News

Providence St. Mary Medical Center has received a grant of nearly $29,000 from the Susan G. Komen Foundation of Eastern Washington that will fund advances in breast cancer prevention for women in the Walla Walla Valley. The grant will supplement the hospital’s Life Saver Fund — which provides free mammograms to low-income women — by increasing the scope of its services and increasing outreach to the local Hispanic population.... Read More >>

A few weeks ago, Carol Wagner announced that WSHA received a federal contract to do rapid-cycle patient safety improvement in our state. This multi-million-dollar contract provides the energy needed to make big progress on health care’s trickiest problems, including healthcare-acquired infections, falls, health disparities and more.... Read More >>

The Health Care Authority (HCA) recently sent hospitals new agreements to provide protections from reductions to regular Medicaid payment for the period when hospitals are participating in the Hospital Safety Net Assessment program. The new safety net law, passed during the most recent legislative session, requires HCA to offer hospitals an agreement giving the hospital a remedy should the state reduce payments under the program.... Read More >>

Hospitals and clinics often struggle to find ways to finance the acquisition of medical equipment and technology to meet the needs of their patients. Join us on Monday, Nov. 2 at noon to learn how Kingsbridge Healthcare Finance provides leading-edge leasing products that produce cost-effective financing.... Read More >>

Senior Vice President for Operations and Membership Katie Holmes will be leaving WSHA in mid-November. Katie has led a wide variety of projects at WSHA, and her energy and enthusiasm for this work has been significant. She will be missed, and we wish her and her family all the best in their new adventures!... Read More >>

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange announced last week that 1.5 million Washingtonians accessed health coverage through wahealthplanfinder.org between Oct. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2015.... Read More >>

WSHA has joined other health care associations to file an amicus curiae (Friend of the Court) brief in the case of Volk v. DeMeerleer. The case before the Washington State Supreme Court addresses the scope of the duty of medical providers to warn third parties when a patient makes vague threats of violence but no actual threat to an identifiable victim.... Read More >>

Mental health providers, pharmacists and primary care providers have an opportunity to be eligible for student loan repayment funds through the newly re-instituted state loan repayment program, the Health Professional Loan Repayment Program (HPLRP). This new program is offered in addition to the continuing federal National Health Service Corps, and the Federal-State Loan Repayment Program (FSLRP).... Read More >>

Honoring Choices Pacific Northwest held a kickoff event Oct. 23 for teams that will begin implementing advance care planning in their organizations. More than 110 participants from across Washington State came together to learn more about the first steps needed to program implementation. The groups in this first cohort include hospitals, health systems and medical groups of all sizes, representing all areas of the state.... Read More >>

Since our last update at the end of September, several more members have reached their individual hospital goals in the 2015 PAC Campaign. The WHPAC plays a critical role in supporting the campaigns for hospital and health care champions.... Read More >>