FROM WHERE I'M SITTING...By jeff mero, executive director

AWPHD's Board of Directors approved the 2007 budget on October 11th. The budget supports our current activities with one important addition: Beionka Moore, who has been a shared employee with the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA), will become a full-time AWPHD staffer effective January 1st. The budget's only other real highlight is that we will be keeping core dues stable for 2007--no increase over 2006. We will also assess dues against supplemental payments at the same rate in 2007 as in 2006. Thanks to each of you for your support--there is no more important key to our stability!

In annual meeting news, the membership accepted the recommendation of the Nominating Committee to approve John White, CEO of Samaritan Healthcare (Grant County PHD No. 1, Moses Lake), as AWPHD's treasurer. Vic Dirksen, CEO of Jefferson Healthcare (Jefferson County PHD No. 2, Port Townsend), joins the Board for a three-year term as an at-large trustee. The annual meeting also marked the end of Camille Scott's term as an at-large trustee; she is the Administrator of Forks Community Hospital (Clallam County PHD No. 1).

Jim Robertson, CEO of Ocean Beach Hospital (Public Healthcare Services District No. 3 of Pacific County, Ilwaco), took the reins as association president, while Gregg Davidson, CEO of Skagit Valley Hospital (Skagit County PHD No. 1, Mount Vernon), moved into the president-elect role. Andrew Craigie, Administrator of Garfield County Memorial Hospital (Garfield County PHD, Pomeroy) is now AWPHD's past president.

We are blessed, in the coming year, with one of the strongest boards the organization has had during my time as executive director. I look forward to a productive and exciting year, and encourage you to share your advice and recommendations with staff or board members. There is no surer way to keep us relevant than for you to tell us what we ought to be doing!

We are headed into a pivotal state election next week, and I ask each of you to participate. I know that many of you feel that voters in the I-5 corridor control the election outcome, but your local legislators--representatives and senators--are extraordinarily important to our success in Olympia. We count on you to send us the best you've got!

No matter who prevails in the election next week, I believe we are headed into one of the busiest sessions we have faced in a long time. The state's budget picture is brighter than it has been for years, but mounting concerns about the cost of health care--not insurance costs, but the cost of health care--and the quality and safety of our services will drive lots of legislation. The Washington State Medical Association seems poised to make Medicaid funding its top priority--the first time that's happened in at least a dozen years. The state's mental health "system" is in tatters, due almost entirely to a lack of money. A special select legislative committee is proposing to bump public health spending by nearly $150 million over the next two years. In the face of all these demands, even a bright budget forecast begins to look a bit less promising.

We will be working closely with the WSHA to make sure your budget priorities are addressed. These include significant changes to Medicaid funding for the districts that are not operating critical access hospitals. We will work to ensure the state "pays its own way" for Medicaid in the next budget.

There will be more on legislative prospects to report in next month's issue. Until then, I hope each of you enjoys good health and safe travels!

SNAPSHOTS

The State Auditor's Office (SAO) wants district CEOs/administrators to be aware that management letters issued by its local auditing teams are documents that are available to the public. A district CEO recently learned this when a management letter containing errors ended up in the hands of local news media.

According to Kelly Collins, the SAO's hospital audit manager, the protocol for a local auditing team is to send the district a draft management letter for review before the team issues its final audit report. This enables the district to catch errors and request revisions to the letter before the audit is completed. Although the draft is a public record, Section 42.56.280 of the Revised Code of Washington exempts "preliminary drafts, as well as "notes, recommendations, and intra-agency memorandums in which opinions are expressed or policies formulated or recommended" from disclosure to the public.

A suggested best practice: Be certain to review and comment on draft SAO management letters as carefully as you would draft SAO findings.

There will be no change in the ability of Washington's taxing districts to increase regular property taxes for 2007 by more than one percent without voter approval in spite of a recent King County Superior Court ruling that Initiative 747 is unconstitutional. The Washington State Supreme Court issued a stay in mid-October preventing the lower court decision from going into effect. According to some court watchers, the State Supreme Court is likely to take the case on appeal and listen to arguments in winter or early spring. (Background on Initiative 747 is in the September edition of In Focus.)

E-mail communications between district commissioners could result in inadvertent violations of the state Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), so districts and commissioners should exercise care. Although a 2001 State Court of Appeals case declared "that the mere use of passive receipt of e-mail does not automatically constitute a 'meeting," commissioners need to be made aware that having e-mail discussions about district business among all board members, a majority of the board, or even commissioners who sit on a committee acting on behalf of the board could be a misstep.

When sending out documents to commissioners, districts might consider attaching an "advisory" alerting commissioners that e-mail, in-person or phone-tree discussions about the documents among a majority of commissioners could make the Board vulnerable to a claim that it was holding a meeting in violation of the OPMA.

PEOPLE AND PLACES

Mike Glenn will be stepping down as the CEO of Olympic Medical Center (Clallam County PHD No. 2, Port Angeles) on December 1st to become associate administrator at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia. Mike, a former AWPHD president, has been at Olympic Medical Center since 1991; he became its CEO in 1999. Eric Lewis, Olympic Medical Center's chief financial officer, has beren named interim CEO.

Lincoln Hospital (Lincoln County PHD No. 3, Davenport) has restructured its executive management team with the following changes taking place in early December: Ron Gleason will be leaving his posts as CFO and chief operations officer. Kris Knight, currently district controller, will be taking over as the CFO.

Olympic Memorial Hospital, part of Olympic Medical Center, was named as a 2006 CareScience™ Select Practice National Quality Leader in the area of medically managed myocardial infarction. This designation places the hospital among the top one percent of the 4,500 acute care hospitals in the U.S. This rating was achieved by application of the CareScience™ Select Practice methodology, which measures quality and efficiency, to outcomes at the hospital.

In early October, Klickitat Valley Health (Klickitat County PHD No. 1, Goldendale) opened its new building, which now houses its diagnostic imaging and emergency services departments. State Senator Jim Honeyford and State Representative Bruce Chandler were among the speakers at an open house, which was attended by over 500 people.

Columbia Basin Hospital (Grant County PHD No. 3, Ephrata) is constructing a building to house a 16-slice CT unit, which should be "up and running" early next year. Its mobile MRI unit has been well-received by the community and its clinic shortly will be fully staffed with six providers, including two family practitioners and a nurse practitioner.

HEALTHIEST STATE IN THE NATION (HSIN) CAMPAIGN

[Editor's Note: Karen Petersen at Columbia Basin Hospital sent us this month's report on HSIN Campaign activities in Ephrata.]

Get Fit Ephrata is a lifestyle change program designed to improve the health and fitness of the community of Ephrata through exercise and healthy eating. Participants include residents, people who work in Ephrata, and anyone else who has a vested interest in our community.

Get Fit Ephrata began on April 15, 2006, as a brain child of Craig Plummer, a commissioner at Grant County PHD No. 3, who wanted to see our community change in a healthy way. This grassroots campaign took off with 211 people committing to their own health and the health of our community.

The initial focus of Get Fit Ephrata is to improve the health of participants in three areas: overall fitness, a reduction in body fat, and a decrease in cholesterol. By working with participants to set realistic physical activity goals and through community involvement and support, Get Fit Ephrata encourages fitness for a lifetime. Community partners are vital to the success of our program. They help each other sustain excitement, interest and a commitment to the mission of Get Fit Ephrata--the promotion of a health lifestyle.

Plans are underway to bring more senior citizens into the program, as well as include children and teens. In addition to participation by the entire community, the program's 10-year goals include health screenings, nutritional education, immunizations, and the promotion of annual comprehensive physical exams with primary care physicians. As Get Fit Ephrata participants log miles through the Washington Health Foundation's (WHF) 10 million miles program, interest in Get Fit Ephrata and the desire for change in the health of our community have escalated.

UPCOMING EVENTS

RHQN Board Meeting
November 8 - 10:00 a.m. • Conference Call
Contact: Brad Vollegraaf (206) 216-2550

WSHA Executive Committee
November 17 - 10:00 a.m. • WSHA Offices
Contact: Lisa Rusk (206) 577-1852

WHF Board Meeting
November 28 - Noon• WHF Offices
Contact: Heather Pitre (206) 577-1848

WSHA Public Policy Advisory Group
November 29 - 10:00 a.m. • WSHA Offices
Contact: Melissa Waddell (206) 216-2510

WSHA Public Policy Committee
December 1 - 10:00 a.m. • WSHA Offices
Contact: Melissa Waddell (206) 216-2510

WSHA Patient Safety Committee
December 4 - 5:00 p.m. • Washington Athletic Club, Seattle
Contact: Angela Segerra (206) 216-2539

RHQN Board Meeting
December 5 - 10:00 a.m. • Conference Call
Contact: Brad Vollegraaf (206) 216-2550

WSHA Board Meeting
December 8 - 9:00 a.m. • WSHA Offices
Contact: Lisa Rusk (206) 577-1852

PHD & WAH Workers' Compensation Board Meeting
December 14 - 8:00 a.m.• Radisson Gateway Airport Hotel, SeaTac
Contact: Anita Badri (206) 216-2553

AWPHD Board Meeting
December 18 - 10:00 a.m. • AWPHD Offices, Seattle
Contact: Beionka Moore (206) 216-2530

The deadline for the next In Focus is Friday, November 24th. Send articles or information to Dick Goldsmith (richardg@awphd.org), Fax: (206) 577-1897, 300 Elliott Avenue West, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98119-4118.

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