ASHHRA eNews Pulse

Dear ASHHRA,

I like the saying "Rise and Shine!" It’s so full of possibilities. Just like an unopened gift box or the start of a new year full of opportunities. It’s an opportunity to shine, an opportunity to reinvent ourselves, set a new course, or simply accomplish an unfulfilled goal. Some people will climb a mountain, run a marathon, or learn to ski. Others will "stop and smell the flowers." They will set a goal to spend more time with family, visit friends, spend time enjoying nature, or just simply learn to relax and enjoy life every once in a while. Perennial favorite goals are to eat healthy and exercise more often (definitely on my list!). In our jobs, we may also resolve to develop our skills, talents, abilities, and improve our interpersonal relationships. Our goals may include helping our coworkers to also develop their skills, talents, abilities, and interpersonal relationships. I hope ASHHRA helps all of you to navigate successfully through this new year in order to lead people through change.

A wonderful opportunity and a gift in itself is ASHHRA. The knowledge gained through conferences, webinars, and newsletter articles helps us to achieve success every day. The long standing professional relationships and lifelong friendships that are formed through ASHHRA are an invaluable gift for us as professionals. As we begin our new year, please share in the gift of ASHHRA. Encourage your HR leadership team to join and tell your HR peers in the community about ASHHRA. Join ASHHRA committees, participate in taskforces, and attend conferences. Make this a part of your new year’s opportunities.

As health care leaders we are blessed with a unique set of resources in the ASHHRA team. Stephanie Drake, our executive director, and her dedicated team: Sharon Allen, Shirley Armistead, Ferdinand Libunao, Jamie Macander, and Emily Meskill, are always available to help. No question too small or too big, and they are just an email away (or a phone call if you’re like me and like to call and say hello). Our wonderful volunteer leaders, the ASHHRA Board, are also just a call away and willing and able to help. New on our board are Amy Barry, VP and CHRO with Martin Memorial Health Systems in Stuart, Florida, and Michael Robinson, CEO with Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center, Richmond Community Hospital, St. Francis Medical Center, and HealthSource. As with all new years, change is inevitable. Melissa Kinnaird and Jeff Payne will leave our board this year. Jeff has served ASHHRA for many years and served as our president in 2010. Both Jeff and Melissa will be greatly missed. (Don’t go too far, though, we can always draft you back into service. J) In addition, Bob Walters will continue on the board as immediate past president. Bob has been a wonderful leader, truly leading in an era of constant and complex change at all levels of human resources. Bob exemplifies a transformational and engaging leader, and we were so fortunate to have him share his talents with us as our president. Thank you, Bob. It has been my honor to work with you, and I’m excited about continuing that work this year.

As we enter our new year, I wish you good health and great opportunities in all your endeavors. May you climb that mountain you’ve always strived for, stop and smell the flowers, and develop your personal skills and talent. It is a true privilege and an honor for me to serve you. Together we can model the way for friends, family, and coworkers and Lead People Through Change.

Sincerely,

Irma L. Pye, SPHR
ASHHRA 2012 President
Senior Vice President & CHRO
Valley Baptist Health System
Harlingen, Texas

 

The AHA recently announced it has exclusively endorsed Dependent Eligibility Audit services from the Employer Solutions group of HMS (HMS Employer Solutions), a wholly owned subsidiary of HMS Holdings Corp. The Dependent Eligibility Audit services from HMS were selected for this exclusive endorsement following an extensive due diligence process.

Visit http://www.aha-solutions.org/partners/hms.shtml?source=121211pr to view the full article online.

 

ASHHRA is inviting mentors and mentees to participate in the 2012 Mentoring Program, which is designed to create a mentorship community for health care HR professionals to enhance and grow knowledge, skills, and abilities to excel in their career.

Visit http://www.ashhra.org/learning/mentoring.shtml to view the full article online.

 

The December issue of the Health Care Labor Report is now available for members.

Visit http://sso.aha.org/opensso/cdcservlet?goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ashhra.org%3A80%2Fmember%2Fhc_labor_report.shtml&RequestID=513466683&MajorVersion=1&MinorVersion=0&ProviderID=http%3A%2F%2Fs259722ch3vl49.uschcg6.savvis.net%3A80%2Famagent&IssueInstant=2012-01-06 to view the full article online.

 

By Michael Gormley
New registered nurses would have to earn bachelor's degrees within 10 years to keep working in New York under a bill lawmakers are considering as part of a national push to raise educational standards for nurses, even as the health care industry faces staffing shortages.
SOURCE: THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION

Visit http://www.ajc.com/health/ny-bill-would-require-1281239.html to view the full article online.

 

By Steve Twedt
Geisinger Health System in central Pennsylvania announced this week that it will test all new job applicants for nicotine use beginning in February, and those who test positive will not be hired. Then, beginning in 2013, the Geisinger's health insurance arm will charge a higher premium for current employees who acknowledge that they smoke or chew tobacco.
SOURCE: PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Visit http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11364/1200105-28.stm to view the full article online.

 

By Karen M. Cheung

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported some good news Jan. 6, that overall health care employment is up and the national unemployment across industries is down. Health care employment in December saw gains, along with transportation and warehousing, retail trade, manufacturing and mining, according to a BLS press release. Unemployment for all industries went down to 8.5 percent (13.1 million unemployed) in December, compared to 8.6 percent in November.
SOURCE: FIERCE HEALTHCARE

Visit http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/hospital-overall-healthcare-employment/2012-01-06 to view the full article online.

 

By John Commins

Health Care created 22,600 jobs in December, finishing a strong year for job growth that saw 314,700 payroll additions in 2011. Health care accounted for nearly one in five new jobs in the overall economy, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows.
SOURCE: HEALTHLEADERS MEDIA

Visit http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/HR-275073/Healthcare-Created-314K-Jobs-in-2011## to view the full article online.

 

By Cheryl Clark

Which quality issues will provoke the most influential changes in health care in 2012? Or, which ones will most rapidly accelerate the graying of chief quality officers' hair? There are so many; it's hard to pick the most significant. We interviewed quality experts around the country to glean the most influential and then picked a dozen.
SOURCE: HEALTHLEADERS MEDIA

Visit http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/QUA-274910/Top-12-Healthcare-Quality-Concerns-in-2012 to view the full article online.

 

By Diana Manos

New standards for electronic funds transfers in health care, required by the Affordable Care Act, will reduce up to $4.5 billion off administrative costs for doctors and hospitals, private health plans, states, and other government health plans over the next 10 years, according to estimates included in new rules published today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
SOURCE: HEALTHCARE IT NEWS

Visit http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/electronic-funds-transfer-healthcare-save-us-45b to view the full article online.

 

By Diana Hooper

Whether for the body, mind, or soul, Toronto East General Hospital’s (TEGH) award-winning wellness program recognizes that a healthy and positive work environment goes far beyond the desk, nursing station, or patient room. That is why the wellness program, introduced in 2004, promotes a culture of wellness that includes physical activity, supports mental well-being, and fosters the inner spirit.
SOURCE: HOSPITAL NEWS

Visit http://www.hospitalnews.com/another-first-for-hospital%e2%80%99s-award-winning-wellness-program/ to view the full article online.

 

By Dr. Zachary F. Meisel and Dr. Jesse M. Pines

It usually happens around 5 a.m. after the night-shift adrenaline has worn off. A certain ER doctor sits in front of his computer finishing charts, when his shoulders slowly start to sag, his head lolls, and then he has nodded off to sleep, his loud snores reverberating through the ER.
SOURCE: TIME

Visit http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/30/should-your-doctor-be-napping-on-the-job/ to view the full article online.

 

By Kris Scheuer

At St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Toronto, physician leadership is critical to our ability to deliver on our strategy to be the best. We rely on our physicians to take on leadership roles to participate in decision making that will help us to deliver the best care to our patients, their families, and the communities that we serve.
SOURCE: HOSPITAL NEWS

Visit http://www.hospitalnews.com/st-joe%e2%80%99s-implements-physician-leadership-development-program/ to view the full article online.

 

By Karen M. Cheung

Like most Americans, your New Year's resolutions might be to lose weight, exercise more, achieve professional growth, or be a better person—goals that Northwestern University discovered topped the most popular resolutions' list, The Wall Street Journal reports. In addition to personal goals, though, consider setting professional goals for both yourself and your organization. Industry experts and Hospital Impact bloggers wrote about their goals for the New Year and a few tips. Consider making similar resolutions in your work life.

SOURCE: FIERCE HEALTHCARE

Visit http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/setting-your-2012-work-resolutions/2012-01-05 to view the full article online.

 

By Dr. Patricia Houston

At St. Michael’s Hospital, our approach to education is founded on the belief that everyone in the hospital is a student and everyone is a teacher. It is both as simple and as complex as that. Traditionally, at St. Michael’s, as in most teaching hospitals, education was regarded as the part of the organization that dealt with learners from medicine and nursing. Over time, other students from health disciplines became part of our educational programming. But for a while, there was little more.
SOURCE: HOSPITAL NEWS

Visit http://www.hospitalnews.com/creating-excellent-patient-outcomes-through-leadership-in-education/ to view the full article online.