National Preparedness Month

September 4, 2014

How do you get ready for the worst? And how do you help other people get ready for the worst?

That’s the challenge given to all of us as part of National Preparedness Month. While it can be scary to think about, we all have to be ready to take care of ourselves, and then reach out to others. If you’re a board member, executive or manager, the preparedness challenge is even greater: You have to prepare yourself, your team, and your organization to be severely disrupted.

The good news is that you aren’t doing it alone. WSHA has been helping hospitals prepare for disaster for years, by contracting with the state Department of Health to administer millions of dollars in equipment, communications, and training to assist hospitals with preparedness.  The federal government’s approach is changing, and we’re changing with it. We expect to be focusing more on regional projects that will foster interdependency and collaboration among all disaster response partners, including health care providers.

This week’s National Preparedness Month theme is how to reconnect with your family after a disaster. This is a great planning exercise for managers and their teams to do, because it’s going to be everyone’s first instinct in the wake of a disaster. It’s very hard to expect people to work if they don’t know if their children or aging parents are safe. We may not be able to prevent events such as landslides, fires, and earthquakes, but we can be more prepared for them, and through preparedness, give ourselves some peace of mind.

Scott Bond
WSHA President and CEO
ScottB@wsha.org

DOH Releases Stakeholder Draft of New Hospital Construction Standards

The Department of Health has released an initial draft of possible revisions to hospital licensing construction standards.  Interested parties may submit comments by September 22, 2014.  The DOH asks that anyone proposing changes use the Rules Proposal Form from the department’s website.  You can click here for a link to this form, and for more information. (Barbara Gorham, barbarag@wsha.org)

New Patient Safety Tools and Resources Available Now!

As our efforts to improve patient safety across the board progress, we are continually adding new tools and resources to our Patient Safety Web pages. Here are some of the more recent pages that feature new tools, guides and videos:

Our dynamic, interactive and helpful pages are updated frequently so be sure to check them often. You can find the Partnership for Patients Measures here, LEAPT measures here and general patient safety here. Rebecca Snyders (rebeccas@wsha.org)

Bree Welcomes Dr. Kimberly Moore to the Collaborative

We are excited to announce that Dr. Kimberly Moore, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Franciscan Health System has been officially appointed to the Dr. Robert Bree Collaborative as WSHA’s nominee. The Collaborative was created in 2011 to bring together health care purchasers, health plans, health care providers, hospitals, and quality improvement organizations for the purpose of improving quality and affordability in Washington State. Her presence on the Collaborative will be a huge benefit for both organizations as we work toward achieving a high-quality, affordable, and sustainable health care system for all Washington residents. (Ian Corbridge,ianc@wsha.org)

Warning: Working in Health Care Can be Hazardous to Your Health

When a hospital worker is injured, it not only means lost wages and work days, but financial loss for the hospital and disruption of patient care. Yet hospital employees suffer more work-related injuries and illnesses than workers in any other industry. As part of the Leading Edge Advance Practice Topics (LEAPT) initiative, nine WSHA member hospitals are collaborating to make hospitals safer places to work.

Since January 2014 this diverse group of hospitals has been working to find innovative ways of promoting a culture of safety in their workplaces and to develop and implement a bundle of best practices. These strategies include leadership engagement and rounding, safety huddles, and increasing communication and awareness about safety with staff. This group is also working to enhance existing hospital safety programs, policies and committees at their facilities.

The results to date are impressive. All nine hospitals have achieved reductions in their injury rates since the beginning of the year and the combined injury rate among all hospitals is down by 13% from last year.

For more information, tools and resources visit the Hospital and Worker Culture of Safety Web page. Shoshanna Handel (shoshannah@wsha.org)

Nominations for 27th Annual Joe Hopkins Memorial Award Due September  12

The Joe Hopkins Memorial Award was created in 1987 to acknowledge an individual who displays the spirit of Joe Hopkins’ vision and dedication to Washington’s hospitals, with a special focus on his interest in rural health. As in the past, the award will be presented at the Washington State Hospital Association 2014 Annual Meeting, October 15-16, 2014. Find more information or submit a nomination, please look here.  (Jeff Mero, jeffm@awphd.org)

Community Health Leadership Award Nominations Also Due September 12!

WSHA’s Hospital Governing Boards Committee invites health care organizations to nominate themselves or others for the 2014 Community Health Leadership Award. This award was created in 1993 by the committee to acknowledge health care organizations whose governance leadership best serves their community’s broader health needs in an “above and beyond” manner.  In this era where health care organizations are increasingly called upon to address the health needs of their community’s population, we’re particularly interested in projects that go beyond an organization’s expected strategic plan. Visit WSHA’s Community Health Leadership Award website for past winners, sample nominations and 2014 application materials. The due date for nominations is Friday, September 12. The winner will be recognized during WSHA’s Annual Meeting in October in Seattle. (Deborah Swets,deborahs@wsha.org)

 

WSHA’s Annual Meeting:  Embracing Disruptive Change in Health Care Features Medical Techno Wiz Daniel Kraft, MD

Join hospital and health system leaders from across Washington State at the WSHA Annual Meeting on October 15 and 16 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle. Among the national and local leaders featured will be Daniel Kraft, MD, an engaging entrepreneur in how technology is disruptively changing the way we will be providing health care into the future.  Dr. Kraft has been in clinical practice, biomedical research, and healthcare innovation for over 20 years.  He is the Executive Director for FutureMed, a program which explores convergent, exponentially developing technologies and their potential in biomedicine and healthcare. Read more about his work here.

Hotel rooms are going fast! Contact the Edgewater Hotel – Hotel Direct: (206) 728-7000 or Reservations:(800) 624-0670 or the Seattle Waterfront Marriott Hotel – Hotel Direct: (206) 443-5000, or Reservations (800) 228-9290 and ask for the “Washington State Hospital Association Room Block.”  Discount room rates end September 22, 2014.

Register now for WSHA’s 82nd Annual Meeting at www.wsha.org. For more information, contact Cynthia Hay, (206) 216-2526 or cynthiah@wsha.org.

Also register for the October 14 Skills Building Intensive for Trustees and Commissioners, plus the Optional Orientation Basics for New Trustees and Commissioners at the Edgewater Hotel.  For more information, contact Deborah Swets, (206) 216-2865or deborahs@wsha.org.

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