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 From the Desk of Ken Cohen, Executive Director
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August has been an interesting month for me as I had cervical disc surgery and fusion in late July and missed several weeks while recovering. First, I wanted to thank the Board and the ACHD Team for their awesome work during this same time. The work of the Association continued with no disruption and no break in continuity due to the ACHD Board and Executive Team and their absolute commitment to the mission and work of our Healthcare Districts.
The Board held its annual strategic planning retreat on August 29-30th. During the retreat, the Board identified an ambitious set of goals for the Association through 2020. The session itself was facilitated by Randy Lenac, ACHD Board Member and Trustee, Grossmont Healthcare District, in collaboration with Howard Salmon, ACHD Board Chair and Trustee, Fallbrook Regional Heath District. There are several topics that are now under consideration, including: Corporate Sponsorship, Affiliate Membership, Member Needs Assessments, and exploration of collaborative relationships with other similar health care membership organizations. During our 66th Annual Meeting, taking place September 12-14, in Pismo Beach, Members will hear firsthand, the Board's vision for the Association along with other important Association updates. I hope to see all our Member Healthcare Districts at this excellent learning event.
One of the exciting opportunities that ACHD is working toward is even greater collaboration with the Stanford Health Improvement Network. This may include Stanford providing greater educational offerings to key health care leaders, physicians and employees with potential topics, including: behavioral health and wellness, principles of community engagement, culture of wellness, data and public policy, and access to monthly newsletters highlighting current health trends and projects. ACHD will also be looking to other organizations, such as the University of California and California State University System to enhance our educational and technical support capabilities.
You may have noticed that ACHD did not publish the Membership Drives Change newsletter this month. Moving forward, ACHD will consolidate the Membership Drives Change newsletter into the ACHD Advocate, and only publish one monthly newsletter. To access archived newsletters, please click
here.
Again, thanks to all for your kindness and well wishes during my surgery and recovery. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you at our Annual Meeting.
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Legislative Update
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The ACHD Advocacy Team continues to engage with legislation that may impact Healthcare Districts as bills make it to the Governor's desk. The Legislature adjourned a two-year session at midnight August 31st. Some deadlines to note include September 30, which marks the last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills. ACHD has 22 measures on the Governor's desk.
AB 2019:
AB 2019 (Aguiar-Curry)
was signed by the Governor on September 5! ACHD adopted a support position on AB 2019 earlier this summer. ACHD remains focused on building a positive relationship with Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and her staff and will continue finalizing plans for her to visit more Healthcare Districts.
AB 2329 & SB 929:
ACHD supported two special district measures which have made it to the Governor's desk for his consideration. ACHD continued to engage with the Governor's staff to urge positive consideration on these measures.
AB 2329 (Obernolte) was signed into law by the Governor in August and will set a single standard of compensation for special district board members when it takes effect on January 1, 2019.
SB 929 (McGuire), which is still awaiting the Governor's signature, will require all special districts to operate a website.
AB 3115 & SB 1288:
ACHD continues to advocate on two important measures of opposition for Healthcare Districts, as both await the Governor's consideration.
AB 3115 (Gipson) narrows and complicates the ability of local agencies to develop community paramedicine or triage to alternative destination programs.
SB 1288 (Leyva) increases fined to hospitals for violations of nurse-to-patient ratio regulations. ACHD's Advocacy Team encourages you to use sample letters for both
AB 3115 and
SB 1288 to convey the negative impacts if these bills are enacted. Please send all letters to the Governor's fax line: 916-558-3177.
ACHD's Advocacy Team, will continue to monitor legislation as the Governor provides his final decisions. Measures that receive the Governor's signature on or before September 30, will take effect January 1, 2019.
Stay tuned for ACHD's end of session legislative report in October.
Ballot Measures:
ACHD's Board of Directors voted to take a position on three ballot measures on the November 6, 2018 Ballot.
Proposition 4:
Authorizes Bonds Funding Construction at Hospitals Providing Children's Health Care. ACHD Support
Proposition 5:
Changes Requirements for Certain Property Owners to Transfer Their Property Tax Base to Replacement Property. ACHD Oppose
Proposition 8: Authorizes State Regulation of Kidney Dialysis Clinics. Limits Charges for Patient Care. ACHD Oppose
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In an effort to show our appreciation to Healthcare District Leaders, ACHD will begin highlighting the invaluable contributions of Trustees in their community. We recognize that the work and passion of our Trustees often go unrecognized and it is our goal is to share the positive impacts Trustees make in their communities.
What inspired you to run for a seat on the Healthcare District Board?
After serving over 4 years on the Board of the Grossmont Hospital and the Sharp Healthcare finance committee, I was impressed with the professionalism, honor and commitment of these two organizations. They nearly met the high expectations I had come to admire in my 27-year career in the Marine Corps. So, when a position came available on the Grossmont Healthcare District Board four years ago, I jumped at the chance to join the other half of the finest example of public/private partnership in San Diego County if not the State of California. Politics was not my thing, but serving my country and community in an honorable organization was a natural fit.
What is one accomplishment that you and the Board have implemented that you are most proud of?
During my tenure at Grossmont Healthcare District, the Board have essentially completed the $260M Prop G upgrades to Grossmont Hospital. We have completed the Intensive Care Unit, built a state-of-the-art Heart and Vascular Surgical Center, made seismic upgrades and generally refreshed large parts of our 60-year old hospital. Best of all we did it under budget. Along with our partner, Sharp Healthcare, the people of East San Diego County have almost $500M in improvements to our only E. County hospital. We have done a lot of other things, but if you have never done a project of this size and scope, you can't even understand what a big deal this is.
What is unique about your District and the constituents you serve?
We are a hospital district, but over 30 years ago the Board recognized that we needed to join a larger organization to survive. They leased Grossmont Hospital to Sharp Healthcare for 30 years. It has been a tremendous success as a public/private partnership and the public voted a few years ago to renew the lease for another 30 years by an 87% margin. This makes our District a hybrid, because we have a governance role in the Grossmont Hospital, but not a day-to-day operational role. This enables us to focus our attention beyond the hospital to the community health needs in our District. It has proven to be a good balance.
What is a goal you hope to achieve for your District during your tenure?
We have the busiest Emergency Department (ED) in San Diego County. Much has been done to resolve the backlog in the ED, but more needs to be done. The ED is the front door of Grossmont Hospital with over 70% of our admissions coming through the ED. Grossmont Hospital is essentially full meaning we fill an empty bed as soon as a patient is released. Many patients wait too long in the ED for an acute care bed. Long waiting times in the ED are unacceptable and more needs to be done. We are preparing to embark on a once a decade Master Site Plan. This effort is very important, because we need to resolve the ED issue and it probably will require additional acute car beds, a very expensive proposition.
How has being a part of ACHD helped you as a leader, your District, residents and the community?
I was a leader trained by my experiences in the Marine Corps. Sheer dint of personality can often overcome opposition. My time at Grossmont Healthcare District has taught me that just because you have an idea does not mean that it will happen. I have learned that I have to build consensus, give credit to others and compromise if I want to get ideas implemented. At first it was frustrating, but I now truly believe that the collective wisdom of our Board produces the best results for our constituents. Sometimes the sausage making is not pretty, but the final product more often than not is delicious.
What advice or encouragement would you give someone considering running for the Healthcare District Board?
Just do it! Politics is not fun, running for office is a pain, but I understand why our democracy has withstood the test of time. As imperfect as it is, democracy is the best way to serve the people. Democracy is not the way to make huge change, but it beats the heck out of Civil War or autocratic rule. My advice is to pick some achievable objectives and become the go-to person for your issues on the Board.
When not serving your community, what do you like to do in your free time?
I have a cattle ranch that takes up most of my free time. I like Padre baseball and visiting Mexico and the mountains.
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| ACHD Webinar Education Series |
ACHD's Webinar Education Series continued this month. Kiki Nocella, Director, Wipfli CPAs and Consultants,
presented on "Retention, Recruitment and Succession Planning for Healthcare Districts." Ms. Nocella's presentation
focused on why a District may want to consider developing a clinical training program, what makes clinical training programs feasible, how to retain your trainees once they graduate, and how to plan for the succession of your current clinical workforce.
To access a recording of the webinar, click
here
.
On September 27, ACHD continues our Webinar Series. Dr. Susan Reynolds, Virtual Chief Medical Office for Ridgecrest District Hospital, will present "How Virtual Leaders can Improve Quality and Add Value to your Organization." This webinar will describe how health care facilities can utilized virtual executive and physician leaders in a cost-effective way to improve quality and patient satisfaction, resolve conflict, address disruptive provider issues, and develop on site physical leadership and in addressing preventative healthcare in communities throughout California.
To register for the webinar, click here.
As a reminder, all webinars are available on demand. To access past webinar recordings, click here.
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| Webinar on the Go! |
ACHD routinely uses the Webinar Platform to share information with Healthcare Districts and Partners. Many attendees utilize mobile devices to access a webinar. To assist users in a seamless webinar experience, we have outlined some tips on how best to utilize mobile devices.
Why download the app?
We encourage all attendees to download the GotoWebinar App (App) from your mobile device. The App is available for download for Android and Apple devices. The App will help connect users to webinars and ensure full participation! Entering a webinar through the App allows for a seamless audio and video connection from both smartphones and tablets, without requiring users to 'dial-in' to a webinar.
To access instructions on how to use GotoWebinar on your mobile devices, click
here
.
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ACHD was honored to have attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Fallbrook Regional Health District's new Wellness Center! The center is designed to serve the community as an indoor-outdoor health educational center, which will house several organizations, including the Fallbrook Food Pantry and Foundation for Senior Care.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by several District partners and was open to the public to enjoy free medical screening while learning more about health services in the area. The event marked the hard work of the District Trustees and Staff to secure financing, planning and execution to open the center. We are very proud of the District and this wonderful accomplishment!
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El Camino Hospital has had two significant accomplishments related to their ASPIRE mental health program for young people ages 13-18 years.
On Aug 14th, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a Medi-Cal contract for an intensive outpatient mental health treatment program for adolescents. This is certainly a first in the county, and may be a first Medi-Cal contract of this kind in the state. The fact that they are a District Hospital, and this is an innovative program with a strong track record, and had county elected officials and administrators willing to think outside the traditional box made the difference. The District is thrilled that Medi-Cal families will now be able to use their coverage for this program as they can for other services for which they have Medi-Cal (as well as commercial insurance) contracts for many years. To read more about this, click here and here.
Additionally, El Camino Hospital has announced the development of a collaborative to bring the ASPIRE program to other hospitals in California. To read more, click here.
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Stanford's LeadWell Network is pleased to invite Healthcare Districts to their Strengths Based Leadership Workshop!
This workshop will focus on ways that individuals can use unique skill sets to craft careers and lead positive changes in your organizations. The Strengths Based Leadership Workshop will take place on October 26, 2018, from 12:30 - 2:30 pm at Stanford University. To learn more about this exciting event, please click
here.
ACHD will routinely share Stanford Health Improvement Network's health and wellness events.
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| In Case You Missed It... Healthcare District News from Around the State |
   
Palomar Health hosts annual disaster preparedness fair
Palomar Health to host 3rd annual Disaster Preparedness Fair in Escondido
Learn what you need to prepare now to help your family, friends and neighbors in the event of a disaster. Speak with industry experts about how to fortify your home against wildfires and earthquakes and where to take your animals if you have to evacuate.
Experience the intense shaking of an 8.0 tremor in the world's largest mobile earthquake simulator. Gets hands-on experience putting out small fires and become empowered to help in a bleeding emergency through the Stop the Bleed Campaign.
For hundreds of homeless residents in Mountain View and Sunnyvale, essential health care services arrive in the form of an RV-sized health clinic on wheels. The program began making the twice-a-week stops on its North County route after the El Camino Healthcare District agreed last year to pitch in $1 million to bring the services to Mountain View and Sunnyvale. Hailing it as a success, the district's board voted in June to continue the stream of funding to the county-operated program through the 2018-19 year.
Petaluma Health Care District's Free Little Library Program now fully enhanced in Petaluma
The concept of adopting the Free Little Libraries was spearheaded by the Community Health Initiative of the Petaluma Area, a collaborative formed by the Petaluma Health Care District. CHIPA is designed to improve the wellness of the community by assessing the social determinants of health that derive from factors like housing, transportation, education, food access and mental health.
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About ACHD:
The Association of California Healthcare Districts (ACHD) represents Healthcare Districts throughout the state. The Association serves the diverse needs of California's Healthcare Districts by enhancing public awareness, training and educating its members and advocating for legislation and regulatory policies that allow Healthcare Districts to deliver the best possible health services to Californians. Learn more at achd.org.
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