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TOPIC: As of October 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will no longer pay hospitals for "preventable errors," according to an article by the New York Times. The policy will also prevent hospitals from billing patients for costs resulting from such medical errors as bed sores and urinary tract infections. Medicare's decision to refuse such payment has resulted in some public and private insurers to adopt similar policies of their own. While the Medicare measure is estimated to save $21 million each year, some experts believe more money can be saved by revamping the payment system to encourage chronic disease management and prevention.
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Mike Reno, vice president at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, has executive oversight and service line responsibility for the cardiology, cardiovascular and neuroscience services, and is administratively responsible for diagnostic and therapeutic imaging, radiology and nuclear medicine. He oversees the physical medicine and rehabilitation services, serving as the administrator for the 24-bed Rehab hospital within a hospital. Mike also oversees the hospital's support service operations, including facility master planning, architecture and construction, clinical technology, parking and transportation, food and nutrition, safety and security, environmental services, mail and messenger services, facilities engineering and building and grounds operations. Additionally, Mike co-chairs the Patient Safety and Quality Committee, tasked with ensuring compliance with various regulatory agencies, including the Joint Commission Environment of Care Standards, serves as the hospital's Emergency Management Coordinator and is the project executive for the Patient Care Center capital building project and the executive sponsor for the implementation of LEAN, the Toyota Production System, as the hospital's standard operating procedure.
PR Contact: Deb Eisenberg
301-523-9224
deisenberg1@comcast.net
RWD Technologies in 2000, and serves as Executive Vice President of RWD's Performance Solutions group. Mr. Parish's group provides clients with training and process improvement solutions for lean manufacturing, back office, supply chain, manufacturing, engineering, logistics, safety, and health and environmental applications. Before assuming his current position, Mr. Parish served as the manager of the ACTS Consortium workforce development project, a member of the Governance Committee of Sigma Learning (a Limited Liability Committee serving Delphi Corp.), and as a departmental director. Prior to joining RWD Technologies, he was vice president and general manager for U.S. Axle, Inc. He also held various senior management positions for Diesel Technology Company during its transition from a division of General Motors to a major supplier of diesel fuel systems. Following five years as a co-op student, Mr. Parish held progressively more responsible engineering and engineering management responsibilities at General Motors. Mr. Parish holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from GMI Management and Engineering Institute and his M.B.A. from Grand Valley State University.
PR Contact: Deb Eisenberg
301-523-9224
deisenberg1@comcast.net
Blair Childs, Senior VP of Public Affairs of Premier Healthcare Alliance, has been at the center of policy issues in Washington, D.C., for over two decades, playing a leading role on issues impacting medical devices, pharmaceuticals, insurers, and hospitals. Childs has been involved in developing and enacting Medicare and health reform legislation as well as leading the medical technology industry's development of a Code of Ethics. He is a respected and well recognized expert on health policy and advocacy. Childs has also held senior management positions in professional, trade, and advocacy associations and a Fortune 100 company. He has been responsible for organizing and leading public policy advocacy programs at the state and national levels on some of the nation's most visible and complex issues over the last two decades, including tort, Medicare, and health care reform. Most recently, Childs was Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning and Implementation for AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association. Childs was responsible for the Association's strategic programs and planning. He also directly managed the organization's public affairs, legal, state affairs, membership, and non-dues revenue departments. His work at AdvaMed was instrumental in the association's 133 percent growth over a six year period and in gaining recognition of AdvaMed as a major force in health policy in globally. Some of Childs' more notable roles included running the public affairs department for the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) where he organized and served as Executive Director of the Coalition for Health Insurance Choices, which sponsored the "Harry and Louise" campaign on health care reform and generated millions of contacts to lawmakers on health reform. Childs organized and served as Executive Director of the American Tort Reform Association from 1986 to 1989. ATRA was the largest and most broadly based coalition ever assembled, representing non-profit, professional and trade associations with memberships exceeding 50 million Americans. During Childs' tenure, ATRA spearheaded the state tort reform movement, implementing an integrated advocacy campaign that achieved the enactment of major reforms in 42 states. Childs received his Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 1988. Campaigns & Election magazine honored Childs as one of its "Rising Stars" for 1996. Childs is an honors graduate of Middlebury College.
PR Contact: Alven Weil
704-733-5797
alven_weil@premierinc.com
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