Patient Interpreters Save Money, But Who Pays?
from NPR
Under civil rights laws, health care providers who accept federal money must provide interpretation for patients who can't speak English. But the law doesn't compel the government or insurers to pay for that. More

How to De-Stress a Recession-Riddled Life
from Yahoo News
Recessions are bad for the stress level, as many in the midst of the current economic situation know and surveys prove. Perhaps not surprisingly, nearly half of the 1,791 adults polled for the American Psychological Association's latest Stress in America survey said that their stress had increased in the past year. More

Registering and Using the SHCA List Serv is Easy! Step 1: Sign Up today
from The Associated Press via Forbes
Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed into law a bill that expands state health care access to nearly every child in Oregon. More

Groups Take Health-Reform Debate to Airwaves
from The Washington Post
The increasingly heated fight over health-care legislation is saturating the summer airwaves, with groups on all sides of the debate pouring tens of millions of dollars into advertising campaigns designed to push the cause of reform forward, slow it down or stop it in its tracks. More

SHCA Online Education Presents: Improving the Patient and Family Experience, Part I Maximize the Voice of the Customer: The Power of Data Wednesday, September 23, 2009 1:00 p.m. (Central) For Patient Advocates, learning to analyze and use different sources of data to develop a clear and compelling picture of what customers (patients, families, visitors, community) want from their healthcare organization and how to present the information is the key to driving positive change. At the end of this 90-minute presentation, participants will be able to: Identify data sources – complaints, commendations, survey data and comments, community feedback Learn how to interpret and use the information Using a “real-life” example, discuss how to drill down into data to identify specifics areas for change Learn how to effectively communicate findings to leadership and drive change Learn more
from EndoNurse
Patients and leading patient advocates from across the country, in partnership with the American Brain Tumor Association, Black Women's Health Imperative, Colon Cancer Alliance, Lung Cancer Alliance and Society for Women's Health Research gathered Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol to call on Congress to reject proposed “deep and arbitrary” reimbursement cuts to imaging services that would devastate patient access to life-saving diagnostics, particularly in rural communities throughout America. More

Overhauling Healthcare is Too Big for Texas
from The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
When Gov. Rick Perry recently threatened to block healthcare reform in Texas by invoking "states’ rights," it sounded like another case of political pandering. The guy who has railed about Washington’s bailout mentality and even talked about Texas seceding from the Union was again playing to his conservative base — and generating laugh lines. More

Exclusive Member Benefit - Register for the SHCA Career Center We are pleased to introduce our new SHCA Career Center and are inviting you to join the premier electronic recruitment resource in the healthcare industry! As a member of SHCA, you can create and manage your account for FREE! But that's not all; we invite you to share the Career Center with your HR departments and extend to them a 10% off for their first Single 60-day listing, or 20% off their first Three/Five or Ten 60-day listing package. Simply forward this e-mail with your recommendation, contact name, and e-mail address to shca@aha.org - it's that simple! Reach over 1,200 member healthcare organizations with this exciting tool. Here, employers, recruiters, and job seekers can access the most qualified talent pool of both jobs and seekers in healthcare. Simply complete our online registration form
from The Associated Press via The Miami Herald
Roughly 1 million of Florida's 2.6 million Medicaid patients were mistakenly deleted from eligibility rolls - zapped by a computer glitch. More

Free Educational Webinar from AHA Solutions: As a SHCA member you are entitled to register for the AHA Solutions webinar for free! Comply With The Language Services Federal Mandate And Improve Quality of Care and Patient Flow Thursday, August 13; 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. (EDT) Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients are admitted to hospitals across the country. Providing language services is a federal mandate but wide gaps in compliance exist. This AHA Solutions webinar features The Children's Hospital, Denver Colorado, presenting strategies they are currently researching for impact across their entire health network including effects on patient satisfaction and effectiveness of communication and through-out. Register now!
from The Salt Lake Tribune
Health care reform, if it succeeds, may result in thousands more Utahns getting health insurance. But in a state already strapped for doctors, it doesn't mean they will get to see a physician right away. More

Bill Would Limit Creation, Expansion of Doctor-owned Hospitals
from KSN-TV
Congress is looking at clamping down on doctor-owned hospitals as part of health care reform. The legislation would make it virtually impossible for new ones to open and keep current ones from expanding. More