News

Today is National Rural Health Day! This is a great chance to recognize the essential contributions our rural hospitals and clinics offer their communities throughout the year. In Washington State, rural hospitals deliver essential access to a variety of high-quality, community-driven care. ... Read More >>

WSHA is providing advance notice that the state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) will release a revised version of the overtime employment rules that affect executive, administrative and professional (EAP) workers in Washington State by the end of November. L&I has scheduled three feedback sessions to obtain stakeholder input on the second pre-proposal draft rules. They will be held between November 27 and 29.... Read More >>

This week WSHA sent a bulletin regarding hospitals’ obligation to provide notice of all statutorily available treatment options for adolescents under the Parent-Initiated Treatment (PIT) pathway. The pathway refers to when parents/guardians bring a minor between the ages 13 and 18 in for mental health or substance use disorder (SUD) evaluation or treatment without the minor’s consent.... Read More >>

The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA), Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery was recently awarded funding from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for the State Opioid Response program. ... Read More >>

The purpose of this bulletin is to remind hospitals of their obligation to provide parents/guardians seeking mental health or substance use disorder (SUD) treatment or evaluation for a minor child notice of all legally available treatment options, per RCW 71.34.375.... Read More >>

The 2018 midterm elections have now passed, changing the federal political landscape for health care. In Congress, the House of Representatives has shifted to Democratic control, though Republicans expanded their majority in the Senate. At the state level, Democrats appear to be expanding their majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.... Read More >>

As part of its rulemaking on hospital construction review standards, the Department of Health (DOH) is currently seeking comments on specific proposed changes based on relevant national standards contained in the 2018 Facility Guideline Institute (FGI) Guidelines. Comments are due November 21.... Read More >>

WSHA’s Government Affairs team has re-launched its State Regulatory Issues webpage, which provides members a comprehensive view of state rulemaking activities that affect them. The webpage includes a link to WSHA’s Top Priority State Rules Tracker, which shows the highest-priority rulemaking activities impacting hospitals and health systems.... Read More >>

WSHA recently responded to a request for comment on pre-draft proposed rules by the state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) that would expand the class of workers who qualify for overtime pay. Among other changes, the proposed changes would lower the number of Executive, Administrative and Professional (EAP) workers who are currently exempt from overtime pay laws by raising the minimum salary thresholds for these roles, which also include outside sales and computer professionals.... Read More >>

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has released toolkits for its United Against the Flu campaign and open enrollment, with sample messages to spread awareness through social media.... Read More >>