside and Beyond--How Research is Changing the Public’s Health" will feature opening remarks by Obey. Eight physicians from the National Institutes of Health will be featured, including NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, MD, who will present "The Benefits of NIH Research: Reaping What We Sow, Applying What We Know to Secure a Healthy Future for America."

NIH is dedicated to improving the health of Americans by conducting and funding medical research. NIH also trains scientists and communicates medical and health sciences information to patients, their families, health care providers and the general public.

Other presenters at the health forum include:

– "How Genetics Will Transform Medicine" – Francis Collins, MD, director, National Human Genome Institute

– "Boning Up for Life: Research Advances in Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis" – Stephen Katz, MD, director, National Institute of Arthritic & Musculoskeletal

– "Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: Can You Change Your Future?" – Judy Salerno, MD, deputy director, National Institute on Aging

– "Turning the Tide of the Diabetes Epidemic: Prevention is Possible" – Judith Fradkin, MD, director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

– "What You Know About Hypertension Could Save Your Life" – Barbara Alving, MD, deputy director, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

– "The Relationship of Diet, Weight and Physical Activity to Cancer Risk" – Richard Troiano, MD, research scientist and epidemiologist, National Cancer Institute

– "NIH: Your First Stop to Good Health Information" – Mary Moore, MD, National Library of Medicine

"We were very pleased to be contacted by Congressman Obey’s office regarding this wonderful opportunity for the Rice Lake community to meet with national experts from NIH," said Ned Wolf, president, Lakeview Medical Center, Rice Lake.

The places and times for the forum are as follows:

Friday, August 1, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m., WITC Conference Center, 1900 College Drive, Rice Lake
Friday August 1, 1– 3 p.m., WITC Conference Center, 600 N. 21st Street, Superior

Be sure and make your clinicians aware of this opportunity to listen to and meet with national experts on chronic conditions.

All are welcome to attend, but to help plan for seating, please RSVP to 715-842-5606, or contact Ann Lucas, 608-274-1820 or alucas@wha.org for more information.

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The Board of Commissioners of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) recently approved a "Universal Protocol" for preventing wrong site, wrong procedure, wrong person surgery. The Universal Protocol expands and integrates existing requirements under the 2003 and 2004 National Patient Safety Goals, and will apply to all operative and other invasive procedures. The principal components of the Universal Protocol include:

1. The pre-operative verification process

2. Marking of the operative site

3. Taking a "time out" immediately before starting the procedure; and

4. Adapting the requirement to non-operating room settings, including bedside procedures.

A three-week public comment period held earlier this year generated more than 3,000 responses from surgeons, nurses and other health care professionals, which were overwhelmingly supportive of the Universal Protocol. "This Universal Protocol asks health care organizations to set a goal of zero-tolerance for surgeries on the wrong site or on the wrong person, or the performance of the wrong surgical procedure," says Dennis L. O’Leary, MD, president, JCAHO. "These are occurrences which simply should never happen."

Compliance with the Universal Protocol will be required by all JCAHO accredited organizations providing surgical services beginning on July 1, 2004.

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It’s time to register for the 2003 Annual Convention: The Rise of Consumerism in Health Care, September 24-26 at the Grand Geneva. This year’s educational line-up includes a mix of national and state perspectives on the rise of quality and the infusion of consumerism in today’s health care system.

Martin Merry, MD, associate professor of health management at the University of New Hampshire and senior medical advisor to New Hampshire Hospital Association, kicks off the convention with a look at where today’s health care system came from, where it’s heading, and asks the question: Patient-Centered, Quality Health Care: Impossible Dream or Compelling Necessity? Hear about the emerging focus on quality in health care from the consumer perspective and about an interesting new incentive program paying physicians based on performance.

In addition to several concurrent sessions on Thursday afternoon, the highlight will be a roundtable made up of several providers and purchasers fielding questions from three news media reporters about rising costs and quality in health care.

Finally, plan to stay for a fascinating Friday morning program with Kent Jarrell, an expert in litigation communications. His experience with cases such as WorldCom’s bankruptcy, the Ford vs. Firestone fight, and his 20 plus years as a broadcast journalist covering everything from the Three Mile Island disaster to the Israel/Palestinian conflict, ensure an entertaining and fascinating presentation entitled, "Hospitals in the Crosshairs: Crisis Management and Communications."

Hospital administrators, management staff, nurse leaders, volunteer leaders, and trustees are encouraged to attend. The full conference brochure with registration information is included in this week’s packet and is available on the web site at www.wha.org. Ask for the WHA Annual Convention room block at the Grand Geneva when making your reservation. The special room rate will be available only until August 24.

On Wednesday, July 23, the Assembly Labor Committee held a public hearing on legislation adding crime victim’s leave to the types of employment leave that may be taken under Wisconsin’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Assembly Bill 269, introduced by Rep. Shirley Krug (D-Milwaukee) at the request of Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, requires businesses to provide unpaid leave to crime victims for the purposes of attending sentencing-related hearings and counseling. An employee taking leave may substitute paid leave for unpaid leave.

Under the bill, crime includes any prohibited conduct that is punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or both. In addition to the person against whom a crime has been committed, ’victim’ includes the parent or guardian of a victim who is incompetent or under 18, the designee of a victim who is physically or emotionally unable to exercise his or her rights, and family member(s) or person(s) who resided with a deceased victim.

Krug said the bill would guarantee victims the opportunity to fully participate in the judicial process, saying participation is part of the healing process. Attorney General Lautenschlager said she is not aware of any Wisconsin employees being disciplined or terminated after missing work to attend a court hearing, but said this bill would allow prosecutors to spend more time on case preparation rather than convincing employers to permit employees to miss work.

Opponents said the proposal leaves employer obligations unclear, leaves too many of the details to be resolved in litigation, and places an enormous financial burden on employers. John Metcalf, director of human resources policy for Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), pointed to the use of undefined standards in the bill and Wisconsin court cases, holding that paid leave under FMLA is not only leave accrued by an employee, but any leave provided by an employer even if the employee is not eligible for it. He said existing Wisconsin law prohibits employers from disciplining employees who miss work to testify at a court hearing, and argued the solution proposed in AB 269 is unnecessarily complex.

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As the legislature continued committee work this week, health issues were again at the forefront. During a hearing on Tuesday, July 22, the Assembly Health Committee collected information about the rising costs of Wisconsin’s Health Insurance Risk Sharing Plan (HIRSP). Invited speakers included representatives of the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS), the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI), and members of the HIRSP Board of Governors.

HIRSP provides major medical health care coverage for people who cannot obtain private insurance due to medical conditions, and for people who have lost employer-sponsored insurance. According to DHFS, enrollment more than doubled in the last five years while health care costs saw double-digit increases.

According to George Quinn, WHA senior vice president and member of the HIRSP Board of Governors, skyrocketing enrollments and increasing costs are putting tremendous pressure on providers and insurers who pay 40% of program costs through mandatory discounts and assessments. Policyholders pay the remaining 60%. State support of HIRSP ($10.2 million) was eliminated in the just-completed 2003-2005 state budget.

"It’s important that providers work with policy makers to investigate and identify ways to stabilize the HIRSP program," said Quinn. "The cost increases just aren’t sustainable."

Issues raised at the hearing included assessing self-funded insurance plans, replacing the current fiscal agent and administrator, and revamping the Board of Governors’ advisory role and granting it new oversight authority. Committee Chair, Rep. Gregg Underheim (R-Oshkosh), also sought more information about the role of pharmaceutical manufacturers in funding HIRSP.

Underheim said he hopes the committee can consider legislation to improve the HIRSP program this fall or next spring.

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On Tuesday, July 22, the Speaker’s Task Force on the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) held its second meeting. Task force members, which includes Philip Stuart, CEO at Tomah Memorial Hospital, heard from Paul Gabriel, executive director of the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association, about themes previously discussed including accountability of district board members and whether they should be appointed or elected. (See July 18 The Valued Voice article).

Gabriel said the advantage of appointing, rather than electing, volunteer boards members is ensuring that they are insulated from partisan politics, while continuing to be accountable to the communities they serve. He pointed to an application process for board members, defined three-year terms, and a duty to abide by state ethics and open meetings laws. Gabriel said only 13 states elect local board members.

In other comments, Gabriel stressed the crucial role of WTCS in efforts to improve Wisconsin’s economy by producing badly needed high-skilled workers. "For every public dollar that is put into the tech system, the state receives back two dollars in tax revenue - all within two years," said Gabriel.

In other discussions, the task force explored the differences between degrees and programs offered by technical colleges including the college parallel program, associate degree, technical diploma, and short-term vocational diploma. Task force members voiced a desire to avoid duplication between WTCS and the University of Wisconsin System two-year colleges, while providing training needed by Wisconsin workers and employers.

Accountability and duplication are just two of a number of issues the task force plans to discuss over the coming weeks and possibly months. Others include existing costs controls, administrative structure, local control versus centralized authority, and budget. It will meet again on August 5.

The task force, created by Assembly Speaker John Gard (R-Peshtigo) and chaired by Representatives Suzanne Jeskewitz (R-Menomonee Falls) and Gary Bies (R-Sister Bay), is charged with examining WTCS and making recommendations for improvements. For more information, contact Jodi Jensen at 608-274-1820 or jjensen@wha.org.

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On July 21, 2003 the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) announced its Board of Commissioners approved 2004 National Patient Safety Goals. Beginning January 1, 2004, all JCAHO-accredited health care organizations will be evaluated for compliance with the current six National Patient Safety Goals as well as a new National Patient Safety Goal to reducing the risk of health care-acquired infections. For each of the National Patient Safety Goals there are evidence-based requirements that set clear expectations for health care organizations to address specific types of health care errors. In addition to the new goal, the requirement of the second goal, to "read back" verbal and telephone orders to confirm their accuracy, has been expanded to include the "read back" of critical test results that are communicated verbally.

The 2004 National Patient Safety Goals and Requirements are:

Goal 1: Improve the accuracy of patient identification.

Requirements:

—Use at least two patient identifiers whenever taking blood samples, or administering medications or blood products.

—Prior to the start of any surgical or invasive procedure, conduct a final verification process, like a "time out", to confirm the correct patient, procedure and site using active communication techniques.**

Goal 2: Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers.

Requirements:

—Implement a process for taking verbal or telephone orders or critical test results that require a verification "read-back" of the order or test results by the person receiving the order or test results.

—Standardize the abbreviations, acronyms and symbols used throughout the organizations, including a list of abbreviations, acronyms and symbols not to use.**

Goal 3: Improve the safety of using high-alert medications.

Requirements:

—Remove concentrated electrolytes from patient care units.**

—Standardize and limit the number of drug concentrations available in the organization.

Goal 4: Eliminate wrong-site, wrong-patient and wrong-procedure surgery.

Requirements:

—Create a preoperative verification process to confirm that the appropriate documentation is available.

—Implement a process to mark the surgical site involving the patient in the marking process.**

Goal 5: Improve the safety of using infusion pumps.

Requirements:

—Ensure free-flow protection on all general-use and PCA IV pumps used in the organization.**

Goal 6: Improve the effectiveness of clinical alarm systems.

Requirements:

—Implement regular preventive maintenance and testing of alarm systems.

—Assure that alarms are activated with appropriate settings and are sufficiently audible within the unit.

Goal 7: Reduce the risk of health care-acquired infections.

Requirements:

—Comply with the current CDC hand-hygiene guidelines.

—Manage as sentinel events all identified cases of unanticipated death or major permanent loss of function associated with a health care-acquired infection.

** Requirement marked with a double asterisks are included in the WHA Public Reporting Program.

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The Senate Committee on Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care held a hearing July 22 on two bills recommended by a recent Legislative Council study committee on mental health parity.

At the Senate Health Committee hearing, supporters of the Senate Bills 71 and 72 including DHFS, the Wisconsin Medical Society (WMS), the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), and the Wisconsin Psychiatric Association stressed that the proposals are not mental health parity, but said they are a necessary step in that direction.

SB 71 provides that prescription drug and diagnostic testing costs are covered under the general health/drug benefit of an insurance policy, and not under the mandatory mental health and AODA benefit. SB 72 increases the mandated minimum benefit for mental health and AODA treatment based on the change in the consumer price index for medical services since 1985 (when coverage amounts in current law were enacted). In general, coverage increases from $7,000 to $16,800 for inpatient treatment; from $2,000 to $3,100 for outpatient treatment; and from $3,000 to $4,600 for transitional treatment.

According to Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) who co-chaired the Legislative Council, "increasing mental health insurance coverage will, in the end, save the state millions of dollars by maximizing worker productivity and reducing worker sick leave, and at the same time, help to ease the financial as well as psychological and emotional burdens faced by those individuals who suffer from mental illness and substance abuse."

Supporters expressed universal agreement on these points and said mental illness and substance abuse should be treated the same as other physical ailments by insurers.

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) testified in opposition to SB 72, arguing that it will cause the cost of health insurance to rise, jeopardizing access to health care in Wisconsin as increasing numbers of employers cannot afford to provide health insurance.

How is the employee any better off if insurance becomes so expense employers can’t provide any benefit at all?" asked R.J. Pirlot, WMC director of legislative relations. "Isn’t what’s available today better than that alternative?"

Pirlot said health insurance mandates hit small businesses the hardest, ultimately forcing them to stop providing health benefits to their employees. The Wisconsin Association of Health Underwriters (WAHU) has also expressed opposition to SB 72, but did not testify at the July 22 hearing.

Three Wisconsin VA hospitals are recognized as "Most Wired Network" hospitals in the U.S. VISN 12, which includes: VA Medical Center,Tomah; William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison; and Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, are listed on AHA’s Hospitals & Health Networks annual "Most Wired Network" list. The hospitals in VISN 12 were recognized for using advanced technologies that included computerized patient records and bar coded medication distribution.

This week’s packet includes an article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel written by reporter Don Behm that describes the design for the new St. Joseph’s Community Hospital as a "revolution in patient safety." Behm notes that the new St. Joseph’s design is promoted as "the nation’s first hospital designed around the concept of patient safety" in the current edition of ACHE’s magazine, Healthcare Executive.

St. Joseph’s has proposed relocating to a new medical center, with construction of the $55 million project expected to begin this fall. The anticipated opening of the new facility is in the fall of 2005.