September 29, 2003

MHA NewsWeekly Electronic Edition
September 29, 2003

Volume 21, No. 34

1. Medicare Announces Plan to Accept HIPAA Non- compliant Payments
2. Connie Curran to Lead Session on Recruitment in November
3. People in the News
4. News around the state
5. Education Calendar

  1. Medicare Announces Plan to Accept HIPAA Non-compliant Payments
    The  Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)  announced on Sept. 23 that it will implement a contingency plan to accept noncompliant electronic transactions after the October 16, 2003, compliance deadline.  This plan will ensure continued processing of claims from thousands of providers who will not be able to meet the deadline and otherwise would have had their Medicare claims rejected.
   CMS made the decision to implement its contingency plan after reviewing statistics showing unacceptably low numbers of compliant claims being submitted. The contingency plan permits CMS to continue to accept and process claims in the electronic formats now in use, giving providers additional time to complete the testing process. CMS will regularly reassess the readiness of its trading partners to determine how long the contingency plan will remain in effect.
   The authority to implement a contingency plan was provided by guidance issued by HHS on July 24.  CMS recognized that transactions often require the participation of two covered entities and that non-compliance by one covered entity may put the second covered entity in a difficult position.  The guidance stated that covered entities that make a good faith effort to comply with HIPAA transactions and code set standards may implement contingencies to maintain operations and cash flow.
 CMS announced its contingency plan on September 11, but at that time had not made a decision on whether the plan would be implemented. This announcement means the CMS plan will be implemented on October 16, 2003. (To get daily updates on HIPAA compliance issues, join the Compliance Community under MyMHA.)

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2. Connie Curran to Lead Session on Recruitment in November
    The Mississippi Hospital Association’s Health Careers Center, Society for Human Resources, Organization of Nurse Executives and Office of Nursing Workforce are co-sponsoring a presentation by Dr. Connie Curran on November 6 at the Hilton Hotel in Jackson. Connie will present Open Your Doors to Quality Employees...Healthcare Recruitment — Getting It Right.
   In the spring of 2003, Dr. Curran conducted a study of MHA member hospitals. Posing as a highly qualified applicant for a job, Dr. Curran contacted each facility and inquired about job opportunities. Hospitals were evaluated based on timeliness of response, quality of recruitment materials and follow-up with applicant. She presented her findings at the MHA annual Leadership Conference in July 2003 and provided individual hospital scorecards to hospitals attending her session.
   This program will cover that Perfect Nurse study that Curran introduced at the Leadership Conference and will also focus on best practices and products in health care recruitment. Dr. Curran will showcase one organization’s approach to measuring and monitoring recruitment success. The program is designed for recruiters, human resource managers, nurse executives, professionals responsible for recruitment marketing materials and administrative personnel responsible for recruitment. The focus will be on a team approach for recruitment — from human resources to recruiters to public relations and clinical managers.
   Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. The first session, starting at 9 a.m., will cover the “Ideal Candidate Recruitment Packet” and evaluation criteria for judging your own packets. The afternoon session will evaluate participants’ recruitment materials and concentrate on best practices in processes and products in health care recruitment. The meeting will adjourn at 3:30 p.m.
   The registration fee is $150 for members and $225 for non-members. The Hilton Hotel is offering a room rate of $89 for this event. To make reservations, call (601) 957-2800. For more information on the session, contact Judith Forshee at (601) 368-3216 or jforshee@mhanet.org. (To get daily updates on workforce issues, join the Workforce Community under MyMHA.)

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CORRECTION:   Dr. Leslie Smith, an osteopathic surgeon and proud member of the medical staff at Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville, has earned the title of Fellow in the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (FACOS). The designation was granted in recognition of her voluntary activities and service to advance osteopathic medicine and surgery. She is now one of only 30 women in the country to receive this distinction.

3. People in the News
Dr. Forrest Wells , a plastic surgeon, has joined the active medical staff of Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula. Dr. Wells received his medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He performed an internship and residency with Baptist Health Systems in Birmingham and another residency with the University of Illinois at Chicago. His practice is with South Mississippi Surgeons.
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 Lori Guerra has been named the Employee of the Month for August at Ocean Springs Hospital. Lori works as the Muse database coordinator in Cardiopulmonary. Lori started at OSH in May 1998, as the EKG clerk in Cardiopulmonary. She was promoted in 2001.
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 Susan Day, RN, has been named the Employee of the Month for August at Singing River Hospital. She works at the Regional Cancer Center. She holds an associate’s degree from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Before coming to the Cancer Center five years ago, she worked as an RN at Ocean Springs Hospital. She is proud of her work because she has been a cancer survivor herself since 1986.
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 John Montgomery, D.O., has joined Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield as a psychiatrist. He earned his B.A. from Millsaps College and his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He completed further medical training at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas and the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York.
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 Kristi Parker has joined Mississippi State Hospital as an occupational therapist. She earned her B.S. in occupational therapy from the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
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 Dr. Aja Abai has joined the inpatient hospitalist program for staff physicians at River Oaks Health System. He joins Dr. John Wofford, who has been with the program since its inception in March 2001. Dr. Abai received her medical degree from the University of Nigeria College of Medicine. She completed an internal medicine residency at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, North General Hospital in New York City. She also participated in a surgical residency at the Abia State University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria.. 
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 Earl Cook, in Environmental Services at South Mississippi State Hospital in Purvis, was recently named the Employee of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2003. A native of McComb, Cook graduated from Sumrall High School and attended the University of Southern Mississippi. He joined SMSH almost two years ago.
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 William “Billy” Buford was recently selected as the Chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Mental Health. Buford was appointed to the Board in 1992, reappointed in 1999, and has previously served as Vice Chairman and Chairman.
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 Clint Ashley, director of risk management and security at South Mississippi State Hospital, recently graduated from Mississippi State’s 2003 State Executive Development Institute. Sponsored annually by the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at MSU, the intense, week-long leadership training covers a broad range of public management issues.
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 Gwen Kelly, director of human resources at South Mississippi State Hospital, and Clint Ashley recently graduated from the Certified Supervisory Management Program, a component of the Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program offered by the State of Mississippi. Their joint project for the CPM program, a video entitled An Interdisciplinary Approach to Patient Safety, was elected as a model project.
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 Mississippi State Hospital recently honored employees with September anniversary dates for their years of service to the hospital. Employees also receive a certificate of appreciation and a service award pin. September recipients are: Cheryl Smith, Frankie Turner, Mack Pinter, Patra Williams, Ed Hood, Toy Landingham, Catressia Peterson, Denorris Skinner and Martha Mitchell.
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 Margie Murray was recently honored as Field Memorial Community Hospital's Employee of the Quarter. She has worked in the Billing Department of the business office since January of 1999.
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 Dr. Rosie Calvin, professor of nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, was installed to a three-year term on the board of directors of the National Black Nurses Associationat the 31st Annual Institute and Conference in New Orleans. The NBNA represents more than 150,000 black nurses from the U.S., Eastern Caribbean and Africa.
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 Dr. John Black has been named medical staff president of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Desoto in Southaven. Dr. Jeffrey Mullen will serve as vice president and Dr. Bradley Wolf will serve as secretary.

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4. News around the state
 Rankin Medical Center and Home Health Care of Mississippi in Brandon have achieved accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). A three-day on-site survey in August demonstrated compliance with the JCAHO’s nationally recognized health care standards.
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The Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children will benefit from sales between now and December 31, 2003, at Carpet Clean, Inc. and The Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. in Pearl. The two companies, owned by Mike Miller and University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC) employee Judy Dunham, will donate seven percent of the cleaning charge when you mention the Children’s Hospital at UMC. Both companies provide cleaning for carpets, rugs and upholstery, with special services for leather surface cleaning. Both businesses are located at 5008 Highway 80 East in Pearl and can be reached at (601) 977-0206 for Carpet Clean and (601) 977- 0690 for The Oriental Rug Cleaning Co.
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 North Mississippi Medical Center’s Diabetes Treatment Center is selling At the End of the Fork, a new cookbook to benefit local individuals with diabetes. The cookbook contains recipes that have been modified to be lower in fat and sugar. To order a cookbook or for more information, call Julie Trice, registered dietitian at NMMC-Eupora, at (662) 258-9306 or (800) 843-3375.
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 River Region Medical Center in Vicksburg has launched a scholarship program to help fight the shortage of health care workers. The hospital is offering scholarship money to nursing students through the River Region Medical Foundation. The foundation's goal is to raise $100,000 this year and award the first River of Life Scholarship in January. Staff physicians are being asked to donate money and River Region's parent company, Triad, has agreed to match all donations dollar for dollar. Community members are also being asked to donate. Recipients will be chosen by the foundation's five-member board of trustees and criteria are being developed. To apply for the scholarship or for more information, contact Diane Gawronski at (601) 883-5187.
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 Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg is celebrating the fifth anniversary of their FGH OnCall service. The service answers health related calls from the community. On September 14, 1998, FCH OnCall responded to questions from its first 43 callers. Five years later, FGH OnCall nurses have answered thousands of calls. OnCall now averages 3,500 calls per month. Dr A.J. Jackson is the medical director of the service and Mary Ann Lott serves as patient care coordinator.
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 The Wound Healing Center at Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville recently received top honors at the National Wound Healing Meeting in Las Vegas. Krista Perry, RN, won Clinical Manager of the Year. The Wound Center was named Turn Around Center of the Year for the most improved in all aspects of clinical and operations over the last year. The Center also won Best Overall Clinical Pathway Award and Most Improved Wound Outcomes Award.
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 River Region Medical Center plans to have a two-story, $7.7 million addition to its building completed by around this time next year. This addition to the critical care unit will be used for cardiac care. Plans call for the unit to add 14 beds to the hospital. The work will create two floors above the existing critical care unit which has 16 beds at the back of the hospital's U.S. 61 North main campus. The addition will be the first to the building, which opened in February 2002.
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 River Region West Campus is creating rooms for patients who need longer hospital stays through a new arrangement that includes second-floor renovations. The rooms will have 35 beds, part of  a long-term, acute-care unit that will function like a hospital within a hospital. Patients are expected to have an average hospital stay of 25 days, in contrast with the six days patients average in acute care rooms at River Region Medical Center's main campus on U.S. 61 North.    Promise Healthcare,  a Louisiana company with similar operations in 23 other locations across the U.S., will own and operate the unit. While the Promise Hospital will act as a customer of River Region for some services, it will have its own management and employees. The company plans to hire about 75 employees, including its own CEO and 30 to 40 who will work full time. Of the full time employees, about 90 percent will be nurses. The unit is scheduled to open in November.
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Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto in Southaven has turned over their emergency room operations to Team Health Inc., a Nashville, Tenn.-based physician provider, effective Sept. 30. That firm will replace Southeast Emergency Physicians of Memphis whose contract expires in September. Team Health is the current provider for Baptist Hospital in Memphis also.

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5. Education Calendar

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