WSHA submitted four global waiver proposals to the state Health Care Authority (HCA) on ways to transform Medicaid and improve care for patients. HCA released a broad call for proposals to assist in identifying areas the state will pursue in a global waiver to draw down $3 billion from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).... Read More >>
Pierce County will soon have a new psychiatric hospital. The Washington State Department of Health has approved the Certificate of Need application from CHI Franciscan Health and MultiCare Health System to jointly build and operate a $41 million, 120-bed non-profit psychiatric hospital in Tacoma. ... Read More >>
Max the dog, the mascot ambassador of the children’s wellness program at Lake Chelan Community Hospital and Clinics, has been making health fun for the valley’s youngest residents for the last two years, visiting schools, libraries and community events with the hospital’s wellness team.... Read More >>
Washington Hospital Services is pleased to announce its newest partner, PARA HealthCare. PARA Healthcare provides a robust Revenue Cycle Management solution that has been utilized by Washington hospitals of all sizes.... Read More >>
Recent member news from the Jan. 20, 2016 Weekly Report.... Read More >>
Save the date for the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Annual Membership Meeting May 1-4 in Washington, D.C. The meeting will provide an opportunity to gain perspectives that will help us continue to build a better health care system for the future. AHA Board Member and Swedish Health Services CMO Dr. John Vassall II will be among the conference’s presenters.... Read More >>
I was a hospital administrator for 30 years, all without ever providing medical care. That’s the norm — although physicians founded hospitals in earlier centuries, their focus constricted to patient care as the organizations grew in size and complexity. Professional administrators filled the gap to manage non-clinical areas, such as facilities, records, billing, finances and more. While an understandable shift, that evolution has resulted in lack of physicians who help run hospitals. While some doctors had the credentials to be both credible physicians and administrators, they were often an uncomfortable hybrid, not embraced by either “camp.” This is changing, it must change, and WSHA is helping to push the change.... Read More >>
Executives from Washington Hospital Services’ Industry Partner Merritt Hawkins were recently cited in a new article appearing in The Journal of Medical Practice Management that explored challenges related to physician engagement and ways in which hospitals can succeed in this crucial area. ... Read More >>
We are interested in informing hospitals about the Washington State Health Care Authority’s adjustments to February 1 payment rates. Working with WSHA, the Health Care Authority (HCA) has agreed to increase inpatient rates for the next quarter by about 18 percent, in order to restore errors it made in cutting rates during the last two quarters.... Read More >>
On Friday, the House Health Care & Wellness Committee will hold a public hearing for House Bill 2450, which would give critical access hospitals taking part in a pilot program the ability to return to critical access status if they so choose when the pilot is complete.... Read More >>
