IHA Daily Briefing: September 24

IHA Compliance Webinars on Patient Rights, EMTALA, CAH CoPs

Compliance-focused webinars from IHA will offer insights into common challenges and citations, starting with "Patient Rights: Understanding Frequently Cited CMS Requirements " on Oct. 9. Veteran compliance expert Nancy Ruzicka will present the webinars, providing strategies to help meet federal regulations and avoid costly fines.

The patient rights webinar will address the most frequently cited areas, including provision of a safe care environment for patients at risk of suicide or who are being treated for behavioral health concerns. Notably, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Patient's Rights Conditions of Participation (CoPs) have been commonly cited among Illinois hospitals. Click here to register.

Ruzicka's webinar series will also take an in-depth look at federal regulations surrounding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) and CoPs for Critical Access Hospitals-with each series consisting of three webinars over three weeks. They are:

The EMTALA series will cover recent updates to CMS interpretive guidance; requirements for an adequate medical screening examination; behavioral health and obstetric emergency scenarios; recipient hospital responsibilities; and more. Click here to register.

The Critical Access Hospital (CAH) CoPs series will dive into updated regulations and guidelines in emergency preparedness, nutritional services, and care for obstetrical patients-even in CAHs without organized obstetrical services. Click here to register.

Staff contact: Bridget McCarte

IHA Summit: The Importance of Telling Your Hospital's Story

The public's view of hospitals and narratives leaders share have taken on greater importance as hospitals confront tremendous disruption. How is your hospital or health system responding? At IHA Leadership Summit, strategic communications expert Michael Hildebrand will discuss public perception and the importance of telling your hospital's story.

"Public trust in hospitals has declined. Many people believe hospitals are focused more on finances than patient care, and a growing number think the healthcare system needs fundamental reform. That makes telling the hospital story more important than ever," Hildebrand, Senior Vice President and Regional Health System Practice Lead with Jarrard, told IHA. "It's no longer enough to talk about what hospitals do. We have to demonstrate why it matters."

Hildebrand has spent over a decade of his 20 years of communications and operational experience in healthcare. His session, "Public Perception and the Importance of Telling Your Hospital's Story," on Oct. 2 will explore how hospitals can best convey their important role in communities and connect that story to stronger patient trust, access to care, and community health.

This year's Summit-held in Oak Brook Oct. 1-2-is just one week away. We encourage hospital and health system leaders who haven't registered yet to do so. You'll benefit from expert insights and practical strategies to address the challenges facing Illinois hospitals. Register today.

Staff contact: David Strickland

Funding Opportunity: Health System Approaches to Address Firearm Violence, Suicide

Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education is seeking to address firearm violence and firearm suicide, and to reduce their impact on communities most affected, by broadening the field of research to include more researchers and organizations focused explicitly on healthcare approaches to firearm violence and firearm suicide. In response, the Center will fund up to two projects with a maximum of $1.25 million each over three years that meaningfully engage communities in the rigorous evaluation of healthcare-based firearm violence and/or firearm suicide prevention or intervention strategies to inform healthcare systems change. The proposed evaluation research projects should:

• Focus on firearm violence and/or suicide prevention or intervention strategies.
• Inform healthcare systems change.
• Meaningfully engage with communities that have been the most impacted by firearm violence and/or firearm suicide across all phases of the evaluation research.
• Strengthen the firearm injury prevention research workforce.
• Plan for the translation and dissemination of findings across the funding period and beyond.

Click here for more information on eligibility, criteria and the application process. Eligible applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. CT. Select applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal in early December.

An informational webinar will be held on Friday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. CT. Click hereto register to learn more about the opportunity. A recording of the webinar will be linked here after Oct. 2.

Illinois Poison Center Highlights New Lessons on GLP-1 Medications

As the use of GLP-1 medications grows, the Illinois Poison Center is seeing more calls involving dosing errors, dehydration and related health concerns. In 2020, IPC had 29 GLP-1-related calls; last year it was over 500. In a recent blog post, IPC Medical Director Ben Weigel, MD, shares what clinicians are learning about these medications, including emerging evidence that they may reduce thirst and increase the risk of low blood pressure. He also explains why compounded products and multidose vials can lead to medication errors and offers practical guidance to help patients use GLP-1s safely. Click here to read more.

Illinois Respiratory Disease Surveillance Data

The Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) provides the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data. IDPH also tracks COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information through the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System dashboard.

Briefly Noted

Abiomed has issued a letter to affected customers recommending certain Automated Impella Controllers (AIC) be removed from where they are used or sold. Certain Impella Controllers that require hardware, firmware, and/or software updates to address quality issues could cause delay of therapy, inadequate or loss of hemodynamic result, and other serious issues. As of Sept. 8, Abiomed has not reported any serious injuries or deaths associated with this issue.

Ventec Life Systems Inc. has issued a letter to affected customers recommending updated use instructions and inspection procedures for all VOCSN ventilator devices with serial numbers 112786 and higher due to an issue that could affect the delivery of ventilation therapy. As of Aug. 12, React Health has not reported any serious injuries or deaths associated with this issue.

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