News

Last week in this space, we shared our initial concerns about the American Health Care Act. This replacement legislation for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) had just been released. As we further analyzed the specifics of the bill and weighed that analysis against our established principal of preserving coverage for Washingtonians, we reached the conclusion that we cannot support it as currently structured.... Read More >>

A year ago, Providence Holy Family Hospital in Spokane began a partnership with the school across the street. The two had worked together in the past, but by reaching out, the hospital rekindled the connection. It began with a student art contest from the Lidgerwood Elementary School students to decorate a bare hallway in the hospital, and later the student choir joined hospital workers for their mission picnic and Christmas party.... Read More >>

We are excited to announce that James Reinertsen, M.D., will lead this year's CEO & Trustee Patient Safety Summit May 1 and 2. Dr. Reinertsen is an extraordinary leader in improving health care quality, and he brings terrific insight into how boards and executives can work together to make patients safer.... Read More >>

WSHA has received some questions from members about how recent executive orders on immigration may impact how hospitals and other health care facilities provide services. While WSHA has not prepared a comprehensive response, we have some resources and information that may be useful.... Read More >>

Rural communities comprise 19.3 percent of Washington State’s population. This is a rather small percentage compared to Washington’s urban population of 80.7 percent, but according to the National Rural Health Association, health care in rural communities presents challenges unlike those in urban areas. ... Read More >>

On March 3, WSHA Board Chair Elaine Couture of Providence Health & Services convened the WSHA Board for its first meeting of the year. This was also the first board meeting with new WSHA CEO Cassie Sauer at the helm. The board covered important topics including federal law changes pending with the Affordable Care Act and compliance work for the association’s Partnership for Patients contract.... Read More >>

Nathan Johnson, chief policy officer at the Health Care Authority (HCA), told the WSHA Public Policy Committee at its March meeting that the agency plans to spend $240 million this year on delivery system reform. The HCA will require the nine local Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs) to submit project proposals in September. Each ACH must submit four or more projects, including one on behavioral health integration and one on opioid overuse. ... Read More >>

Washington Hospital Services launched the LEAD Academy this week with a session at Samaritan Healthcare. Twenty-five people from 13 different hospitals spent the day exploring strategies to move from pure management into leadership, and how to effectively lead different kinds of people. Last week, Tri-State Memorial hospital kicked-off its internal LEAD Academy, with 32 managers from across the organization participating.... Read More >>

Wednesday, March 8 was the cutoff for bills to be voted out of their house of origin and move to the opposite house for consideration. There are a number of important bills still alive that WSHA both supports and opposes, including bills related to nurse staffing requirements, mental health providers' duty to warn, balance billing and flexibility in physician contracts.... Read More >>

WSHA hosted a webinar February 22 providing an overview of the NOTICE Act requirements and the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notification (MOON) form. The act requires hospitals, including critical access hospitals, to notify Medicare patients who have been placed in observation status. ... Read More >>