04/10/08 Meeting Minutes

Hi All!

Below are the meeting minutes from yesterday's meeting.

Meeting Minutes
April 10, 2008
Room A724 Crabtree Hall
1:00 pm - 2:00pm

Attendees: John Zaharoff, Jillian Williams, Jamie Ferguson, Salma Riaz, Adam Critchlow, Anna Oberacker, Jackie Hughes, Erica Franko, Wade Ebersole, Amy Jones, Janet Fan, Jen Boekeloo, Kristi Powers

I. Elections

President - Nominees were Erica Franko and Kristi Powers; Votes were tallied and Kristi Powers is the new President-Elect

Vice President - Erica Franko will be our new Vice President-Elect

Financial Officer - Adam Critchlow was elected Financial Officer-Elect by an uncontested landslide

Administrator - Anna Oberacker was elected our new Administrator-Elect

II. Socials

End of year social - Jamie will work on reserving a venue for Friday, April 25th at Doc’s in Shadyside. Additionally, Wade will try to see if it is possible to reserve space at the new Harris Grill also in Shadyside.

Bowling - Janet will work on scheduling a bowling event at Fun Fest in Harmarville (a few miles north on Route 28) for the first weekend in May.

Driving Range - Erica is able to set up cheap (really cheap!) social events at a driving range if there is interest.

Bash - Wade suggested having a beginning of the year get-together for a welcome back for the returning students and a welcoming for new members.

III. Career Services update

Interview Workshop - John has been in contact with Joan Anson about interviewing workshops. He also mentioned that the newly elected officers meet with Ms. Anson to introduce ourselves.

IV. Community Service

Post Graduate Promotion - Anna has been in contact with the Pitt undergraduate program, and it was determined that the beginning of next semester (end of August) will be our first scheduled interaction with the students. She is also working on other contacts, such as Duquesne University.

Food Bank - Adam has been in contact with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and is working on a plan for a few summer Saturday volunteer opportunities.

Ronald McDonald House - Erica has been in contact with the Ronald McDonald House representatives and is working on setting up a couple Sundays in the summer.

V. Fundraising/Balance Sheet

Financial Situation - Jamie reported on the specifics of our financial situation:
a) We currently have $800 in our account
b) The goal is to leave $200 in our account for next year
c) All of the money from the Department of HPM has been used
d) We have $300 from SGA
d) Jamie is working on getting gifts of appreciation for support from Department of HPM staff

Bake Sale - Erica is planning a bake sale for the upcoming weeks. Please let her know if you are interested in volunteering to work at the table or baking anything.

VI. Recognition

Dr. Lin's Donation - John recognized the very generous donation of $100 made to HPMA from Dr. Lin. We will also recognize Dr. Lin and the support of others before the end of the year.

VII. National Public Health Week

Children's Museum - John mentioned that next week is the educational program for NPHW; April 15th from 10am – 2:45pm. However, class conflicts with the program, so we will not be able to hold the hand washing demo at the Children’s Museum.

However, there is an opportunity volunteers to be a team leader/chaperone. Please let John know if you are interested in volunteering.

VIII. Summer

New Students - The new elected officers will work on finding out who the new students for next year are so that we can begin welcoming them and including them in some of our earlier HPMA activities.

IX. Other Suggestions

Medical Education Sessions - Anna and Erica brought up some ideas to attend some medical education sessions around Pittsburgh and work on possibly getting Grand Rounds approval. Amy and Jen mentioned the STAHR program that might fit into Anna and Erica’s ideas for attending medical education seminars. The STAHR sessions are close to GSPH in Scaife Hall.

X. More Suggestions

Additional Comments - If anyone has any other suggestions that were not mentioned at this meeting, or any additional comments/corrections about the topics discussed at the meeting, please feel free to post on our website, 3rivershealthleaders.blogspot.com, or contact Erica, Anna, Adam, or myself.

XI. Thank You

Lunch - Thanks to Jamie for providing delicious Subway sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, and pop for our meeting!

XII. Good Luck

Congrats and good luck to our second years!

National Public Health Week CALL TO ACTION!

It is National Public Health Week, and this year the emphasis is on global climate change.

HPMA is challenging you take time this week to take a few EASY steps to decrease the amount of junk mail you receive, which can ultimately lower your “carbon footprint.”

WHAT CAN I DO?
• Go to www.proquo.com or www.catalogchoice.org and follow the easy instructions to remove your name/address from mailing lists!
• If there are catalogs or coupons you would still like to receive, sign up for e-mails from those stores instead of getting paper copies.

WHY SHOULD I DO IT?
• According to the National Resources Defense Council, more than 19 billion
catalogs are published in the U.S. each year. It takes about 53 million
trees to make all that paper.
• These trees not only provide wildlife habitat, they take carbon dioxide
out of the air. But the environmental impact goes well beyond that because
catalog production and distribution create greenhouse gases, about 5
million tons of carbon monoxide each year according to the NRDC. That’s
equal to the tailpipe emissions from 2 million cars.
• Yes, catalogs can be recycled, although not everyone does that. But
reducing the amount of unwanted catalogs printed and mailed in the first
place would have a significantly greater environmental impact.
(MSNBC.com, Federal Reserve Board
• Still, the paper industry is not without its impact. Because of its
consumption of energy, the industry — which includes magazines,
newspapers, catalogs and writing paper — emits the fourth-highest level of
carbon dioxide among manufacturers, according to a 2002 study by the
Energy Information Administration, a division of the Department of Energy.
(nytimes.com)
• The life of a magazine or a newspaper starts with trees being cut down in
a forest and ends with the burning or recycling of old magazines or
papers. The most harmful part of the process is paper production. Breaking
down wood fiber to make paper consumes a lot of energy, which in many
cases comes from coal plants. (nytimes.com)

If you have any thoughts or remarks, feel free to post a comment!

Masters Essay

Hi Everyone!

Just reading the minutes to see what you're all up to in Pittsburgh. I am still alive in the nation's crime zone and have yet to find Nelly.

For those writing a Master's Essay- I think we got a good deal. At SLU, my class is taking oral comps at the beginning of April instead of writing essays. They have to study everything from 10 courses in the program, and then a day before their comps they receive a case. 24 hours later, they show up to a panel of 3 faculty members, pick 3 random envelopes and spend an hour orally answering the questions to the faculty. Then they have an additional hour to be questioned on the case. So, for example, someone could pick a Biostat question, a health law and ethics question, and a finance question and then have Dr. Longest, Dr. Lave, and Dr. D asking questions to them for 2 hours. That sounds intense and has made me love my Masters Essay.

Hope all is well! Good Luck with everything!

Michelle Costantino

02/28/08 Meeting Minutes

Hi Everyone!

Here are the minutes from last Thursday's meeting:

Meeting Minutes
Thursday, February 28, 2008
2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
6th Floor Health Policy Institute Conference Room

Attendees: Jillian Williams, Adam Chritchlow, Salma Riaz, Anna Oberacker, Erica Franko, Jamal Robinson, Cindy Oh, John Zaharoff, Kristi Powers

I. National Public Health Week 2008: Climate Change

Catalog Choice Awareness Campaign/Challenge - Erica and John volunteered to take the lead on this project for an awareness campaign go get people to cancel catalog subscriptions.

Other - No other suggestions were made

Educational program, hand washing - Anna, Adam, and John volunteered to take the lead on this project. This is an SGA-wide youth outreach program that is requesting all organizations’ participation. Suggestions:
1. Focus on exercise and obesity
2. Focus on prevention
3. Design a presentation of the Mr. Germ black light product that reveals the amount of germs on hands when exposed to a black light
Number 3. was chosen as the activity. Update since the meeting: The session will most likely be held at the local school, not at GSPH.

II. Professional Development Update

Interviewing - Career Services interview workshop on February 14th was informative and helpful. A school-wide session is being planned. Please let John know if you would like another one or any other professional development workshop in the future.

Etiquette dinner/other - Depending on the amount of people that are interested, the tentative date for the etiquette dinner will be Saturday, April 12th. We need to determine the specifics of the dinner, but we will first rely on a survey to see if enough people are interested. Please let Kristi or John know if you would like to attend or have any suggestions.

III. Social Update

Happy Hour - Janet is working on a date for the next happy hour. If anyone is interested in hosting, please let Janet know.

Other Suggestions - Bowling night (Arsenal Lanes, etc…); Ice/roller skating event; Pirates game (groups get discounted rates; games begin at the end of March and beginning of April); Trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo; Any other suggestions, please let Janet know.

IV. Community Service Update

Pittsburgh Community Food Bank - Adam volunteered to contact the Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to find out any volunteer opportunities for HPMA members

Post-Graduate Promotion - Anna suggested and volunteered to take the lead on promoting post-graduate education to healthcare students attending colleges in the Pittsburgh area (Duquesne University, Pitt, etc…). Kristi volunteered to assist Anna with this project. Please let Anna know if you would like to help out or have any questions or suggestions.

Ronald McDonald House - Erica will follow up with the Ronald McDonald House for dining servicevolunteer opportunities.

Science Fair Judges - Erica suggested judging at the Pittsburgh Science Fair on April 4th. This would be an individual opportunity. You may sign up to be a judge at www.pittsburghsciencefair.org.

V. Finance Update

Sarris Candy - Sarris Candy orders were due at Noon on Friday, February 29th to Jamie Ferguson. The candy orders will be delivered on March 19th.

Bake Sales/other - Total profit from last bake sale was $137. We would like to have a few more bake sales before the end of the semester. A suggestion was to have a Weight Watchers themed sale in which all items sold would have a Weight Watchers point value assigned to them. Please let Erica know if you would like to bake something. Dates, times, and location to be determined.

VI. Other: Revise/Comment on new statement for GSPH website

The new statement wording was discussed and is in the process of being edited.

Tennis Anyone?

This Saturday, February 16 from 6-8pm at Mt. Lebanon Tennis Center (http://mtlebanontennis.com/directions/), the Health Policy and Management Association will be holding a fundraising event with tennis games for all skill levels. There will be games, prizes, food and music at this INDOOR facility!

All experience levels are welcome to take part in the activities, and rackets will be available for participants who don't own one.

The cost is only $10 dollars per person, and friends and family of all ages are encouraged to attend. Please direct any questions or your RSVP to Jackie Hughes at JKH26@pitt.edu.

Prepare for Big Changes with the New MS-DRGs and Present on Admission (POA) Indicators

Wednesday, February 27, 2008
5:30 - 7:30 PM
Location: Hospital Council of Western PA (500 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale)
For directions click HERE

Speaker:
Lori Purcell, RHIA, CCS, Director, Coding & Reimbursement, QHR

CMS is adopting MS-DRGs to better recognize severity of illness and resource use based on case complexity - and your hospital could lose reimbursement if you're not prepared. Medicare will not longer pay for preventable hospital mistakes. Lori Purcell, national recognized director of Coding and Reimbursement for QHR Consulting Services, will help you:

• Understand the potential effect on coder productivity and physician documentation practices
• Identify hospital acquired conditions and learn why your coders must get this one right
• Hear what two hospitals have done to prepare for these massive changes
• Review strategies for success to address possible compliance and quality issues

Schedule:
5:30 - 6:00 PM Registration/Networking/Refreshments
6:00 - 7:00 PM Speaker/Program
7:00 - 7:30 PM Q&A

http://westpa.ache.org/Documents/MS-DRGs.doc to register. The cost is $10, but students who attend will be reimbursed by HPMA, so save proof of attendance.

Interviewing Workshop

On Thursday February 14 from 2:00-2:45pm, HPMA will hold an interviewing workshop for HPMA members in the 6^th Floor HPI Conference Room. We will welcome Andrea Abt from Career Services for advice and practice to build this vital skill.

Community Service Opportunities

Hey everyone!

Sorry I couldn't make it to the meeting. I have some information to share with you about a community service opportunity. I have been working with the East End Cooperative Ministry to coordinate a relationship with them for future service projects. We are looking at planning a day and time for us to serve lunch to the homeless. I will need several volunteers to bring food/drink items. I will let you know the date and time once it is arranged.

For those students who do not have time to attend the project, please help me collect the following items:
-blankets
-winter jackets
-canned food
-bags/purses

You can turn these items to me at any time if you have class with me. I can also arrange to meet you with you to pick these items up. If you have any questions about this organization, let me know or visit them at eecm.org.

More information soon to come!

Thanks you all your help!

Alyshia

01/28/08 Meeting Minutes

Hi Everyone,

Here is what went on at Thursday's meeting:

Attendees:
Jamal Robinson, Wade Ebersole, Jennifer Boekeloo, Janet Fan, Jillian Williams, Jackie Hughes, Kristi Powers, Erica Franko, Anna Oberacker, John Zaharoff.
*Each member present indicated their intent to attend or not attend Congress; if you have not done so, please contact John to let him know your Congress status

I. ACHE Congress Updates since 1/17 meeting:

Travel Grants - For those attending Congress and wishing to fill out all financial assistance in the Travel Grant packet, none of us will qualify for the first one (GSPA Office of Student Affairs); however, we are eligible for the other two. Remember to submit by Feb. 1st!

ACHE Western PA - ACHE Western PA is offering $500 to two members who submit an essay by January 31st. The application is on our website.

II. Fundraising

Privilege - The date is set for Friday, Feb. 22nd. Last year, the price charged was $15 at the door and $10 pre-order. The ticket price includes 2 free drinks and access to the VIP area. Erica is taking the lead on this one, and is looking for volunteers to sign up for this committee. Also, we are still in need of a theme (suggestions brought up were a Chicago theme or a President's Day theme since Feb. 22nd is President's Day). Contact Erica if you'd like to join the committee or have suggestions for the theme.

Tennis - The date is set for Saturday, Feb. 16th from 6-8 (we will be able to have the courts until 9, however) at the Mount Lebanon Tennis Club. Jackie will be the lead for this fundraiser. Rackets and tennis balls will be provided. To raise a few extra bucks, we will sell hamburgers and hot dogs since there is a kitchen area and a living room area for food and games. There will be a DJ to play music. Jackie's father will send out a mass email to all of his contacts letting them know about this event; this will hopefully bring a lot of people. John will contact the alumni association as well. A suggestion for the event was that we have a 50/50 raffle for a prize that might be donated (gift certificate, tennis apparel, etc.). If tickets to the event are purchased in advance they will be able to enter the raffle for free. Another suggestion was that when guests RSVP they indicate their experience level so that those who wish to play a match may do so; a 1-point tournament will help facilitate this. The suggested donation for the event is $10 or $15. All ages are welcome.

Sarris - Jamie was not present; updates will be provided as available.

Bake Sale - In light Valentine's Day coming up, we can sell baked goods that members bake and sell in high-traffic areas on campus. In the past, other organizations were able to raise about $200. Erica will be gathering up volunteers.

III. Golf Outing
It was determined that for this semester, a golf outing will not be feasible. Wade presented his research that a minimum of 80 participants is needed at a cost of $100 per person to reserve a date. However, ACHE Western PA wants to hold a golf outing; John will contact them and find out if they will be willing to let us do most of the work in return for half of the money raised. Updates will be provided as available.

IV. Professional Development

Etiquette Dinner - Not much luck with this. Kristi is working on a few contacts and waiting for replies from them. If anyone has any suggestions or knows anyone that might have any information on this, contact Kristi. If we cannot come up with someone to do this, Erica will offer her etiquette skills to us.

Other - A career services resume/cover letter writing workshop was suggested.

V. Social

Bodies Exhibit - The cost for this is $22 a person, but if we get a group of 15 or more, tickets are only $18. Most people present at the meeting have already seen the exhibit, so anyone interested should contact Janet.

VI. Community Service

East End Cooperative Ministry - Neither Abdul nor Alisha were present; updates will be provided as available.

Ronald McDonald House - Because of differing schedules between the first and second years, we will have two sessions. Typically, the sessions begin around 5:00 pm for dinner. The two days available are Monday night and Wednesday night near the end of Feb. We will bring ingredients necessary for the dinner, and the Ronald McDonald House will provide the kitchen and tools needed. Remember to collect pop tabs to bring to the session!

VII. Public Health Week
Organizations were asked to participate in Public Health Week at GSPH.
Theme: Climate Change
Suggestion: Competition between the GSPH departments to see who can get the most people to cancel their catalogs on a particular website. Any other suggestions?

VIII. Happy Birthday Wade!

HPMA meeting 1/24/08

Agenda

Health Policy & Management Association

1/24/08

12:00 – 12:40

Room 425

I. Any ACHE Congress updates since 1/17 meeting 2min

a. Travel grants

b. ACHE Western PA - $500

II. Fundraising 15min

a. Privilege

b. Tennis

c. Sarris

d. Bowling?/other

III. Golf outing 5min

IV. Professional Development 5min

a. Etiquette dinner

b. Other

V. Social 2min

a. Bodies Exhibit

VI. Community Service 5min

a. East End Cooperative Ministry

b. Ronald McDonald House

VII. Public Health Week 5min

"Lessons Learned from EMR Implementation"

Students can attend a session entitled "Lessons Learned from EMR Implementation" on January 24 from 1:30-3:30 at Hospital Council of Western PA (500 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale - For directions click HERE). Regular price is $35 but students enjoy this informative presentation for only $10.

This session is presented jointly by ACHE of Western PA and Western PA HIMSS. More information follows:
Speakers:

Vivian Funkhouser, MIM, MBA, Business Development Manager, Global Healthcare Solutions, Motorola's Enterprise Mobility
Peg Spisak, RN, BSN, MPM, Director of Quality/Risk Management & Patient Safety Officer, Ohio Valley General Hospital
Sharon Dorogy, MEd, Director of Information Systems, The Children's Institute
Karen Franke, MT, MIS, Project Lead, The Children's Institute
Danniele Fullard, RN, MHIS, Clinical Analyst, The Children's Institute

Click HERE to register

As we open this meeting, we’re reminded that there really is a difference between the concepts of an Electronic Medical Record and an Electronic Health Record. Vivian Funkhouser, MIM, MBA, Business Development Manager for the Global Healthcare Solutions sector of Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility organization, will kick-off the afternoon’s activities with an overview of the “EMR” vs. the “EHR.”

Peg Spisak, RN, BSN, MPM, Director of Quality/Risk Management & Patient Safety Officer at Ohio Valley General Hospital, will share her organization’s EMR experience from a patient safety perspective. In particular, she will focus on ‘Automating Medication Administration at the Bedside: A Community Hospital Experience.’

Having had a campus-wide EMR solution installed and operating since 2002, The Children’s Institute has, in many ways, taken their EMR to a new level. Sharon Dorogy, MEd, Director of Information Systems at The Children’s Institute, along with Karen Franke, MT, MIS (Project Lead) and Danniele Fullard, RN, MHIS (Clinical Analyst) will share their EMR implementation experiences, including their current strategic initiatives that focus on using the EMR data for daily operations, information management reporting and new research initiatives.

ACHE Congress Scholarship

From Kaneen Allen, the Student Task Force Committee Chairperson of the ACHE of Western PA Board of Directors:

ACHE of Western PA offering a Scholarship to students in our region to attend Congress in March. The essay topic is below in quotes. I have also included a description of who we are.

ACHE of Western Pennsylvania

We have a 14 member Board of Directors. We provide services for healthcare executives, managers and enthusiasts in 26 counties of Pennsylvania, spanning from Lake Erie to West Virginia. The region includes nearly 100 tertiary and community hospitals, making the Western Pennsylvania area a leader in organ transplantation, cancer care, women's health and medical research. Several colleges and universities in the area are on the cutting edge in information technology and life sciences.

We offer several programs a year to meet networking and educational needs. We invite you to join us at our sessions. The website will have the schedule of events posted.

Website: http://westpa.ache.org/x16.xml



Essay Topic: Due January 31st, 2008

"Healthcare, both as a science and as an industry, is continuously evolving. As society changes, healthcare evolves concurrently, as new challenges emerge and existing ones resurface. Choose a timely organizational issue occurring in healthcare today and point to the major issues and potential solutions. Be sure to emphasize what seminars and sessions at the conference Redefining the Healthcare Landscape that you believe will help stimulate and/or provide creative, innovative ideas to the organizational issue you selected and would support your potential solutions. Some potential areas to consider are Transparency, Medicare Reimbursement and Quality."

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