After the first six months of data, Honoring Choices© Pacific Northwest is proud to report the growing impact this joint initiative is having on advance care planning, even such early stages.... Read More >>

Our goal is to give you useful information in a useful way. Over the next two months, we’re going to be testing some changes to Weekly Report to see if we can do better. You may be in one of the groups to see some differences from week to week. We’ll be watching all the usual metrics, but we also hope to be hearing directly from you. Do you like or hate the changes? Are you hoping for something else entirely?... Read More >>

Five years ago, a staff member at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia launched a program to help ensure patients who would otherwise be alone as they neared the end of life would have company as their final moment neared. The program, known as “No One Dies Alone” (NODA) matches patients with volunteers who are simply present and offer comfort. While it had existed elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, the program was new to the south sound.... Read More >>

The state House and Senate capital budgets contain major investments for community projects to increase access to mental health services across the care continuum. WSHA is very pleased to see these funding levels that will help spur new services for some of the most complex patients. Both budgets also provide funding for the addition or expansion of dental chairs to certain provider clinics. Dental problems, like mental health, are a top reason why people visit the emergency department.... Read More >>

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) recently released rulemaking proposals related to forensic blood draws by medical assistants and requirements and fees for registration for “blood establishments” in Washington State. The newly proposed medical assistant rules state that certain medical assistants may perform “forensic blood draws,” subject to supervision, delegation and practice standards.... Read More >>

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week released the first module in a new online training series to help clinicians apply its opioid prescribing guidelines for adults with chronic pain.... Read More >>

Recent member news from the April 20, 2017 Weekly Report.... Read More >>

Washington Hospital Services Industry Partner Cordant Health Solutions launched a free drug take-back program in 2016, which they developed to support Washington communities in addressing the opioid crisis. Recognizing the merit of the program, Cordant decided to make it a standard offering in all the states in which it does business.... Read More >>

National Healthcare Decisions Day — this year celebrated April 16-22 — is an excellent time to reflect on the increasing importance of advance care planning to the community and organizations. This year’s theme is “It Always Seems Too Early, Until It’s Too Late,” which is applicable both to the public and health care providers.... Read More >>

When you’re not feeling well, you often just want to curl up in a ball in the most comfortable place you can imagine so you can get better. At Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster, there’s an entire new suite of furniture to help with exactly that. It was the first time in more than 20 years the hospital has replaced the furniture in its rooms, also replacing hospital beds that were more than 40 years old.... Read More >>