"While we are getting closer to achieving the goal, the campaign is still short almost $30,000 towards the goal with the primary elections less than a week away and the general elections less than two months away," according to WHA’s Vice President of Government Affairs Jodi Bloch.

Over the course of the last two weeks, individual contributors have donated almost $14,000 to the political action fundraising campaign. 521 individuals affiliated with 69 hospitals have raised to date over $157,000 accounting for almost 85 percent of the 2006 fundraising campaign’s $185,000 monetary goal.

Persons contributing this year have been and will continue to be published in The Valued Voice on a monthly basis. Contributors are listed by amount categories and in the order the contribution was received. The next list of contributors will be published in next week’s edition of The Valued Voice.

For more information, contact Jenny Boese or Jodi Bloch at 608-274-1820.

For the past year and a half, WHA and the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC) have been working with the Bureau of Quality Assurance (BQA) to improve the hospital survey process. The surveys, which are conducted by BQA to assess whether hospitals are in compliance with licensure and life/safety code requirements, have been a source of some concern on the part of hospitals. Much of the concern has centered on the apparent lack of consistency in applying the rules, or in not understanding how rules might be applied in a survey.

One important improvement is the communication of survey results. BQA has begun providing WHA and RWHC quarterly summaries of citations made during the surveys. In turn, we are making these summaries available to members so that they can see how BQA applies the rules, and be better prepared for the surveys. The summary for the first quarter of 2006 is available at www.wha.org/financeAndData/pdf/hospcitationreport_1stquarter2006.pdf. While it is somewhat lengthy and technical, we believe that it does provide some insight into how BQA applies rules in its surveys. We would appreciate any comments members may have regarding the summaries.

Next task: Improving plan reviews! Hospitals have also had some difficulties with how their renovation/remodeling projects have been handled by BQA. For example, plans that have been submitted to BQA may receive approval only to have the surveying engineer find problems upon reviewing the completed project. WHA has convened a technical advisory group comprised of architects, engineers, and contractors to provide input to WHA and BQA about their specific concerns so that we can begin to improve the plan review process. Updates will be provided on this project in future Valued Voice articles. Comments or questions regarding WHA’s projects with BQA should be directed to George Quinn or Laura Leitch at 608-274-1820.

With strong support from the Wisconsin Council on Medical Education and Workforce (WCMEW), the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine (WARM) will accept its first five students this fall, according to Byron Crouse, MD, associate dean, rural and community health. UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Academic Planning Council, which is the governing body for the Medical School, approved the plan that will add five students per year until WARM reaches its goal to have 25 medical students in the program. This will increase the UW Medical School class size 16 percent, a move that received high compliments from the Council.

"The University of Wisconsin Medical School is to be commended for their foresight in developing this innovative, unique program that will benefit rural Wisconsin by recruiting students today who are most likely to practice in rural areas," said Chuck Shabino, MD, WHA’s senior medical advisor. "UW Medical School’s move to increase the size of their medical school class as Wisconsin and the nation face an unprecedented physician shortage demonstrates their desire to be part of the solution in preserving patient access to care."

Over the past 18 months, WCMEW has focused on the need to promote, train, and retain physicians to practice in rural settings. The WARM is a significant step forward in helping to address the shortage of physicians in rural areas, according to Shabino. At the same time, the Council remains committed to facilitating and promoting adequate and sustainable graduate medical education funding for residency training programs in Wisconsin, which play a key role in attracting physicians to practice here.

The first physician workforce report, "Who Will Care for our Patients?" quickly became a source document that characterized the current physician workforce in Wisconsin. One goal in the report’s Plan for Action was to develop care delivery models that enhance and leverage physician resources. One way to accomplish this, according to report, would be to expose students to delivery models that utilized the skills of advanced practice providers. The Council decided it would further examine how advanced practice professionals (APPs) can be best utilized and anticipate the demand for these professionals in the future. The Council directed WHA staff to identify opportunities and barriers in the current delivery system that may now prevent the most effective use of these professionals.

Since the first report was issued on the physician workforce, the Council noted that the health care environment has continued to change and because of this, WCMEW asked staff to issue an updated report by the end of 2007. Where physicians are practicing, their anticipated retirements and future practice plans all must be known to accurately forecast if supply will meet demand.

The Wisconsin Staff Physician Recruiters presented at the Council meeting and said that ties to Wisconsin, whether they be family, spouse, or being educated in Wisconsin, are keys in being able to attract physicians to practice here. The recruiters said 60 percent of the physicians they attract have been out of residency for two or more years, indicating that opportunities exist to enhance recruitment of physicians who have left the state. The Council members felt that a better system must be in place that would apprise these physicians of the positions that are open in Wisconsin. This discussion led to a recommendation that WCMEW facilitate the development of a Web site portal that would provide a single source where physicians could find all practice opportunities in the state and link directly to the organizations that are recruiting to fill these vacancies. The portal would then be promoted by health care organizations and WHA alike.

Labor Day traditionally marks the start of the fall election campaign…or at least the time of year when a majority of voters actually begin paying attention to the candidates and their messages.

In Wisconsin, the 2006 election campaigns include a variety of competitive races. Most observers believe that the gubernatorial campaign and the attorney general races will be highly competitive and increasingly nasty. There are probably four highly competitive campaigns for the Wisconsin Senate and at least a half dozen Assembly races that are expected to be close. And don’t forget about the 8th Congressional District…an open seat with two well-funded candidates. The outcome of that Congressional race could be significant nationally as Democrats seek to regain a majority in the House of Representatives.

Wisconsin hospitals and health system leaders are already involved in fundraising activities and in individual campaigns across the state. Health care issues will be one of the top three or four issue priorities discussed over the next eight weeks. Here are several messages that can be used with candidates:

• Wisconsin’s future physician workforce is likely to be inadequate to care for our aging population. Future recruitment and retention of Wisconsin physicians requires a favorable tort environment, including caps on damages and a strong Patient Compensation Fund.
  
• Higher tobacco taxes are necessary to reduce teenage smoking and fund Wisconsin’s woefully under-funded Medicaid and BadgerCare programs. Poor provider payment that ranks among the lowest in the nation threatens future access and results in a growing "hidden tax" on health insurance premiums.
  
• Tout the community benefits provided by your hospital to your community. Current and future lawmakers need to hear of the special mission-driven activities that not-for-profit hospitals perform daily for their communities.

• Reinforce the notion of Wisconsin’s leadership in private sector transparency initiatives that measure and report health care quality and safety. These provider and purchaser supported activities place Wisconsin "ahead of the pack" and are promising endeavors that will improve performance and lower health care costs.

• Finally, be sure to question candidates who offer up "sound bite" solutions to the difficult health care costs issue. Health care reform must stress prevention, management of high-cost chronic conditions, improving clinical efficiency, and the embrace of best practices that will improve patient outcomes. This kind of "reform" can’t be easily legislated…but it can and should be encouraged.

Steve Brenton
President

Ever wonder where to access information on WHA legislative issues or grassroots advocacy tools? The Speak Up/HEAT Web pages include all of this information and more.

One of the newer additions to the web page is a "bill tracking" section. This section allows individuals to see the issues or bills WHA is lobbying on and then determine where those issues are in the process. The grassroots advocacy portion of WHA’s Web site will also allow you to:

• Instantly email your legislators from your own computer,
• Find out who your legislators are,
• Access a complete legislative directory,
• Learn about WHA’s premier grassroots event, Advocacy Day, and
• Find out what grassroots activities other hospitals are working on.

Additionally, the HEAT Grassroots Handbook is now available online. Excerpts from each of the chapters, such as how to effectively communicate with legislators and utilize the media, can be viewed under "Guide to Grassroots Advocacy."

The Grassroots Handbook was created to inform and educate HEAT members on how to positively impact the legislative process on behalf of their hospitals and communities.

If you are not a HEAT member but would like to join the program and receive your complimentary copy of the Grassroots Handbook, please contact Jenny Boese at 608-268-1816 or jboese@wha.org. Members of the HEAT program can receive a complimentary copy of this publication by also contacting Jenny Boese.

To learn more about how you and your hospital can engage in HEAT grassroots, log onto www.wha.org/speakUp/default.aspx.

With the Legislature out of session and legislators back in their home districts, hospitals have had a perfect opportunity to host local legislators for a visit. Dozens of hospitals have been doing just that over the past few months.

Hosting legislators is a staple grassroots activity and provides an excellent way of building positive hospital-legislative relationships. Not only does it allow for this relationship building, but it also allows for hospital employees to learn first hand about how health care issues fared in the Legislature.

Recent or Upcoming Visits:

• Sen. Grothman & Rep. Strachota at St Joseph’s (Synergy - West Bend)
• Sen. Brown & Rep. Kreibich at Sacred Heart (Eau Claire)
• Rep. Gene Hahn at Columbus Community
• Rep. Gard at St. Elizabeth (Appleton)
• Rep. Freese at Sauk Prairie Memorial (Prairie du Sac)
• Rep. Mary Williams at Memorial Health (Medford)
• Sen. Plale at Columbia St Mary’s (Milwaukee)
• Sen. Schultz at Boscobel
• Rep. Judy Krawczyk at St. Vincent’s (Green Bay)

A legislative visit can also include a tour of the facility and/or separate meetings with other key hospital staff on issues of interest. If your hospital is considering inviting a local legislator to visit, keep these tips in mind:

• Mondays or Friday mornings work best for legislators to visit
• Keep visit between 60-90 minutes at most
• Consider including a tour of the hospital, new wing, piece of technology equipment, etc.
• Provide agenda for the legislator in advance
• Contact Jenny Boese at WHA for assistance in scheduling or planning a visit.

Developing strong patient relationships with high levels of satisfaction is challenging, but is a realistic goal. On November 16, WHA is offering a one-and-a-half hour audio conference entitled, "Service Recovery Skills to Restore Patient Satisfaction," focused on helping hospital staff respond to complaints with greater ease, and in a way that helps you preserve, and even improve, the patient relationship.

Participants will gain insight into best practices in service recovery, develop effective responses to specific patient complaints, learn what to do and say when the patient is wrong, outline techniques to prevent escalation in difficult situations, develop responses you can choose from when patients complain about billing, service quality, their environment, your colleagues, and communication.

Those who should consider participation include front line, administrative professionals, as well as mid-level managers and clinicians, who have daily and direct contact with patients – whether face-to-face, over the phone or in writing. This includes nurses, physicians, nursing assistants, physician assistants, patient care representatives, admissions staff, outpatient services staff, ancillary services, office managers, emergency room personnel, in-home care providers, and any managers responsible for patient care and performance/quality improvement.

For more information about the content or to register, visit the education section of WHA’s Web site at www.wha.org. The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, November 16, from 9-10:30 a.m. CST, and the fee to participate is $169 per site.

Westfields Hospital reaches out to the community in many ways beyond traditional inpatient and outpatient care. One example of how the Westfields Hospital is reaching out to meet the health care needs of the community can be seen at the area YMCA.

Rosemary is an active senior citizen who regularly exercises at the YMCA. It wasn’t always that way. Rosemary admits to not really liking exercising. She was introduced to an exercise program following a heart attack in 1989. She completed the cardiac rehabilitation program at the hospital, and did a few adult fitness classes, but eventually she just quit. "I guess I got lazy and just didn’t want to do it anymore," says Rosemary. "You know, as soon as you start feeling better after a heart attack, it’s human nature to stop exercising. The opportunity was there to exercise, but it wasn’t a structured program, and I didn’t feel motivated to continue," she adds.

In January, Rosemary suffered a second heart attack. "I was hospitalized 11 days and received a bi-ventricular defibrillator/pacemaker. I completed a monitored cardiac rehabilitation program at Westfields Hospital and after ‘graduating’ I came directly to the Y to continue my exercise routine."

Through a partnership with the YMCA, Westfields Hospital provides a staff member at the YMCA three days a week to offer encouragement and support for those who have chronic health concerns such as cardiac and pulmonary conditions. There are no additional fees charged for health assessments or exercise counseling. It’s just one of the many ways in which Westfields Hospital supports the health of this community.

"A lot of us recovering from heart attacks or surgeries don’t know what our hearts can do," says Rosemary. "We don’t have the confidence yet to exercise on our own, and yet exercise is exactly what we need. The YMCA has the same types of machines as the hospital cardiac rehabilitation department. Pam, an LPN from Westfields Hospital, checks my blood pressure and oxygen levels before and after I exercise. More importantly, it’s reassuring to me to know that Pam’s there if I would have trouble. I don’t think I’d have had the courage to start exercising on my own without her support."

Westfields Hospital provides clinical staff Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the YMCA as a service to the community. "We have this big window of time which gives me a lot of flexibility to exercise and still do all the other things I want to do," says Rosemary.

Rosemary says she’s kept up her exercises now for three months, and "I don’t think I’m going to quit this time. I don’t think I can afford not to exercise anymore. After awhile you miss not coming. Plus, with someone from the hospital watching out for me, I have to be accountable! If I don’t show up, Pam will wonder why I’m not there – and even give me a call to find out if anything’s wrong."

Rosemary says she has the confidence now to use the exercise machines when hospital staff is not available. "It’s so important for senior citizens to exercise regularly. I don’t know if it adds longevity to our lives, but it sure helps you feel better and have more energy. Just like we brush our teeth and comb our hair each day, exercise should be part of our daily routine. This community needs to know there are resources available to them thanks to the partnership between Westfields Hospital and the YMCA."

Late last year when Mary Ann Reeves of Black River Falls knew she was dying she had one wish – for her family to all be together for one last holiday gathering.

Knowing her house was too small to accommodate 22 people, she searched the Internet and found Jellystone Park in Warrens. Under the care of Black River Memorial Hospice, Reeves discussed this with her nurse, Shawn Callisto, who shared Reeves’ wish with hospice staff and Liz Lund, business development coordinator at the hospital. Lund made some calls and arranged for a weekend get-away for the family in three connecting villas at Jellystone Park, at a substantially reduced rate because of the special situation.

Reeves died December 30 before the arranged weekend, but her family decided to go ahead with the plans and give them a chance to reflect and support one another. So, on January 27, the entire family met at Jellystone Park and stayed for two nights, remembering their wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. They spent time together enjoying each other, great food and Yogi Bear’s water park.

Reeves’ daughter Kim Chase, also of Black River Falls, says there was great comfort in bringing everyone together. "We enjoyed our time honoring Mom’s last wish," says Chase. "We spent time remembering her, and even though she wasn’t with us physically, we knew she was with us in some special way."

Chase says that the experience she and her family had with hospice was wonderful. "The hospice team really made a difficult time much easier for all of us," she says. "The staff’s caring treatment of mom, their communication that kept us informed, and all of the support services they provided were so great. They became a part of our family. We would definitely recommend hospice for end-of-life care, for the patient and the family."

Columbus Community Hospital recently donated more than one-half acre of land on its campus for the construction of a wellness walkway to benefit patients, visitors, and community members.

The CCH Wellness Walkway, which will encircle the hospital’s campus, will feature a one-half mile walking path, 10 exercise stations, tranquil landscaping, and benches. Physical Therapy and Cardiac Rehab patients will have the opportunity to augment their therapy. Visitors will have a place to relax and enjoy a scenic walk. Community members will have a safe place to walk and exercise. No bicycles, skateboards, or inline skates will be allowed on the walkway. Weather permitting, the full walkway will be open in the spring, summer and fall, with portions of the walkway open during the winter months.

The walkway was planned as part of Columbus Community Hospital’s mission, ‘to identify and meet the health care and wellness needs of the people and the communities we serve.’ While Columbus Community Hospital was prepared to assume full cost of the project, community members have shown their support and excitement of the project by donating funds to the walkway. Over 75 percent of the walkway will be funded by the hospital, with the remaining funds coming from various donors.

Opening of the walkway will coincide with the hospital’s 100-year anniversary celebration, scheduled for June 23, 2007. Columbus Community Hospital has served Columbus and the nine surrounding communities since 1907.

"The CCH Wellness Walkway is not only a commemoration of the 100 years the hospital has served Columbus and the surrounding communities, but a step toward the future of promoting health and wellness to our community members, employees, physicians, and volunteers," said Ed Harding, CCH President and CEO.

Submit hospital community benefit stories to Mary Kay Grasmick, editor, mgrasmick@wha.org or call 608-274-1820.

MHA Insurance Company entered the Wisconsin market in 2004 to provide professional liability insurance to hospitals and physicians. Since that time, the company has built a strong relationship with WHA Financial Solutions, Inc. and has shown support to Wisconsin hospitals as a corporate champion of the Wisconsin Hospital Association. In addition, nine Wisconsin health care facilities have partnered with MHA Insurance Company to meet their professional liability insurance needs.

To further demonstrate its long-term commitment to the state, MHA Insurance Company is pleased to announce that Matt Wahoske, CPA, has joined the company as Wisconsin managing director. Wahoske is a Badger state native, living in Waunakee, and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. His background includes more than 16 years of insurance company and agency experience in the professional medical liability insurance industry. He has finance and operations experience including risk management, underwriting and sales. Wahoske joins our current Wisconsin service team, which includes Kim Hoppe, risk management consultant, and Brad Leeser and Jake Jacobi, claims consultants. The company feels fortunate to have him as part of its team.

A contributing factor to the success of MHA Insurance Company continues to be the claims and risk management package that is offered with each primary insurance policy through The Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute (RM&PSI). The risk management service package that MHA Insurance Company offers is more comprehensive than any other package offered by an insurance company in the Midwest. In addition, the RM&PSI offers nearly 60 products and services to meet the risk management and patient safety needs of all health care organizations around the United States.

Contact Matt regarding your facility’s current professional liability insurance situation at 608-469-8590 or mwahoske@mhaic.com. MHA Insurance Company looks forward to continuing to build relationships with Wisconsin health care providers.

If you’re visiting Madison for the Badger football game Saturday, be aware that it’s a special day for one of your colleagues. In honor of Terri Potter’s many contributions to Madison’s quality of life and the event of his birthday, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz declared September 9, 2006, Terri Potter Day.

In addition, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, the State Legislature and U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin recently sent proclamations recognizing Potter’s 35 years of leadership at Meriter Health Services and many local state and federal health initiatives. In January, Potter announced his intent to retire by early 2007.

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