News

As I have said to my board, staff and members this week, it has been a privilege to serve as CEO of WSHA. I joined this great organization five years ago, after having been a member myself. Over the last five years, we have done amazing work with members and internally to help ensure our communities have access to high quality health services.... Read More >>

Scott Bond, who has been President and CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association since 2011, has announced he will retire in January of 2017. “It has been a great privilege to serve as CEO of WSHA,” Bond said. “As I have said to my board and my staff, there is much yet to accomplish in the months ahead, and I’ll be devoting my full energy to advancing our ambitious goals."... Read More >>

Both the state and federal government are adopting bundled payments for total hip and knee replacements as an attempt to move to value-based purchasing. On March 17, the state Health Care Authority (HCA) announced that Virginia Mason Hospital & Medical Center will serve as its center of excellence for state employees and others covered under the Public Employees Benefits Board plan. Beginning in January 2017, the HCA will provide incentives for their employees to select Virginia Mason for this procedure.... Read More >>

Recent member news from the March 24, 2016 Weekly Report.... Read More >>

MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital’s Children’s Therapy Unit (CTU) is celebrating its 50th anniversary of operation this year, celebrating a half century of offering a unique and necessary service to its community. The unit helps infants, children and adolescents with special needs — such as autism, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy — become as functional and independent as possible. The unit sees about 2,500 patients for year, which equates to roughly 40,000 total visits.... Read More >>

Washington Hospital Services Industry Partner InSight Telepsychiatry will host a webinar March 31 at 1 pm to on Best Practices for Implementing Telepsychiatry in Your Hospital. InSight will share its experience in helping healthcare organizations across the country set up and implement telepsychiatry programs and what it sees as best practices.... Read More >>

On March 9, Steven Saxe, R.Ph, FACHE was named the acting executive director for the Washington State Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission. He will replace Lisa Hodgson, who formerly held the position. Steven is a graduate of the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and previously served as the executive director for the then Pharmacy Board in 2004.... Read More >>

The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is considering changes to its administrative policy on rest breaks. L&I is considering a new requirement of a rest break standard provided in a single “blocked” period of time. Currently, intermittent rest breaks are allowed. The changes they are considering would affect hospital employees as well as all non-agricultural workers.... Read More >>

Washington Hospital Services is please to introduce Numina Transcription, Inc. to the Industry Partner Program. Numina brings an approach to transcription that allows it to offer flexible solutions that insure quality, rapid turnaround time and competitive pricing for members looking for options in this area.... Read More >>

On April 28 from 10:00-11:30 a.m., HCA will be hosting webinar to provide hospital staff an explanation of the quarterly hospital reports HCA sent each facility as part of its Potentially Preventable Readmissions (PPR) program, which replaces denial of individual inpatient readmissions with prospective adjustments to inpatient payment rates. ... Read More >>