Veterans Health Administration (VHA)

As some of my readers may have noted, this week I attended the VHA's annual leadership conference in Denver, which drew about 3,000 nurses, hospital leaders, pharmacists and other industry execs to the city. While sessions there focused …

Here's another example of the issues hospitals are confronting as scrutiny mounts over charity care. This time it's publicly-funded healthcare system JPS Health Network of Fort Worth, TX, which is facing questions from at least one community activist and the local medical society over its charity claims. Commissioners in Tarrant County, which funds the hospital district with property taxes, got a withering letter from critic Ann Sutherland this …

A new study suggests that while hospitals are bracing themselves for the possibility of a world-wide flu pandemic, few are prepared to cope with such conditions more than a single week. The study, released by the Novation, a contracting services company for VHA, and the University HealthSystem Consortium at this week's annual VHA conference, found that more than half of hospitals surveyed had begun developing pandemic-related disaster plans, particularly plans to get the additional respirators which will be needed to treat the flu. Most had also identified key suppliers and made plans to make sure they got needed supplies. Still, 79 percent of respondents said that they would only be able to continue operating without external resources for seven days or less. Many project that they'd only last one to three days.

To find out more about the study:
- read this Novation press release

Sometimes, with margins slimming and insurers ratcheting back reimbursement, it's makes complete sense to choose the cheapest supplies. In other cases, however--such as making sure patients are protected from falls by no-slip slippers--spending extra can be a much better decision. So how can a hospital evaluate which of the millions of items it may buy each month to determine where a bit more spending would make sense? VHA senior vice president Dan DeLay has some suggestions. Article

Catholic Healthcare West, which operates 42 hospitals across California, Arizona and Nevada, has set plans to spend $9 billion on capital projects over the next 10 years. CHW plans to use the money to build new hospitals, add seismic improvements to hospitals in earthquake zones, add health information technology and buy new clinical equipment, as well as making acquisitions where it makes sense. This plan, which would allocate $900 million for each year, represents a big jump in spending …

Inspired part by urgent clinical needs, and part by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's campaign to lower hospital-acquired infection rates, a group of hospitals across metro Philadelphia have begun a new battle against central-line infections. While hospitals routinely work to beat back against such infections, Rendell may soon give them an added incentive, by eliminating state …

A new study by research with Johns Hopkins suggests that hospitals can cut catheter-related blood infections in ICUs meaningfully by using simple, common sense infection control practices. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins' Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care studied data fro 103 Michigan ICUs before, during and after those ICUs implemented new practices to lower the risk of infections. Their intent was to see whether the hospitals would find protocols which could help reduce …

It's not news to health professionals, but it still bears repeating--basic precautions like hand washing can do much to prevent hospital-acquired infections. The latest round of studies documenting this comes from the American Journal of Medical Quality, which published three studies underlining this conclusion. The studies concluded that in addition to frequent hand washing, health professionals should take care to wear gowns and other infection-proof clothing when conducting …

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) kill 90,000 U.S. patients per year, generate billions in expenses and greatly prolong hospital stays. Luckily, they're also avoidable. Well aware of the problem, the Voluntary Hospital Association said this week that it was launching a three-year program aimed at reducing the rate of HAIs among its member hospitals. The program will focus on six key approaches to HAI reduction:

• Preventing central line infections
• Preventing …

Yesterday I wrote about my interview with Mark Hochstetler, M.D., vice president of clinical affairs with the VHA. In the course of our discussion about …