March 2012
Volume 2 No. 2
In This Issue
Form 990s and Schedule H Briefings
Health Literacy
Flu Vaccinations
Community Health Needs Assessment Briefings
Upcoming Meetings
Meeting Summaries
New Allied Member
Laptop Donations
Special Member Briefing on Form 990s and Schedule H
Hospital Council is partnering with ParenteBeard to host a special member briefing on the Form 990 and Schedule H on Friday,
March 23, 2012 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Hospital Council's Conference Center. The topics for the briefing will be changes to
the Form 990, record keeping requirements for charitable contributions, governance issues and Schedule H, and issues related to
community health needs assessments.
Paul E. Block, CPA, JD, and Jill Schumann will facilitate the briefing. Paul is senior manager, Tax Services for ParenteBeard and Jill
is a nonprofit expert with Dewey & Kaye, a consulting company which is part of ParenteBeard.
The briefing is free of charge to Hospital Council members, however registration is required. The member briefing will be held
immediately following Hospital Council's CFO/COO Committee meeting, which begins at 8:30 a.m. on March 23, 2102. For more
information, contact Pat Raffaele at raffaelp@hcwp.org.
Health Literacy Project
Hospital Council is partnering with several other partners on a health literacy initiative designed to improve health literacy for
individuals in Allegheny and surrounding counties. The initiative grew out of a program held by the Institute of Politics at the
University of Pittsburgh in the fall of 2010. Since the program was held, an Advisory Council has been formed and more than 50
community organizations have expressed interest in improving health literacy in the region. Although the first phase of the project
will focus on Allegheny and surrounding counties, the goal is to expand the project to the rest of western Pennsylvania in two to
three years. The Advisory Council is focused on four health literacy goals as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Hospital Council is a convener of the Advisory Council and is supporting the project. For more information, contact Pat
Raffaele at raffaelp@hcwp.org.
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Influenza Vaccinations
Hospital Council is supporting members in reaching the goals for influenza vaccination as established by both the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Joint Commission. The Pennsylvania Department of Health has also adopted the national
standards of having a minimum of 90 percent of healthcare providers immunized during the 2012-2013 flu season. Orders for the
vaccination for next year's flu season are currently being placed. Hospital senior staff members are encouraged to learn more about
this patient safety initiative and support it through hospital policies. For more information, contact Fred Peterson at
petersof@hcwp.org or Jane Montgomery at montgomj@hcwp.org.
Community Health Needs Assessment Briefings
In an ongoing effort to assist members with conducting Community Needs Assessments, Hospital Council held its third set of
member briefings in early March. The briefings, held in Altoona at Altoona Regional Health System and in Warrendale at Hospital
Council, focused on the collection of secondary data. Other briefings have focused on the collection of primary data and also on the
IRS regulation requiring hospitals to conduct needs assessments. The briefings have been facilitated by Debra Thompson,
president of Strategy Solutions, Inc. The materials from the most recent briefing are available for Hospital Council members. For a
copy of the slides and the handouts, contact Pat Raffaele at raffaelp@hcwp.org.
Upcoming Meetings
Chief Nursing Officers Meeting
The Chief Nursing Officers Committee will meet beginning at 9:30 a.m. on March 9, 2012 at Hospital Council's Conference Center.
Contact Jane Montgomery at montgomj@hcwp.org.
CFO/COO Meeting
The Chief Financial Officers and Chief Operating Officers Committee will meet beginning at 8:30 a.m. on March 23, 2012 at Hospital
Council's Conference Center. The meeting will be held immediately prior to the Form 990/Schedule H Issues Briefing. Contact Pat
Raffaele at raffaelp@hcwp.org.
Summaries of Recent HCWP Meetings
Practice Administrators
The Practice Administrators Committee met on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at Hospital Council. The primary focus of the meeting
was planning the development of a new Hospital Council survey that will benchmark salaries and productivity of hospital-owned
physician practices. The Committee discussed their participation in existing surveys, the need for a regional survey, the potential
elements of the survey and the next steps in the development of the survey. Hospital Council's HR Consultant is working on the
development of a draft survey. The survey is a result of input from the HR Committee as well. Once the draft of the survey is
complete, a work group from the HR and Practice Administrators Committees will review and revise the draft. The Committee also
discussed issues related to moving to electronic health records as well as ideas for future meetings. For more information, contact
Pat Raffaele at raffaelp@hcwp.org.
Compliance Committee
Preparing for audits from the Office of Civil Rights and issues related to electronic health records, privacy and security were the key
topics of Hospital Council's Compliance Committee meeting held on February 10, 2012. Bill Maruca, a partner with the law firm, Fox
Rothschild, led the discussion on OCR audits, privacy and security. Jill Zimmerman from Dubois Regional Medical Center also
provided a follow up and update on the presentation by the Department of Public Welfare at the December 2011 Compliance
Committee meeting. For more information, contact Pat Raffaele at raffaelp@hcwp.org.
Continuum of Care Committee
W. Russell McDaid, vice president of Public Policy for LeadingAge PA, was the keynote speaker at the February 16th Continuum of
Care Committee meeting. He gave a thorough overview of the state budget and budget related issues with an impact on programs
related to aging. He reviewed the Governor's proposed budget as well as other potential issues related to appropriations. For more
information, contact Jane Montgomery at montgomj@hcwp.org or Pat Raffaele at raffaelp@hcwp.org.
Human Resources Committee
Donald R. Fischer, MD, MBA, senior vice president of Health Affairs and chief medical officer at Highmark, Inc., provided an
overview of Highmark's wellness related program for employers at Hospital Council's HR Committee meeting held on February 22,
2011. In addition, John Danek, D.O., medical director of Employee Health and medical advisor to the Dean Ornish program at
Jefferson Regional Medical Center provided the Committee with his own personal health-related story along with tips on wellness
and stress relief. For more information, contact Pat Raffaele at raffaelp@hcwp.org.
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Quality/Risk/Patient Safety Committee
The Quality/Risk/Patient Safety Committee met on February 23, 2012 using state-of-the-art interactive video and audio conferencing
equipment connecting Hospital Council members in Brookville with members at Hospital Council's Conference Center. The
discussion focused on patient care from the patient perspective and successful interventions to improve scores on the Hospital and
Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey (HCAHPS). Michele Hamula, director of Quality for Windber
Medical Center, gave an overview of Windber's Planetree philosophy and how the culture impacts HCAHP scores. Dee Hanna from
Clearfield Hospital gave an overview of staff education geared to improve patient satisfaction. The meeting concluded with a
roundtable discussion. For more information, contact Jane Montgomery at montgomj@hcwp.org.
New Allied Member
Hospital Council welcomes its newest Allied Member, Cleverley + Associates. Cleverley + Associates, located in Worthington, Ohio,
focuses on using data to assist hospitals with enhancing their financial performance. Cleverley + Associates provides benchmarking
and consulting services to hospitals in financial, operating and clinical areas with an emphasis on data interpretation and identifying
solutions. For more information, contact Tina Cameron, regional account executive at tcameron@cleverleyassociates.com or at
614-413-3455.
For more information about Hospital Council's Allied Membership program, contact Pat Raffaele at raffaelp@hcwp.org.
Program of Interest
Laptop Donations
Hospital Council members may be interested in donating used laptop computers to the Gateway Medical Society. The donated
laptops will be used for students in grades 6 through 12 participating in the Gateway Medical Society's Student Mentoring Program.
Before laptops are donated they should be cleared of all data and restored to factory settings. Laptops can be dropped off at the
Allegheny County Medical Society (ACMS) located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh on Ridge Avenue or arrangements for pick up
can be made by calling ACMS at 412-321-5030. For more information, contact Jim Ireland at jireland@acms.org.
Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania
Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania is a strategic partner with western Pennsylvania health care providers and affiliated
organizations, enabling them to realize their missions while maintaining their status as economically viable entities.
Visit http://www.hcwp.org
Call 1-800-704-8434
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