Winter 2006 - Rackcdn.com
Transcription
Winter 2006 - Rackcdn.com
Healthcare Financial Management Association In This Issue Winter 2006 Improvements in Customer Service Bre LaFerla, Media/Promotions Coordinator St. John's Regional Medical Center, Joplin Improvements in Customer Service…………..1 The Changing Landscape for Hospitals and Patients.......................................1 Letter from the Editor.........................................1 Letter from the President...................................3 Provider Spotlight—McCune Brooks…………..4 Letter from the Editor By Shelly Hunter, Hello everyone and Happy New Year!! I hope you made some really great resolutions this year, ones you can keep!!! Did anyone make the resolution to take the CHFP exam this year? Dee Dee Maples, Controller for Cox Health System in Springfield is our newest member to pass this exam!!! Congratulations Dee Dee!!! I always love the new year, a time for reflection and new beginnings! Speaking of new beginnings, I have changed positions I am now with St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri. I am happy to be a part of the system. You may remember reading about them in the provider spotlight last summer. I would love to hear from you, what you like to read about, what you are interested in, articles!! Please feel free to email me at shunter@stj.com. Don’t forget all the great seminars coming up this year, both locally and nationally. Please visit www.hfma.org and click under the education opportunities to see the exciting new courses offered this year. Continued on p. 5 There are many ways to provide better customer service for your patients and families. St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin has developed an innovative way with the installation of wireless Internet services for the convenience of patients, visitors, employees and physicians. Now patients and visitors get wireless access on their laptop computer through the “guest” network. This FREE service is available throughout the entire Medical Center, Medical Office Building and Brady Building on St. John’s Campus. Continued on p. 2 The Changing Landscape for Hospitals and Patients Bre LaFerla, Media/Promotions Coordinator and Shelly Hunter, FHFMA, Director Of Business Development St. John's Regional Medical Center, Joplin The December 19th issue of Modern Healthcare displays a wide array of interesting statistics on the national healthcare picture. One of the most interesting was a shift in the number of hospitals with a bed count fewer than 99 to the hospitals with a bed count of over 200*. With managed care and governmental reimbursement on the decline, many of these smaller facilities can’t afford to stay in business. This could be one of the reasons so many larger facilities are finding themselves reaching capacity and having to increase facility size. The construction costs for hospitals rose $1.8 billion from 2002 to 2003 and is on the increase*. As of September 2005 the four-quarter construction starts totaled $20.1 billion dollars*. Although, this is hard on facilities financially, it is really wonderful for the patients. As hospitals are growing and expanding, they add state of the art rooms and technology to better care for their patients. Continued on p. 2 Customer Service Improvements Continued from p. 1 Example: A patient can use his/her own wireless-enabled laptop to connect to the Internet and keep up on e-mail from their hospital bed. Example: A visitor can use his/her own wireless-enabled laptop to connect to the Internet while in the cafeteria or the waiting room. “This is a great service for our patients and visitors. Now they can check e-mail and correspond with family outside the hospital,” says Bob Honeywell, Director of Technical Services for St. John’s. “Can you imagine the opportunities in our birthing center with this technology? Now you can let family know the minute a mother delivers. It’s a lot easier to send out a mass e-mail, than to call every family member.” This technology allows St. John’s patients to be connected to family members, when they can’t physically be there. If you would like to know more about this service to possibly implement in your facility, you may reach Bre at (417) 625-2260. A c c e le r a te C a s h F lo w … . S e ll y o u r n o n - p e r f o r m in g b a d d e b t a c c o u n ts f o r C A S H : • A ft e r y o u r c o lle c tio n a g e n c ie s w o rk th e a c c o u n ts • M a i n t a in y o u r r ig h t t o r e c a ll a c c o u n ts • N o r e c o u r s e to h o s p it a l • S p e c ia liz e in H e a lt h c a r e • R e f e r e n c e s a v a ila b le F o r in fo r m a tio n c o n ta c t: L is a M . H a u g R e g io n a l A c c o u n t D ir e c to r S E N E X S e rv ic e s C o rp . w w w . S e n e x C o .c o m (3 1 4 ) 8 4 3 - 6 6 1 9 H a u g L M @ S e n e x C o .c o m Changing Landscapes, continued from page 1 One example of a great construction plan is that of St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri, where construction is now underway on a major Bed Tower Renovation project. The 4th, 5th and 6th floors are being remodeled to create a more comfortable environment for the patients and medical staff. The Bed Tower Renovation project is the first phase of an eight-year, $60 million Master Facility Plan. Phase I is expected to be completed by June 2006. J.E. Dunn Construction, based in Kansas City, MO is the general contractor for the project. Crews have been working since the fall on the first set of 18 rooms, now complete. Construction is being done in phases to limit congestion and any inconveniences for patients, visitors and employees. Plans for the update include the following: * Decentralization of the nurses’ station for point of care and paperless medical records. * Renovation/standardization of all core areas * Upgrade of finishes (flooring, paint, etc.) * Accessibility of bathrooms * Mechanical/electrical upgrades This type of new technology and attention to care is helping the trend in reducing mortality rates. As our ages and lives longer, it is wonderful that newer, patient-friendly facilities are being built to better serve the mission of healthcare. Source: Modern Healthcare, December 19, 2005; “By the Numbers” 2 Letter From the President By Terri G. Winning President Theresa G. Winning, FHFMA Dear Show-Me of Missouri Members: It’s 2006! I cannot believe it. Just imagine, six years ago we were busy dealing with the Y2K issues that didn’t bring the world to its knees as predicted. At least most of those headaches are gone! Now, on with the New Year. President-Elect As my second Presidential term (it sounds too official, doesn’t it?) of this great chapter begins to wind down, I’d like to take the opportunity to brag about the education Show-Me makes available to its members and non-members. Over the last year there have been classes at the local level covering: Accident Injury, Patient Account Reimbursement, Getting the Most From Your Revenue Cycle Vendors, Missouri Medicaid Update, SNF PPS and Consolidated Billing, Medicare Therapy in Motion, Best Practices in Key Financial Metrics, Latest Financing Trends for Rural & Community Hospitals, HIPAA, Capital Improvements and Funding, Chip's Implications for Providers, CDM, investment options, Integrating Revenue Cycle and Supply Chain Management and on and on. You see, there is a lot of education being offered and we all need to make the time to take advantage of the lower costs of attending a more local event. After all, we are the ones responsible for the fiscal viability of our organizations – in one way or another we must learn. Stephanie D. Fennewald, CHFP Our members who take advantage of these and other regional and national opportunities have logged more than 2,300 hours of education, an average of 10+ hours per member – so far! And there’s more……. The partnership established with TriSpan has been working very well for the chapter and our members and nonmembers alike, and I believe TriSpan as well. Upcoming sessions include topics on Ambulance, Medicare Basics, Medicare Advanced, Critical Access Hospitals, and Cost Reporting. Mark your calendars for what is left to be provided locally this Spring and Summer. Check our website at www.hfmashowme.org for a schedule of meetings or if you have any questions, contact Stephanie Fennewald at: fennewaldsd@health.missouri.edu. Have a great 2006. Amy J. Michael Vice President Secretary Donna Bruemmer Treasurer Jim Crawford Director Stephanie C. Weis Director Angela L. Richmond, MBA Director Dale Kroger Director Greg Johnson Director Dan Probstfield Director David Bokinsky Terri Theresa G. Winning, FHFMA For additional contact information on officers please go to the chapter Web site, www.HFMAshowme.org 3 Provider Spolight…………. McCune-Brooks Hospital In late 1892, a branch of a nationwide charitable organization known as Faithful Circle of King's Daughters was organized for the purpose of raising funds for the construction of a Carthage community hospital. During this organization period, Dr. Robert F Brooks established a trust that, following the death of himself and his sisters, all his property would be converted to construction and maintenance of a hospital for Carthage. During this period of time, a non-profit corporation was formed, known as the Carthage Hospital Association. In 1903, an anonymous gift was made to the Association in the amount of $10,000, which 6 was to specifically be used for the construction of a hospital. Later it was learned that Lizzie A McCune left those funds as a memorial to her son, Dr. T.E. McCune, who was an associate of Dr. Brooks. Mrs. McCune, acting as a major impetus for the Carthage Hospital Association contracted for a hospital facility to be constructed near the corner of Centennial and Forest. The first patient was admitted to the Carthage Hospital on May 1, 1907. McCune Brooks Hospital serves patients primarily from the counties of Jasper, Newton, Barton, Greene, and Lawrence. The medical staff includes family practice physicians, surgeons, and other specialists. Our staff is made up of physicians, whose primary practice is in Carthage, as well as physicians who maintain an office in both Carthage and Joplin. An emergency room with 24-hour physician coverage is available for those patients who need urgent care due to illness or injury. McCune-Brooks Hospital is governed by sevenmember Board of Trustees appointed by the mayor of Carthage. The Board of Trustees meet on a monthly basis to conduct business and members serve without pay. McCune-Brooks provides the following services: 10-Bed Geriatric Psychiatric Unit Inpatient/Outpatient Surgery Sleep Scan Lab Physical Therapy General Surgery Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Pulmonary Services Palliative Care Laboratory Radiology Services Community Education Classes Generations: Special Care for Older Adults Support Groups Diabetic Education Emergency Medical Services Home Health McCune-Brooks Health Care Foundation Social Services Carthage Ambulance McCune-Brooks began construction on a $47 million replacement facility in November 2005 with an expected completion date of NoContinued on p. 5 Special Thanks to our 2005-2006 Sponsors: Gold • BKD, LLP • Missouri Medical Collections • Sentex Silver • Berlin-Wheeler, Inc. Accounts Receivable • Healthcare Financial Resources, Inc. • Healthlink • HumanArc • Outsource Group • Remote Support Services, Inc. Bronze • Account Resolution Corporation • Account Management Services • D-MED Corporation • Faber & Brand, L.L.C. Attorneys at Law • Healthcare Insights, L.L.C. • Sure Decisions, Inc. Letter From the Editor continued from p. 1 The show-me chapter will also have some educational offerings, so stay tuned!! It is a great way to network with other professionals in your field and learn how other systems do things. Have a great 2006!! Shelly Provider Spotlight…..continued from page 5 vember 2007. The new 143,000 square foot facility will be located along Highway 71 just south of Carthage on a 34 acre site. The hospital anticipates growing into the 56 bed capacity of the new building with the addition of obstetrics and inpatient rehabilitation, services not currently being offered at MBH. The building site contains a 4 acre pond that has been incorporated into the landscape of the hospital as the healing properties of water will be a major element in the design of the building. Patient rooms will be built to allow patients and visitors to view the pond and exterior scenes. The interior of the building will feature a stream that will flow through a courtyard and connect with the pond. Improved access to Emergency Services, a better layout of Outpatient Surgical Services and state of the art surgery suites are some of the highlights in the new hospital. The one-story building is planned to make it easier and more inviting for our guests to allow MBH to serve their healthcare needs. In August 2005, MBH was granted Critical Access Hospital status. This change allowed McCune-Brooks to offer all private patient rooms in Med/Surg areas. We continue to also offer geriatric psych services in a 10 bed unit. 7 Show-Me Chapter Newsletter 4940 N. 21st St. Ozark, MO 65721-7481 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED