|
I'm pleased to introduceAl Goforth as HealthShare/THA's new regional executive for West Texas. Al is a graduate of Texas Tech University and has lived in Lubbock for more than 30 years. He spent 16 years in sales and training for the pharmaceutical industry and, most recently, four years as an insurance agent. He will be spending the next few months visiting with CEOs and other administrators in hospitals around his region, getting to know you, your hospitals and your needs.
"I'll be interacting with hospitals, telling the HealthShare story and finding out how we can help hospitals achieve their financial goals and improve their market position and contributions to the community," Al says. He points out that there are a lot of similarities between what he'll be doing with us and his past work experience. One of the most important assets Al brings to this job is his deep West Texas roots and his familiarity with what is a unique part of Texas, which he loves and where he has chosen to live for so long. He is also enthusiastic about the organization. "Bottom line, what HealthShare has to offer is supporting THA and the louder advocacy voice that it gives to each hospital."
Married with three children, Al enjoys golf and snow skiing. He can be reached at 806/252-7820. I encourage hospital administrators in West Texas to give him a call and let him know what he can do for you.
Vicki Pascasio, FACHE
President/CEO
NEWS
The director of the National Hurricane Center predicts a "very active" season for 2007, and a top hurricane forecaster expects as many as 17 named storms, five of them major. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 and averages 9.6 named storms and 2.3 intense hurricanes. THA members can refer to the July/August 2006 issue of Texas Hospitals, found at thaonline.org, for information on emergency preparedness.
PROFILES
Data Factory Conversion
The THA Patient Data System (PDS) is migrating its UB-92 data to Solucient's Hospital Data Factory (HDF), an upgraded processing platform designed to increase the reliability, speed of delivery, and analytical flexibility of the PDS. This changeover will begin with Q3 2007 discharges, and data files will then need to comply with one of three formats, already used by most Texas hospitals: Texas 2400, 1450 version 6, or THCIC 837. Participating PDS hospitals should be prepared to send test files starting September 1. Look for more details in coming months, or call Kent Steves with questions at 800/252-9404 ext. 1558.
Compensation Tools
HealthShare/THA recently launched the 2007 Texas Hospital Compensation and Benefits Survey, conducted by WageWatch Inc, provider of HR-focused compensation tools and salary and compensation data delivered directly to your desktop. WageWatch is a secure, web-based tool that is easy to use. You get timely, real-world data for a specific geographic area, and user-customized reports for a low, yearly cost, and toll-free customer service as well. For more information on either the 2007 survey or other products, visit wagewatch.com, or contact Jim Crews at 480/657-6504 or jcrews@wagewatch.com.
Serious Shortages
AMN Healthcare the largest temporary health care staffing company in the US, endorsed by HealthShare/THA, has conducted a survey on behalf of the Council on Physician and Nurse Supply. More than two-thirds of hospitals CEOs identify physician shortages as a serious problem, and more than three-fourths say nurse shortages are also critical. A whopping 96 percent said physician training should be expanded, and 99.5 percent favor more training for nurses. In addition, 86 percent of hospitals CEOs are currently recruiting physicians, and 89 percent, nurses. The Council has expressed concern over proposed federal budget cuts in physician and nurse training programs in light of these numbers. For a copy of the complete survey please call the Council at 215/746-3177.
SPOTLIGHT
Verge Solutions and its VSurvey provides tools for all operational processes that affect a health care organization’s accreditations. Originally developed for JCAHO standards, VSurvey interfaces with other regulatory standards such as CMS, HIPAA, CAP, CARF, HFAP, OSHA, MAGNET, and a host of other federal and state compliance requirements.
To learn how VSurvey can simplify your regulatory compliance process, join a free, 30-minute web casts via the internet in your office. To register, e-mail Barbara@verge-solutions.com and provide the date and time of the session you wish to attend:
Web Cast Schedule: Friday, June 8, 2001 - 10-10:30 AM Central
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 3-3:30 PM Central
Thursday, June 14, 2207 - 1-1:30 PM Central
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - 11-11:30 AM Central
Comment Card
You can find our comment card on the HealthShare/THA Website by clicking on request information. Let us know what you think about our companies and services. |
|
| |
