AHA to recognize members for contributions to field

By Brian Frankie

Honors 

AHA announces annual membership awards 

American Hospital Association President Emeritus Rich Umbdenstock will receive the association’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting from May 7 to 10 in Washington, D.C. Kris Doody, CEO of Cary Medical Center in Caribou, Maine, and Daniel Gross, executive vice president of Sharp HealthCare in San Diego, will receive the AHA Board of Trustees Award for substantial and noteworthy contributions to the work of the association. The AHA also will present its Award of Honor to Joel Allison, retired president and CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas, and Douglas Leonard, president of the Indiana Hospital Association, for exemplary contributions to the health and well-being of people through leadership on major health policies or social initiatives. James Weinstein, D.O., CEO and president of Dartmouth-Hitchcock health system in Lebanon, N.H., will receive the AHA Justin Ford Kimball Innovators Award. For more on the recipients, visit www.aha.org/press-center. 

Patient safety

HHS directs contract to develop new Zika test

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response has awarded an $8.9 million contract to further develop an automated laboratory diagnostic test for the Zika virus.

Transplantation

Organ donation group develops new resource

The Organ Donation & Transplantation Alliance has launched a new resource on organ, eye and tissue donation topics for health care leaders, the first in the “Hospital C-suite Snapshot Series.”

Public health

Report: National strategy to eliminate hepatitis B and C

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine presents a strategy to reduce hepatitis B and C as a public health problem by 2030. The report calls for a coordinated federal effort to eliminate viral hepatitis, including working with states to build a comprehensive system of care and support for special populations with hepatitis B and C. It also calls for expanding syringe exchange for people who inject drugs, free hepatitis B vaccine in pharmacies and other  places, and unrestricted treatment for hepatitis C. 

Payment

Study: Value-based reforms improve readmission rates

Hospitals participating in certain voluntary valued-based reforms have reduced their readmissions more than hospitals participating in only the mandatory Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, according to a study published April 10 in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study found that hospitals achieving meaningful use under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records Incentive Programs or participating in Medicare’s Accountable Care Organizations or Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative achieved greater reductions in readmissions under the HRRP. 

Population health

ACHI enhances community health needs assessment kit

The AHA’s Association for Commu­nity Health Improvement has up­dated its Community Health Assess­ment Toolkit to offer a nine-step pathway to a robust and community-engaged health needs assessment process. The toolkit includes strategies and resources for each step of the process, from assessment to implementation.