May 3, 2004

MHA NewsWeekly Electronic Edition
May 3, 2004
Vol. 22, No. 17

Quote of the Week
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
~ Bill Bradley

In this week's edition...
1. Hospital Marketing & PR Efforts Recognized during Maggie Awards
2. MORA Honors Nine Hospitals for Work in Offering Hope
3. MHA DSI Now Offering Staffing Services
4. Upcoming Doubles Tournament to benefit Batson Hospital for Children
5. Golf Tournament of Heroes
6. Mississippi Primary Health Care Association offers HIPAA training in Jackson
7. CDC releases new flu immunization recommendations
8. Guideposts Magazine and Hyundai Honor Nurses with Story Contest
9. ISMP cautions caregivers about similarly packaged obstetrical drugs
10. Strategies for emergency preparedness seminar
11. Positions Available
12. In Memorial: Lowell Benton
13. People in the News
14. News Around the State
15. MHA Education Calendar

1. Hospital Marketing & PR Efforts Recognized during Maggie Awards
   The Mississippi Hospital Association’s Society for Health Care Marketing & Public Relations each year recognizes excellence in Mississippi health care marketing and public relations efforts in the Maggie Awards. This year, the society voted to make the Maggie Awards a competition — only the top two entries in each category won awards and to receive a Maggie award an entry had to rank “excellent” in judges’ scoring system.
 The 2004 Best of Show Award went to Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson for their 100-day nurse recruitment campaign. South Central Regional Medical Center in Laurel won both Best of Show Print and Best of Show Electronic for their Life Matters newsletter and their Growing TV spot, respectively.
 Maggie Awards booklets, with a complete list of honorees and their winning efforts, were recently mailed to chief executive officers and members of the Society for Health Care Marketing & Public Relations. Duplicate order forms for the awards and the Maggie video were included in that booklet. To have the booklet (or extra copies of the booklet) mailed to you, contact Shannon Coker at (800) 289-8884, (601) 368-3250 or scoker@mhanet.org.
 Hospitals that won Maggie Awards or Awards of Excellence include: Baptist Health Systems, Jackson; Baptist Cancer Care Services, Jackson; Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, Columbus; Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi, Oxford; Biloxi Regional Medical Center, Biloxi; Central Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson; Forrest General Hospital, Hattiesburg; Gilmore Memorial Hospital, Amory; Mississippi State Department of Health, Jackson; Mississippi State Hospital, Whitfield; National Public Health Information & Coalition; Oktibbeha County Hospital, Starkville; Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources, Hattiesburg; Region 8 Mental Health Services, Jackson; River Oaks Health System, Jackson; River Region Medical Center, Vicksburg; Rush Health Services, Meridian; St. Dominic Hospital, Jackson; Singing River Hospital System, Pascagoula; South Central Regional Medical Center, Laurel; South Mississippi State Hospital, Purvis; Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, McComb; University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson; and Wesley Medical Center, Hattiesburg.
   For more information on the MHA Society for Health Care Marketing & Public Relations, click here. To join the society online, click here.

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2. MORA Honors Nine Hospitals for Work in Offering Hope
   During the Gifts of Life and Hope Awards on April 26, nine Mississippi hospitals were honored for their work in offering hope to those in need of organ transplants. The awards are sponsored by the Jackson-based Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency. A group of about 75 gathered at the Capitol to honor state hospitals that have excelled in organ and tissue donations.
 MORA based its awards on a mathematical formula that took the number of organ or tissue donors from a hospital, and divided that by the number of hospital beds. University of Mississippi Medical Center, which had 26 organ donors in 2003, had the highest rate of organ donations. Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg and Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian were also honored.
 Six hospitals were honored for the most tissue donations: Biloxi Regional Medical Center, Biloxi; Claiborne County Hospital, Port Gibson; Forrest General Hospital, Hattiesburg; Garden Park Medical Center, Gulfport; King’s Daughters Medical Center, Brookhaven; and Rankin Medical Center, Brandon.
 Mississippi had 27.5 organ donors per million population in 2003. The national rate is 17 per million.
 “We want other hospitals to see how these are doing so they can try to achieve success as well,” said Tina Burtt, director of professional services for hospitals with MORA. For more information about hospital programs, call MORA at (601) 933-1000 or (800) 690-8878 or visit www.msora.org.
 Nationally, there were 6,500 organ donations in 2003, with 24,700 transplants from those donors. However, 16 people across the country die each day waiting for a transplant.

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3. MHA DSI Now Offering Staffing Services
   Increasingly, hospitals rely on traveling nurses and allied health workers to keep their facilities staffed. In Mississippi, over half of the hospitals responding to a staffing survey rely on temporary nurses and allied health workers.
 In conjunction with the MHA Health, Research and Educational Foundation and the South Carolina Hospital Association, Mississippi Hospital Association’s Diversified Services Inc. is developing a Staffing Services Program, a cooperative contracting program established to relieve hospitals of the burden and high costs associated with temporary staffing.
 Please join MHA DSI on May 20 from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. to learn more about the new Staffing Services Program and how it can help your hospital. Nurse executives, staffing coordinators, human resource directors and recruiters will benefit from this free program. For more information, contact Julie McNeese, vice president/DSI, at (800) 289-8884, (601) 368-3311 or jmcneese@mhanet.org.
   To receive daily updates on workforce issues, join the Workforce Community at MyMHA.

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4. Upcoming Doubles Tournament to benefit Batson Hospital for Children
   The third annual Batson Hospital for Children Tennis Benefit will take place May 14-16 at Parham Bridges Tennis Center in Jackson. The three-day tournament will feature competition in men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. The entry fee is $30 for the first event and $20 for the second event. The deadline for entry is Tuesday, May 11.
   Last year's tennis event raised more than $13,000 for the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children. The tournament has raised $21,000 since its inception. This year's proceeds will go toward equipment for the hospital's new two-floor addition, currently being completed. When it opens later this year, the addition will house the state's only pediatric surgical facility.
   If you are interested in participating or want more information, contact Parham Bridges Tennis Center at (601) 956-1105.

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5. Golf Tournament of Heroes
   Special Olympics Mississippi Area 8 (Hinds, Madison, Rankin and Scott counties) is hosting its first Golf Tournament of Heroes on Friday, May 14, at 1 p.m. at Patrick Farms Golf Club. The tournament is a four-person scramble and the cost is $75 per player or $300 a team. Organizers are looking for sponsors and for teams. For more information or to get a registration form, contact Debbie Waller, Area 8 Director of Special Olympics Mississippi, at (601) 351-8000 Ext. 4529 or (601) 201-2108.

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6. Mississippi Primary Health Care Association offers HIPAA training in Jackson
   The Mississippi Primary Health Care Association is sponsoring a HIPAA training workshop for rural hospital and community health center executives and staff on May 12 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel in Jackson.
   James "Chet" Barclay, health care attorney with the Ruden McClosky Law Firm of Tallahassee, Fla., will conduct the workshop which will refresh and update attendees concerning events affecting HIPAA privacy, transactions and code sets -- including recent enforcement initiatives enacted by DHHS' Office of Civil Rights. Attendees will also be briefed on HIPAA security rules set to take effect on April 21, 2005.
   The registration fee for the workshop is $25 per person. Lunch is included. Pre-registration is encouraged but onsite registrations will be taken at a cost of $40 per person. Refunds will not be given but substitutions will be allowed. The registration fee covers the cost of meeting space, lunch, breaks and workshop materials.
   Rural hospitals and community health centers are encouraged to send their executives, privacy officers and contacts, legal counsel, chief financial officers and key personnel from medical records, human resources, IT/IS, finance, nursing and registration to this workshop to ensure that they have a comprehensive understanding of HIPAA privacy and security issues.
   For a detailed workshop agenda, a registration form or more information, contact Shermaile Williams at (601) 981-1817 or swilliams@mphca.com.
   To receive daily updates on HIPAA issues, join the Compliance Community at MyMHA.

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7. CDC releases new flu immunization recommendations
   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 30 recommended children age six to 23 months be vaccinated annually against influenza. Other new CDC flu prevention and control recommendations for 2004 include vaccinating close contacts of children under age 23 months. CDC also said inactivated flu vaccine is preferred over live, attenuated vaccine for close contacts of severely immunosuppressed persons, including health care workers. In addition, health care workers receiving live vaccine should refrain from contact with severely immunosuppressed patients for seven days after injection. For more on the new recommendations,  click here.

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8. Guideposts Magazine and Hyundai Honor Nurses with Story Contest
   Guideposts magazine and Hyundai are working together to honor nurses during May. Winners of the Nurses Care Contest will receive either a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV or Sonata automobile. One vehicle will go to the winning nurse and one will go to the person who submitted the nomination. They are looking for people to share stories about a nurse who has positively affected their life. Nominations close on May 24. Starting June 21, readers will get the opportunity to vote for their top five nurse stories. For every vote cast, Hyundai will donate $1 to its Nurses Care Scholarship Program. For more information, visit www.guideposts.com.

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9. ISMP cautions caregivers about similarly packaged obstetrical drugs
   The Institute for Safe Medication Practices is reminding caregivers to exercise caution to avoid confusing two common obstetrical drugs, Methergine and Brethine. According to ISMP, the drugs' packaging and labels look very similar and make it tough to tell them apart. However, Brethine is used to treat pre-term labor, while Methergine would be dangerous if given for that purpose. ISMP has issued earlier warnings but said it continues to hear reports of mix-ups involving the drugs. To prevent errors, ISMP recommends health care facilities store the medications in different areas, and keep obstetrical and pharmaceutical staff informed about the potential for confusing the drugs. ISMP also said it has contacted the manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration to urge packaging changes. For more,  click here.
   To receive daily updates on patient safety issues, join the Patient Safety Community at MyMHA.

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10. Strategies for emergency preparedness seminar
   The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is offering a series of seminars for emergency planners from May through October. The two-day seminar helps communities and healthcare providers prepare and respond to emergencies. The seminar features practical advice and tools to plan and implement effective emergency response systems. Participants will also receive copies of the JCAHO’s white paper, Health Care at the Crossroads: Strategies for Creating and Sustaining Community-wide Emergency Preparedness Systems. To see a list of seminar dates and locations or to register, click here. 
   To receive daily updates on emergency preparedness issues, join the Disaster Readiness & Bioterrorism Community at MyMHA.

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11. Positions Available
   Simpson General Hospital is searching for a Hospital Administrator with experience in small rural hospitals and a broad financial background. The current administrator is retiring on June 1. Applicants may send resumes to Simpson General Hospital, P.O. Box 457, Mendenhall, MS 39114, ATT: Chairman, Board of Trustees.
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 Winston Medical Center has an immediate opening for a Director of Pharmacy. Applicants should have previous hospital experience. Resumes may be e-mailed to mnowell@winstonmedical.org or mailed to Michelle Nowell, Human Resources Director, P.O. Box 967, Louisville, MS 39339.
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 Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian has an immediate opening for the position of Director of Women’s Services. A minimum of 5 years RN experience in Women & Infant Services, Nursery, NICU and Postpartum required. A BSN, NALS certification and management experience preferred. Apply online at www.rushhealthsystems.org or fax resumes to (601) 703-4477. For more information, call (601) 703-4459.
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 Montfort Jones Memorial Hospital is seeking a Radiology Tech. Qualified applicants must be a graduate of an accredited RT program and have ARRT certification/pending. Resumes may be forwarded by fax to (662) 289-6080; by mail to Paige Duke, MJMH, P.O. Box 887, Kosciusko, MS 39090; or by e-mail to pduke@mjmh.com.
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 North Mississippi State Hospital is currently accepting applications for Registered Nurses for our Tupelo campus and for our Crisis Intervention Center in Corinth. Must be licensed in the state of Mississippi. For an application or information, contact Human Resources at (662) 690-4200.
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 Mississippi State Hospital is currently seeking a BE/BC internal medicine or family medicine physician to practice 40 hours, M-F, in a collegial atmosphere with no call. For more information, contact Gene Amason, medical staff liaison for MSH, at P.O. Box 157A, Whitfield, MS 39193; (601) 351-8381 or amasoge@msh.state.ms.us.
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 Trace Regional Hospital in Houston, Miss., has an immediate opening for the position of Chief Nursing Officer. A minimum of a BS in nursing required, master’s preferred. Management experience required. For more information, contact Human Resources at (662) 456-1003 or fax resumes to (662) 456-1169.

For a listing of additional hospital jobs available in Mississippi and to post your confidential resume for health care recruiters to view, visit www.mshealthjobs.com.

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12. In Memorial: Lowell Benton
   Lowell Sisson “Bo” Benton, 63, of Cleveland died Tuesday, April 20, 2004, at the Bolivar Medical Center, where he was employed as chief executive officer. Before coming to Cleveland, he served as a CEO for a hospital in Eufala, Ala., and had 34 years of experience in hospital administration. Memorials may be made to the Bolivar Medical Center Volunteer Chaplain’s Emergency Fund, P.O. Box 1380, Cleveland, MS 38732.
 He was born Sept. 6, 1940, in Haleyville, Ala. He graduated from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He married Jennifer Cantrell Knight on Aug. 30, 1991. He was survived by his wife, Jennifer; his mother, Dorothy Benton of Haleyville, Ala.; two sons, Johnathan Russell Benton of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and Scott Kendall Benton of Dallas; a daughter, Rebecca Jean Cook of Dallas; a stepdaughter, Janie Knight of Florence, Ala.; two brothers, Kenan David Benton of Warrior, Ala. and Robert Benton of Haleyville, Ala.

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13. People in the News
   LaVoyce Boggs, RN, of Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb, was recently promoted to director of surgical services. She has been with SMRMC for 15 years, starting out as a med-surg nurse.
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 Dr. Dena W. Jackson, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has been named medical director of the UMC clinics of the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center. She has been with UMC as an instructor in internal medicine since 2000. She earned her MD from UMC in 1997.
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  Sandra Johnson has been named Employee of the Year at Hancock Medical Center in Bay St. Louis. She is a caring team player who often volunteers to help co-workers.
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 Scott Needle, MD, a pediatrician, recently joined the active medical staff of Hancock Medical Center. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., Needle is board certified and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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 MaryLou Redd has joined Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian as the chief nursing officer. She holds a BS in nursing from Wingate College and an MS in nursing administration from the University of South Carolina. She has over 25 years of nursing experience and most recently served as CNO at Phoenix Baptist Hospital in Arizona.
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 Ricky D. Napper has joined Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth as chief executive officer. Previously, he served as CEO of Norton Community Hospital in Norton, Va. He holds an MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.; a BS in Health Care Management from Park College, Mo.; and an LPN from the Academy of Health Sciences, Fort Sam Houston, Tex.
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 Sharon Sharp, Gladys Macklin and Evelyn Thompson were recently named April 2004 Employees of the Month in their respective service areas at Mississippi State Hospital. Sharp, a unit staffing coordinator at Jaquith Nursing Home, received the award in the Support Services category. She has been with MSH for 10 years. Macklin received the award in the Direct Care Services category. She is a mental health technician and has been with the hospital for 26 years. Thompson received the award in the Licensed Clinical Services category. She is an LPN at Whitfield Medical Surgical Hospital and has been employed with MSH for 24 years.
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   Jack Cleary, President/CEO of River Oaks Health System in Flowood, was recently named president of the newest Rotary Club, located in Rankin County and called the Flowood Rotary Club. It meets at River Oaks Hospital each Tuesday at noon. A special ceremony was held recently at the Jackson County Club as part of the District 6820 meeting. The club was presented a club banner, club bell and its charter.
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   Ruth Mitchell, RN, was named Nursing Employee of the Year at Northwest Regional Medical Center in Clarksdale. Ruth began her career at Northwest 20 years ago in the Telemetry Unit.
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   Frank Penner of Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center was named Employee of the Year. He began his career at the hospital as on orderly in 1982. He transferred to the Rehabilitation Department in 1987.
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   Loreather Stacker, RN, was named the Department Manager of the Year at Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center. She began her career at the hospital in 1992 as a staff nurse. She now manages the telemetry and ICCU units.

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14. News Around the State
 Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg recently opened seven new heart surgery recovery beds in private rooms. FGH now provides more than 100 beds dedicated to cardiac care with services spanning from chest pain evaluation to heart catheterization and rehabilitation.
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 UMC’s Batson Hospital for Children is working to authorize a specialty license plate to benefit the hospital. Friends of Children’s Hospital must collect 200 checks from prospective buyers in order to begin the process of creating the plate. The cost is an additional $31 above the normal cost of your license plate, with $25 to benefit the Children’s Hospital. If you would like to purchase a specialty license plate to support the hospital, send a check made out to the Mississippi Tax Commission to Donna Windson, Department of Pediatrics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 N. State Street, Jackson, MS 39216. For more information, call (601) 984-5212.   
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 Forrest General Hospital recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Heart Surgery Recovery Unit. Seven private heart surgery beds are now available at the hospital, which offers more than 100 beds dedicated to cardiac care.
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 Mississippi State Department of Health officials recently honored one of Mississippi’s longest-serving State Health Officers by dedicating and naming a public health facility after him at the headquarters building in Jackson. The newly named Alton B. Cobb Auditorium was unveiled and a portrait depicting the former health officer, who served as state health officer from 1973 until 1992, was unveiled.
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 Mississippi State Hospital won Best in Show honors at the 2nd annual PRism Awards in Jackson, sponsored by the Public Relations Association of Mississippi, for Jimmy’s logo, designed in-house by Katie White. Other health care companies that brought home prizes in the competition included the American Trauma Society-Mississippi Chapter, the Baptist Cancer Center, Information & Quality Healthcare, Mississippi Emergency Medical Services for Children, the Mississippi Hospital Association, Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources and South Mississippi State Hospital. For a complete list of winners, visit www.pramcentral.org online.
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   Magee General Hospital recently established HealthTrust, a foundation, with a goal to renovate and expand the existing facility among other health service advancements for the community. The first meeting of the trust took place in March of 2004. Officers were elected as follows: R.S. Runnels, Sr., MD, President; Odean Busby, Vice President; and Missy Hudson, Secretary/Treasurer. Other Board members include Charles Pruitt III, MD, Kathy Monk, Althea Crumpton, Larry Partridge, Oliver McLean, Linda Brown, Jerry Sullivan, Lester Terrell, Danny Moseley, Jimmy Clyde, Joe Stephens and David Garner. For more information or to donate, contact Missy Hudson with The HealthTrust at (601) 894-5070 or 300 3rd Avenue SE, Magee, MS 39111.
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   Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle in Columbus has been recertified  as a complete level II trauma center and primary pediatric trauma center. The designation means the hospital can continue to perform specified trauma services within the North Mississippi Trauma Care Region as part of a unified statewide trauma care system.
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   Ocean Springs Hospital in Ocean Springs recently began offering SmartScore, a new diagnostic test that can help doctors evaluate the risk of heart disease before life-threatening symptoms occur. The hospital is the first and only hospital on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to offer this test. This simple, painless test is conducted by using the GE LightSpeed CT scanner to obtain images of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. The cost for the procedure is $150 and is not covered by insurance. It is recommended for men and women over 40, especially those with a family history of early heart disease.

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15. MHA Education Calendar

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