MHA is recognizing Tabitha Clifton, Chief Quality Officer at Tippah County Hospital in Ripley, in our Member Spotlight this month at www.mhanet.org. Tabitha is known for her outstanding participation in and support of MHA's quality initiatives. She is always ready to lead sessions on quality improvement projects and teach others how to create dashboards and display data. Thank you, Tabitha, for sharing your time and talent!
In a unique program designed to prepare nurses, firefighters, EMTS, and other first responders for agricultural emergencies, students visit a farm to learn firsthand about the unique challenges rural communities face. https://lnkd.in/gHUkrcTB
Nordic Global announced this week a new initiative with Microsoft in collaboration with the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) to establish a national Rural Health IT Community. The community will advocate for and be the recipients of policy, programs, and services specific to rural healthcare, foster collaboration between rural hospitals and global technology leaders, and increase the use of innovative technologies that protect vulnerable rural healthcare organizations.
The National Rural Health Association recently released an advocacy toolkit on how to prioritize rural health advocacy during an election year amidst changes in local and federal congressional offices. Access the toolkit here: https://lnkd.in/gpYfAH-E
The American Hospital Association continues to work with Congress and the Administration to enact policies that support rural hospitals. Their 2024 Rural Advocacy Agenda addresses five key priority areas: - Commercial insurer accountability - Flexible payment options - Fair and adequate reimbursement - Bolstering the workforce - Protecting the 340B program Learn more: https://lnkd.in/grKuy7CB
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently released revised guidance regarding conditions of participation and the conversion process for eligible hospitals interested in participating in Medicare and Medicaid as a rural emergency hospital. REHs are a new provider type established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 to address concerns about rural hospital closures. They provide emergency and outpatient medical and health services to patients who typically stay less than 24 hours. As of Jan. 1, 2023, Medicare pays REHs an additional 5% over the hospital outpatient prospective payment system rate to deliver emergency, observation, and other outpatient services to Medicare patients. Medicare-covered REH services include all covered outpatient services, including radiology, laboratory, outpatient rehabilitation, surgical, maternal health, and behavioral health. Copayments for REH services are based on the standard OPPS rate, which excludes the 5% increase. CMS has also released a fact sheet explaining more about REHs. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gzwNHWK5
Embracing the Inevitable: Succession Planning for Rural Healthcare Organizations https://lnkd.in/grn36GJM
The Office for Civil Rights and the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are hosting a webinar for the upcoming release of version 3.5 of the Security Risk Assessment Tool on Wed., Sept. 11, from 2-3 PM CT. This tool is designed to help small- and medium-sized healthcare organizations assess security risks. The tool's latest version contains updates and enhancements based on user and public comments. Updates include: - Added content for mitigating organizational threats and vulnerabilities, including supply chain risks - References to the healthcare and public health cybersecurity’s performance goals - Updated references to version 2.0 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s cybersecurity framework Registration is limited to 3,000 participants. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gJWEeFgv
Senior Vice President of Sales @ Azalea Health | High-Performance Sales Leader
2dCongrats Tabitha!