News

Registration will open Monday, April 3 for WSHA and AWPHD’s Rural Hospital Leadership Conference June 25-28 at Campbell’s Resort in Chelan. We have another great lineup of speakers this year, including Dr. Pritpal Tamber (Co-Founder & CEO of Bridging Health & Community at The University of Birmingham in London), John Wiesman (Washington State Secretary of Health) and Maryjane Wurth (Chief Strategy and Relationship Officer for the American Hospital Association, and President and CEO of Health Forum).... Read More >>

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine presents a strategy to reduce hepatitis B and C as a public health problem by 2030. The report calls for a coordinated federal effort to eliminate viral hepatitis, including working with states to build a comprehensive system of care and support for special populations with hepatitis B and C on the scale of the Ryan White system. ... Read More >>

Recent member news from the March 30, 2017 Weekly Report.... Read More >>

In a new podcast hosted by AHA’s Physician Leadership Forum and Hospitals Against Violence initiative, Carilion Clinic Chief Medical Officer Patrice Weiss, M.D., shares how the Roanoke, VA, health care organization is working with others in the community to prevent child abuse and domestic violence.... Read More >>

The Washington State House of Representatives released its proposed budget March 27 for the 2017-2019 biennium. Like the Senate’s budget released the week prior, the House budget includes solid support for WSHA’s priorities. It calls for no cuts to Medicaid payments for hospital-based clinics, includes the hospital safety net assessment, includes good funding for mental health care and reform, and appropriates Medicaid waiver funds (which was mostly not included in the Senate budget).... Read More >>

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on March 24 issued information on training and testing requirements under its final rule establishing new emergency preparedness requirements for Medicare and Medicaid-participating health care facilities.... Read More >>

We all breathed a sigh of relief last Friday when the U.S. House of Representatives did not move forward with the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which was the GOP-drafted legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka “Obamacare”). We are grateful to our state’s congressional delegation for taking the time to understand the issues and the potential impacts the legislation could have had on our state’s communities. We believe the House made the right move by not moving forward.... Read More >>

Having a baby hurts. This is one of the most well-known facts of humanity, yet only those who have given birth will know exactly what it means. To mitigate the pain, Deaconess Hospital in Spokane became the first hospital in its region — and one of the few in Washington State — to offer Nitrous Oxide (“laughing gas”) to expectant mothers in labor. Having a baby hurts. This is one of the most well-known facts of humanity, yet only those who have given birth will know exactly what it means. To mitigate the pain, Deaconess Hospital in Spokane became the first hospital in its region — and one of the few in Washington State — to offer Nitrous Oxide (“laughing gas”) to expectant mothers in labor. ... Read More >>

Washington Hospital Services Industry Partner H-Source has developed an innovative solution that can help WSHA members reduce waste by controlling their inventories. H-Source provides a private cloud-based marketplace where you can buy and sell unused devices, pharmaceuticals and equipment, not only reducing waste but also recouping what would otherwise be loss.... Read More >>

“We were glad to see the House of Representatives make the decision to not move the American Health Care Act forward," said Chris Bandoli, Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Government Affairs for the Washington State Hospital Association. "This bill would have forced millions of Americans to lose their health insurance and would have made health coverage more expensive and less attainable to millions more.... Read More >>