This week the General Assembly’s Public Health Committee held a public hearing on SB 1067, An Act Concerning Adequate And Safe Health Care Staffing. The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA), member hospitals and healthcare systems, and healthcare workers testified in opposition to the bill, raising significant concerns about the proposal’s impact on the healthcare workforce, patients, and healthcare access and affordability.
SB 1067, among other provisions, requires the implementation of rigid one-size-fits-all staffing ratios, modifies the mandatory overtime law, requires the posting of nurse staffing plans on each patient care unit in a conspicuous location that is visible and accessible, requires hospitals to maintain staffing information for three years, and allows a registered nurse to object to or refuse to participate in any activity, policy, practice or task assigned by a hospital.
CHA’s testimony detailed support for the healthcare workforce, expressing the enormous toll the pandemic has taken on healthcare workers, but described how rigid government mandated staffing quotas would exacerbate many of the challenges facing both patients and the healthcare workforce. Additionally, CHA testified that the bill would result in nurses seeing their clinical judgment second guessed and overruled by government mandates. CHA also called for continued collaborative work to ensure Connecticut has enough healthcare workers being educated and trained to fill the shortages that have existed in our state for years but have been exacerbated by COVID-19. Watch and read CHA’s testimony.
Dozens of nurses, healthcare workers, and hospitals also submitted testimony detailing serious concerns about the bill.
Urging CMS to Improve Prior Authorization Processes
CHA submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) related to improving prior authorization processes. The comments address CMS’s Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Processes proposed rule, which includes important policies to remove inappropriate barriers to patient care by streamlining prior authorization processes for impacted health plans and providers.
CHA’s letter recognizes CMS’s proposals as critical steps forward in advancing patients’ timely access to care and easing administrative burden, and also urges CMS to provide the enforcement and oversight necessary to ensure health plan compliance and facilitate meaningful change.
In addition, CHA’s letter urges CMS to ensure that electronic standards are adequately tested and vetted prior to mandated adoption.
Read the letter here.
Working to Strengthen Legislation on Mental Health and Reform the CON Application Process
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This week CHA and member hospitals and health systems advocated in support of strengthening two bills before the Public Health Committee: SB 1211, An Act Establishing A Mental Health Crisis Center Pilot Program and HB 6894, An Act Concerning Certificates Of Need.
SB 1211 would establish a mental health crisis center pilot program to enhance mental health outcomes for persons experiencing a mental health crisis by redirecting such persons away from the hospital emergency department and toward a facility dedicated to the provision of mental health services to persons in crisis. CHA applauded the proposed pilot program, and also advocated for further action to support and expand behavioral healthcare services for those patients who must be admitted to a hospital for inpatient psychiatric care, and for those patients who are discharged from a hospital and require hospital-sponsored outpatient services to support their recovery. Middlesex Health, Nuvance Health, and Yale New Haven Health submitted testimony on this bill.
HB 6894 would require the executive director of the Office of Health Strategy to evaluate the Certificate of Need (CON) application process to determine whether any portions of such process may be streamlined or expedited for certain categories of proposed projects to ensure that healthcare facilities may complete such projects within a reasonable period of time. CHA’s testimony detailed why HB 6894 needs to be amended to address hospitals' and health systems' concerns with the CON program. Eastern Connecticut Health Network, Hartford HealthCare, Middlesex Health, Nuvance Health, Stamford Health, and Yale New Haven Health all submitted testimony supporting the bill and urging the Committee to make additional desperately needed changes to the CON program.
Professional Presentation Skills
Monday, March 27, 2023 from 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Location: Connecticut Hospital Association, 110 Barnes Road, Wallingford, CT 06492
Fees:
- Acute Care Hospital Member: $200
- Other Member: $200
- Non-Member: $250
One of the key roles of a leader is communicating information to employees, peers, and other leaders. To be effective, this information should be clearly structured, concise, and delivered with confidence.
This engaging workshop will provide techniques to develop an organized presentation that is customized for a given audience, analyzes best practices for effective presentations, and increases confidence during delivery. Participants will be able to apply learning through one-on-one practice and feedback.
This session is presented by Elena Hackney, MEd, owner of EngageMeTraining, who brings more than 20 years of experience facilitating leadership development.
This is session two of the six-session Essential Skills Every Leader Needs education series.
- Click here to register online.
Write Like a Professional
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Connecticut Hospital Association, 110 Barnes Road, Wallingford, CT 06492
Fees:
- Acute Care Hospital Member: $200
- Other Member: $200
- Non-Member: $250
Professional, well-crafted written communication is important for leaders in any industry. Using the correct tone, medium, grammar, and level of formality shows that you care about the recipient of your messages and that you have taken time to understand your audience.
At the end of this session, learners will be able to employ each element above to communicate on a professional level with a variety of audiences. Participants will be able to apply their skills through one-on-one practice and feedback.
This workshop is provided by Elena Hackney, MEd, owner of EngageMeTraining.
This is session three of the six-session Essential Skills Every Leader Needs education series.
- Click here to register online.
Having Difficult Conversations
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Connecticut Hospital Association, 110 Barnes Road, Wallingford, CT 06492
Fees:
- Acute Care Hospital Member: $200
- Other Member: $200
- Non-Member: $250
This session focuses on understanding the principles of and the tools needed to initiate challenging conversations. This interactive session begins by discussing conflict — an inevitable challenge every leader faces, and includes a structured approach to addressing conflict effectively.
The session will explore the role conflict plays in the process of change and when conflict can be healthy — key factors in understanding how to resolve differences in perspective and experience present among individuals.
Participants will leave this session with a step-by-step approach for having difficult conversations. The process includes determining goals, expected outcomes of the conversation, evaluating the present moment and audience, and preparing and delivering the message.
Sarah Campbell Arnett, MA, NCC, BCDMT, BCC, CCMP, will present.
This is session four of the six-session Essential Skills Every Leader Needs education series.
- Click here to register online.
Project and Time Management
Tuesday, April 11, 2023 from 9:00 AM - 12:15 PM
Location: Connecticut Hospital Association, 110 Barnes Road, Wallingford, CT 06492
Fees:
- Acute Care Hospital Member: $200
- Other Member: $200
- Non-Member: $250
Most people acknowledge they struggle with lost time — both personally and professionally. In fact, 37.5% of time lost by a typical busy professional is due to interruptions, scheduling hiccups, competing priorities, unproductive meetings, e-mail overload, and “fires.” Numerous business days may be lost each month.
This session will provide participants with ways to put an end to lost time. By improving efficiency, leaders will lower personal and employee stress levels, decrease absenteeism, improve retention, and increase productivity for organizations.
This session is taught by Helene Segura, owner of LivingOrderSA, and Productivity Consultant and Author.
This is session five of the six-session Essential Skills Every Leader Needs education series.
- Click here to register online.
How to Handle Interruptions Throughout the Day
Tuesday, April 11, 2023 from 1:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Location: Connecticut Hospital Association, 110 Barnes Road, Wallingford, CT 06492
Fees:
- Acute Care Hospital Member: $200
- Other Member: $200
- Non-Member: $250
This interactive, on-site workshop is ideal for past attendees of the Essential Skills Every Leader Needs series and/or healthcare workers looking for strategies to minimize interruptions and increase productivity.
This workshop will include strategies and tools for maintaining focus throughout the day, ways to negotiate time with others, methods for protecting one’s schedule and time. Helene Segura will guide participants to identify how they operate throughout the day–realistically, and provide a new way of communicating with their healthcare colleagues and teams.
Ms. Segura returns at member request to present this highly interactive program on time management.
- Click here to register online.
PROUD Enduring Recorded Sessions
On Demand
Virtual Sessions
As care providers, there is much to learn about helping families managing substance use disorders to be successful. Parents Recovering from Opioid Use Disorders (PROUD) includes an education series for healthcare and service providers, giving them tools to help individuals and families manage the many challenges they face.
The education series includes several recorded, one-hour sessions, open for a year from their recording date. These sessions provide continuing education credit for a variety of professions, are free to participants (registration is necessary), and are available on demand to fit into busy schedules.
- Click here to view and register for available sessions.
