AHCAP 2008 Annual Conference

The Planning Committee has just finalized plans for a great June 2008 conference!  Thank you to all that submitted speaker ideas – we’re confident you’re going to learn so much at the Boston conference!!   Be on the look out in the next Notations! 

Register soon … the Fairmont Copley in Boston is now taking reservations! 

Servant Leadership as a Powerful Tool

2. Empathy
Servant-leaders strive to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirit. One must assume the good intentions of coworkers and not reject them as people, even when forced to reject their behavior or performance.

Calling All Successful Healthcare Administrative Professionals. . .

AHCAP staff is now collecting best practice “pearls” or secrets for professional success, as an Administrative Professional for a future AHA/AHCAP publication.

This is your chance to share on a large scale your “secrets” to being more effective on the job and/or making employers more responsive.  Please submit brief statements/tips highlighting your proven strategies and helpful advice to dhammer@aha.org.

AHCAP Launches New Online AHCAP Buyers Guide.

Available on the AHCAP Home Page this unique directory enables executive assistants and administrative professionals in healthcare worldwide to locate the industry-specific products and services they need.

The AHCAP Buyers Guide is a powerful search engine that continually indexes the Web sites of all companies represented in the directory.  Visitors can easily locate products and services unique to the industry without the clutter of a general Internet search.

Read More About the AHCAP Buyers Guide

Link to The AHCAP Buyers Guide on the Home Page.

Advocacy Briefs
AHCAP Advocacy Committee
September, 2007

NEWS FLASH!!! – As of July 2007, AHCAP now has an Advocacy Committee designated to help keep our membership educated and informed on healthcare issues across the continuum of the United States on both state and federal levels.  This Committee is still in its infancy stage regarding organization, but promises to provide you with the most current and noteworthy advocacy issues possible.  The committee is still accepting members.  If you’re interested in joining, please contact:

Gayla Augustine, Chair, gayla.augustine@christushealth.org,

Patti Heinbaugh, Co Chair, pheinbaugh@haponline.org, or

Eric Smith, Co Chair, mesmith@dubuis.org

To get started, we thought we’d begin with a few basic questions and answers.

What is Advocacy?
Advocacy is the act of supporting or defending a cause; an advocate is one who pleads a cause on behalf of others.

Who can be an Advocate for Healthcare?
You can!  By educating yourself on what your politicians and various lobbyist groups are proposing to congress and what is the bottom line.

How do I voice my opinion?
You can voice your concerns or opinions by either writing, calling, faxing or e-mailing your local representative, state senator, or congressman.  If you don’t have access to addresses, phone numbers, etc., call your state hospital association for information.  The My Care Counts campaign recently launched by AHA is another way to let your legislators know that we need their support for our local hospitals and want to protect healthcare in their communities.  AHA has asked us to sign an online “Call to Action” expressing your support by visiting www.MyCareCounts.org to add your name and to send this information on to Board members, volunteers, co-workers, family, friends and neighbors.

How can decisions pertaining to healthcare issues directly affect me?
Just by simply working with the leaders of your hospital and/or state hospital associations, you are in a position where you hear and see how cutting healthcare dollars or misappropriating these dollars can directly affect patient care.  Taking the dollars away may mean that you may not have the care that you need, or it could mean that you will have to pay more money out of your pocket to get the healthcare that you need.

When Medicare/Medicaid dollars are cut back through a reduction of reimbursement dollars to hospitals and physicians, we see a tendency with physicians to discontinue accepting patients on Medicare/Medicaid.

Why should I care?
Because it’s the right thing to do!

Hot Topics in focus for the AHCAP Advocacy Committee will be available in the Members Only News Section in coming days.  Be sure to visit AHCAP Online.

AHCAP Cookbooks Make the Perfect Gift!
	AHCAP COokbooks are still available.  Perfect for gathering recipes for the coming holiday festivities, or as a beautiful gift for anyone with a kitchen!  The book has multiple classifications from drink recipes to dessert recipes and absolutely everything in between.  Don't miss the opportunity to give a fabulous gift while supporting your Society.

Cost:  $12.00 (s&h included)

To order, please email ahcap@aha.org and reference 'Cookbook'.

In the Headlines

Study: Hospital Liability Claims Continue to Fall

Hospital professional liability claims are at their lowest levels in eight years, according to the latest annual study by Aon Corp. with the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management. The field saw no increase in the frequency of claims for the third straight year in 2007 and claim severity increased at a relatively low 3%. According to the report, patient safety initiatives aimed at obstetrics and emergency departments are linked to fewer claims in those areas. Study author Greg Larcher, director and actuary of Aon Global Risk Consulting, said he expects many hospitals to realize lower liability expense in 2008. ASHRM is an AHA personal membership group.

Report: Chronic Conditions Costly to Employers

While progress in preventing and treating disease has added roughly 30 years to Americans’ life expectancy in the past century, the rising prevalence of chronic conditions is taking a costly toll on the nation’s productivity, according to a report released today by the AHA. For example, Americans with asthma, diabetes and hypertension miss an estimated 164 million work days each year at a cost of $30 billion to employers. “The message is clear, preventive medicine and wellness programs must be central to our health care system,” said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. The report notes that a separate review of 42 published studies of workplace health and wellness programs found an average savings of $5.93 for every $1 spent. The report, “Healthy People are the Foundation for a Productive America,” can be found on the AHA Web site.

More States Sue HHS Over SCHIP Income Rules

New York, Illinois, Maryland and Washington on Oct. 4 filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services, challenging new rules on states expanding income eligibility for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Recent legislation to reauthorize SCHIP would have rolled back the new rules, which limit the ability of states to cover children above 250% of the federal poverty level, but was vetoed by President Bush. Filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit claims the rules conflict with the SCHIP statute and were unlawfully issued without an opportunity for public comment. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently cited the rules when denying New York’s request to extend SCHIP to children in families with incomes up to 400% of the FPL. New Jersey also has filed a lawsuit challenging the new SCHIP rules.

2008 Health Days Calendar 

The 2008 edition of the Health Observances and Recognition Days Calendar features dates and descriptions of more than 300 national health-related observances, several of which are new this year. Every listing in this one-of-a-kind calendar includes contact information for each observance's sponsoring organization. This must-have resource is the ideal tool to use for organizing and planning events for community and school education, outreach programs, health fairs, and internal recognition programs. SHSMD members receive a complimentary copy of this publication. Order Online.

Web Site Offers Pandemic Planning Resources

A new Web site can help community and state public health planners prepare for a flu pandemic. PandemicPractices.org brings together more than 130 peer-reviewed practices from four countries, 22 states and 33 counties. Compiled by the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy and the Pew Center on the States, the site highlights approaches that communities have developed to address three key areas: altering standards of clinical care, communicating effectively about pandemic flu and delaying and diminishing the impact of a pandemic. Among other topics, the searchable database includes practices that showcase how to manage scarce resources during a pandemic, share core messages in multiple languages, safeguard vulnerable populations, provide medical care when hospitals and clinics are overwhelmed, teach people to care for ill family members at home, and engage schools to reduce the spread of illness.

Visit AHCAP Online today!