Conference resources from WSHA & AWPHD's 41st Annual Rural Hospital Leadership Conference.... Read More >>

We are less than two weeks away from converging on the beautiful town of Chelan for WSHA and AWPHD’s 41st Annual Rural Hospital Leadership Conference. Planning started before 2017 even started, and this is an outstanding event.... Read More >>

North Valley Hospital has launched a vocational program for the community’s high school students that prepares them over the course of a semester to take the state’s certified nursing assistant (CNA) exam to receive their professional license. The course can also be carried over for college credit, which is especially helpful for students who plan to study nursing in college.... Read More >>

Online registration for WSHA and AWPHD’s 41st Annual Rural Hospital Leadership Conference in Chelan will close next Monday June 19. After online registration closes, registration will only be available on-site at the Campbell’s Resort during the event June 25-28. ... Read More >>

Grays Harbor and Klickitat counties will have no individual health care insurance options in 2018, according to information filed with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) last week. Based on the filings, residents will have no options on the Washington Health Benefit Exchange or individual market. Commissioner Kreidler and his staff are engaged in negotiations to see if a willing insurer can be found.... Read More >>

Healthier Washington recently released the final report of the Rural Health Innovation Accelerator Committee (RHIAC), entitled “A New Vision For Rural Health in Washington.”  Jacqueline Barton True participated in the RHIAC, along with WSHA members Eric Moll, CEO of Mason General Hospital, and Linda Gipson, Chief, Quality and Transformation Officer at WhidbeyHealth. ... Read More >>

Falls and associated injuries remain a serious patient safety problem, with between 700,000 and 1 million people falling in the hospital each year, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Up to 51 percent of falls result in injury or significant trauma, and they are the leading cause of injury-related deaths for adults older than 65. Several evidence-based interventions have been designed to prevent falls and associated injuries, and WSHA has resources that can help.... Read More >>

The Health Care Authority (HCA) announced that statewide $138 million of funding will be available for Accountable Communities of Health (ACH) Medicaid transformation projects, pending approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The funding is for the first year of the demonstration. The majority of the funding will go to providers participating in the projects. If your hospital or health system is interested in participating in the demonstration projects, WSHA strongly encourages your staff to be involved in those ACH discussions.... Read More >>

WSHA recently released a bulletin explaining details of the decision to pursue “mid-adopter” status for financial integration of Medicaid benefits for behavioral health. WSHA supports financial integration of Medicaid benefits so that patients may have a single managed care organization responsible for benefits and cost of their care. The bulletin includes frequently asked questions about the topic as well as resources.... Read More >>

Recent member news from the June 15, 2017 Weekly Report.... Read More >>