Mary Breckinridge Healthcare, Inc. News

Frontier Nursing Service Quarterly Bulletin, Fall 2003 by Noble, Mallie

Critical Access Licensure

The Mary Breckinridge Hospital (MBHC) is now officially a Critical Access Hospital effective September 1, 2003. We received our provider numbers for acute care and swing beds on September 30. We appealed the first established rates and have already received the new rates which are higher reimbursement rates. The management team at MBHC has done an excellent job with this long and tedious process. I want to say thank you to all the staff and employees for a job well done.

Maintenance Projects

The new paint job is completed and the hospital looks very similar to the way it was when it was first constructed. The parking lot has been re-sealed and the curbs and fire hydrants have been repainted. We have also re-modeled the public restrooms on the first floor with stainless steel partitions and installed a baby changing station in the restroom located next to the Pediatric Clinic. all of these projects were sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary Committee. I would like to express my thanks to these dedicated ladies for volunteering their time to raise money for these projects.

Center of Excellence for Rural Health Meeting

I received the honor of being chosen as one of five hospital administrators in the State of Kentucky by the Center of Excellence for Rural Health, to travel to Washington, DC, for a Rural Health All Programs meeting. The meeting was very informative on issues regarding rural health in rural communities. The Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) is the leading federal proponent for better healthcare services for the 65 million people who live in rural America. The Office seeks solutions to healthcare problems in rural communities by working in partnership with federal and state agencies, foundations and private sector organizations.

The meeting was very successful and participants from all over the United States attended. I express my sincere gratitude to Bethany Adams, Woody Dunn and Larry Allen, Center of Excellence for Rural Health, for their help with issues concerning rural health and hospitals.

While in Washington, I met Charity Moore, the daughter of former Human Resources Director and former MBHC Risk Manager, Darrell and Ruby Moore. Charity is the Associate Director of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center at the University of South Carolina.

SHIP Grant

I mentioned in the last Quarterly Bulletin that Mary Breckinridge Healthcare applied for a SHIP (Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program) grant. MBHC received the grant this year. SHIP grants provide support to help small rural hospitals with the implementation of the prospective payment systems (PPS), to comply with provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ACT (HIPPA) of 1996, and to improve overall hospital performance by keeping current on Quality Improvement.

These funds will benefit small rural hospitals and help ensure that they have a strong foundation to provide quality healthcare to the people in their community.

Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) Meeting

I attended the Kentucky Hospital Association's (KHA) annual Healthcare Leadership Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 3 O and 31st.

KHA's Legislative Priorities for the 2004 Kentucky General Assembly were discussed. Issues such as adequate funding for Kentucky's Medicaid budget, revisions to the hospital provider tax, increase of tobacco tax and medical liability reform are on the agenda.

Medicaid is a vital program in Kentucky that will cover one out of every five Kentuckians this year.

Certified Activities Directors

Belinda Caudill, RN, Medical Surgical Manager, and Deanna Rice, Monitor Tech/Ward Clark, attended a one week meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, to obtain credentials as Certified Activities Directors. This is a federal and State requirement in order for the Hospital to have swing beds. The Activities Directors must spend time with swing bed patients in order to stimulate the patients each day. Activities include reading from the Bible and other books of interest, playing checkers, card games, and arts and crafts. We are proud that both Belinda and Deanna became certified.

Blood Drive

On November 13, 2003, MBHC sponsored a blood drive with the Central Kentucky Blood Center. We do this each quarter to help the Blood Center gather donors for much needed blood.

Inspections

On September 5, 2003, officials from the Office of Inspector General were at MBHC for the annual inspection of the Hyden Rural Health Clinic. There were no deficiencies. On October 13, 14, 2003, the OIG, Division of Community Services visited the MBHC Laboratory for their CLIA inspection. The Lab was found to be in compliance with the regulations.

Home Health - Thanksgiving Food Drive

Some of our Home Health patients are not as fortunate as others to be able to financially provide for themselves a holiday meal. The Home Health staff decided to make sure that every needy patient has a full meal for Thanksgiving. Their way of doing this was to start a food appeal for non-perishable food items within the hospital and in local stores such as Food Fair, Save A Lot, and Hyden Grocery. Dairy Queen also participated by donating $100.00. Each department within the Hospital participated in a contest to see who could donate the most food. A total of 310 items were collected with Lab and X-ray being the winners. We are thankful that several families were able to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal due to the kindness and thoughtfulness of the Home Health Staff.