Critical Access Hospital Conference
Annual Critical Access Hospital Conference
October 15-17, 2008
Savannah, Ga.
Rates:
Member Rates: $299, after Sept. 20: $349
Non-Member Rates: $499, after Sept. 20: $549
Click here to download a registration form.
Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa
Have a rural health clinic? Plan to attend both conferences in Savannah.
For more information, click here.
Exhibit Information
The NRHA's Critical Access Hospital Conference includes an exciting, cutting-edge exhibit hall. With more than 500 attendees hailing from CAHs all over the country, this is an amazing opportunity to demonstrate new products and technologies. The exhibit hall sells out every year, so please reserve early.
Standard booths are $1,500 for this three-day event, and President Level booths are only $2,000. All exhibitors receive two conference registrations, a 6 foot table and 8' x 10' booth space. Please see the attached exhibit hall diagram, or click here to register for a booth. Please see the Exhibit Hall Rules and Regulations.
Conference Sponsorships are available but sell out fast. For more information on sponsoring the CAH conference or exhibiting, please contact Kim Westhusing by e-mail or phone at 816-401-6487.
Download an exhibitor application here.
The 2008 Critical Access Hospital Conference features two sessions with Brian Lee, one of North America's leading experts in the field of world-class patient satisfaction and employee retention. As the CEO and founder of Custom Learning Systems Groups, Lee and his team have helped hundreds of hospitals and health care organizations achieve service excellence through the Accountability Protocol, which directly links accountability and patient satisfaction and explains how to imrpove control and communication systems.
This conference will also feature a session comparing and contrasting facility renovation and replacement. Part of the information in this session is based on the findings of the Stroudwater Associates, NRHA and Red Capital Group 3rd Annual Hospital Replacement Study, which reveals how facility replacement impact the operations and bottom lines of critical access hospitals. In response to member suggestions, conference attendees will also have the chance to attend a full session on either renovation or replacement, based upon the needs of their particular CAH.
Other session highlights include making long-term care feasible in your facility and outsourcing the revenue cycle, as well as the latest on health information technology funding from the Universal Service Administrative Company.
Who Should Attend the Critical Access Hospital Conference?
The CAH Conference offers hospital administrators, managers, financial officers, medical directors, nursing officers, other leadership staff, consultants, policy experts, and others interested in the functioning of CAHs a single venue for education, skill-building, and networking. This conference is designed for those just entering the world of CAH management and for long-time professionals. There are no prerequisites for enjoying the CAH Conference, and no advance preparation is needed.
Learning Objectives:
Attendees will leave the Critical Access Hospital Conference:
- Developing a sustainable and affordable service excellence plan;
- Able to identify the costs and benefits of facility replacement and/or renovation;
- With an understanding of possible upcoming legislative and regulatory changes that affect the CAH program;
- Building partnerships and affiliations to increase quality;
- Able to track key indicators related to quality,safety, risk, and financial viability;
- With the skills necessary to file form 990 and Schedule H with the IRS;
- Understanding types of financial outsourcing and the possible risks and benefits;
- Knowing how to apply for subsidized HIT funding;
- How to implement a financially viable long-term-care component to their hospital; and
- Able to improve their facility's cost-based reimbursement.
Continuing Education: Earn up to 11 CPE Credits and 12.5 Hours of ACHE Credit!
- The National Rural Health Association is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE sponsors. State Boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Web site: www.nasba.org.
- The National Rural Health Association is authorized to award 12.5 hours of pre-approved Category II (non-ACHE) continuing education credit for this program toward achievement or recertification in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Participants in this program wishing to have the continuing education hours applied toward Category II credit should indicate their attendance when submitting application to the American College of Healthcare Executives for advancement or recertification.
Conference Schedule
The 2008 Critical Access Hospital Conference is a hands-on educational event that provides practical how-to information on CAH management, finance and leadership. If you have questions, please contact Meaghan McCamman by e-mail or by phone at 202-639-0550.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
1:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Welcome and Opening Comments
1:15 pm - 2:30 pm
The Critical Access Hospital of Choice
Presented by Brian Lee
As Value Based Purchasing (driven by HCAHPS) begins to transform even small, rural and critical access hospitals, the need to report excellent scores has never been more important. Join Brian Lee, CEO of Custom Learning Systems, for a compelling case study on how comprehensive service excellence processes are not beyond reach for small and rural hospitals. In addition, Brian will zero-in on the key elements of a sustainable and affordable service excellence plan: Return on investment, engagement of staff, accountability of management, and delivery of measurable results.
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Facility Replacement
Presented by Stroudwater Associates
Since 2006, the NRHA and Red Capitol Group have sponsored a national study to measure the impact of CAH facility replacement on health care delivery and rural economic development. This quick briefing will offer CAH managers a quantitative, data-driven overview of the effects of facility replacement. For CAHs hoping to learn more, an in-depth follow-up will be offered later in the conference.
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Facility Renovation
Presented by Bill Wilson, Lancaster-Pollard and Jim McClure, Critical Access Group
While there is a plethora of information available on the economic impact of new CAH facilities, for many rural hospitals, full facility replacement is an impossibility. This brief presentation offers attendees a chance to learn about the economic impacts of facility renovation, and compare the costs and benefits of renovation versus replacement for their facility. For CAHs interested in learning more about facility renovation, an in-depth follow up session will be offered later in the conference.
3:30 pm - 3:45 pm
Break
3:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Accountability Protocol
Presented by Brian Lee
The Accountability Protocol will help you understand how to create and maintain a culture of service excellence. You will learn how to create standard operating procedures at every level to ensure personal enthusiasm for the vision of world-class patient satisfaction. You will discover how to create individual accountability agreements that will maintain your leaders focused on your annual strategic goals. The Accountability protocol will enable you to hardwire your team for a successful service culture transformation.
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Opening Night Reception in the Exhibit Hall
Thursday, October 16, 2008
7:00 am - 8:00 am
Continental Breakfast in the Exhibit Hall
8:00 am - 9:30 am
Washington, DC Legislative and Regulatory Update
Presented by Maggie Elehwany, Vice President, Government Affairs and Policy, NRHA
The Critical Access Hospital Program faces significant legislative and regulatory issues in 2007. During this time, we will look at pending legislative and regulatory changes for the CAH program, and how these changes could impact the daily business of Critical Access Hospitals in the coming year.
9:30 am - 10:15 am
Break in the Exhibit Hall
10:15 am - 11:15 am
Affiliation Value Curve
Presented by Stroudwater Associates
Affiliations are no longer a last resort. They can - and should - be considered a strategic option to enhance quality for both a CAH and a referral hospital. With an increasing emphasis on quality, rural and system hospitals can become aligned on a common set of goals. The value curve offers a context for evaluating the cost-benefit of existing relationships and new relationships, and facilitates a systematic approach to finding the right fit for any Critical Access Hospital.
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Concurrent Sessions
A. ED: The Front Door to Your Hospital
Presented by Daryl Weaver, Kings Daughters Hospital
While many CEOs view the Emergency Department as a necessary evil, it remains the facility's "front door" usually representing the source for the vast majority of admissions and the primary point of access for the community. Managing this important line of business is essential to the success of critical access hospitals. This session will focus on identifying and tracking key indicators related to quality, safety, risk and financial viability as well as the importance of engaging physicians to improve ED performance including a hybrid ED physician/Hospitalist model.
B. Complying with the IRS Requirements
Presented by Maureen Mudron, American Hospital Association
On December 20, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the final version of its revised Form 990, including Schedule H, which requires hospitals to collect and report information on their community benefit activities. This session will provide CAHs with the necessary skills to file form 990 and Schedule H, including a review of the rules and forms required of CAHs when filing with the IRS and what systems are necessary to capture the needed information.
C. New CMS Bedsore Measures
Presented by Kathy Duncan, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Hospitals around the country are scrambling to put new programs in place to prevent pressure ulcers, commonly known as bedsores, after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that as of October 2008, it will no longer reimburse hospitals for treating eight "reasonably preventable" conditions. This session will analyze the root causes of decubitus ulcers and offer prevention tips to ensure your CAH is not impacted.
D. Outsourcing the Revenue Cycle
Presented by Diane Meredith-Gordon, Smart Cookies Consulting
This session will discuss outsourcing as an option for parts of the revenue cycle, such as transcription, coding, self pay billing, collections and computer based training, or even outsourcing the entire billing office. Particularly small and rural hospitals are often subject to a less-than-optimum cash flow that can be drastically improved through outsourcing. This session will discuss types of outsourcing, possible pitfalls, hospital involvement in the revenue cycle, what to expect from your outsourcing company, and educating your Board and community on the costs and benefits.
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm
Networking Luncheon
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Concurrent Sessions
A. Universal Service Administrative Company: Rural Health Care Program
Presented by the Universal Service Administrative Company
The Rural Health Care Program of the Universal Service Fund is a support program authorized by Congress and designed by the Federal Communications Commission to provide reduced rates to rural health care providers for telecommunications services and Internet access charges related to the use of telemedicine & tele-health. This session will provide an overview of the competitive bid process required of applicants in order to receive funding, will discuss the importance of an evergreen contract, and will offer a Q & A time for attendees to get answers to their specific questions regarding the program.
B. The 5 Million Lives Campaign Update
Presented by Kathy Duncan, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
This session offers an update of the 5 Million Lives Campaign, an extraordinary effort to improve patient outcomes and avoid medical harm. The campaign is running an outreach effort for small and rural hospitals, challenging rural providers to join this battle to save lives and prevent patient injuries.
C. Hospital Replacement Facility Study
Presented by Stroudwater Associates
This session is an in-depth follow-up to the earlier overview of the costs and benefits to CAH replacement.
D. American Society of Health System Pharmacists
2:30 pm - 3:45 pm
Concurrent Sessions
A. Making Long Term Care Feasible
Presented by Wipfli, LLP
Rural hospitals are committed to meeting the health care needs of their communities. This commitment often includes operation of a skilled nursing facility as well as a hospital. In today’s long-term care environment, profitable operation of a nursing home is difficult, and the reality is that many nursing homes, unable to survive, are being forced to downsize or close. This session offers the opportunity to learn from long-term care specialists who will provide the tools and knowledge you need to more effectively manage the long-term care component of your organization
B. Hospital Renovation Study
Presented by Bill Wilson, Lancaster-Pollard and Jim McClure, Critical Access Group
This session is an in-depth follow-up to the earlier overview of the costs and benefits of CAH renovation.
C. CAH Opportunities
Presented by Mike Bell, Michael R. Bell & Company PLLC
Every CAH has opportunities to improve cost-based reimbursement. These improvements may be in the form of more accurate reporting, making elections, and identifying and implementing other changes that are permitted within the Medicare regulations. This program will explore the most commonly overlooked opportunities and provide the attendees with an example of a simple tool that will help them evaluate the effect of potential changes.
3:45 pm - 4:30 pm
Break in Exhibit Hall
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Moderated Roundtable Discussions:
A. Chief Executive Officers
B. Chief Financial Officers
C. Chief Nursing Officers
Friday, October 17, 2008
7:45 am - 8:45 am
Breakfast in Exhibit Hall
8:45 am - 10:00 am
Medicare Update
Presented by John Sheehan and Tim Wolters, BKD, LLP
This annual session will cover all of the regulatory changes that impact Medicare reimbursement for CAHs, and will look toward 2009 for issues that may arrive during the next Administration.
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Bracing for the Medicare Recovery Audits
Presented by the American Hospital Association
The Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program is authorized by Congress to identify improper Medicare payments. RACs are paid on a contingency fee based on a percentage of the improper payments they collect. RACs operate in several states and will expand to all 50 by 2010. This session will explain the current status of the RAC program and prepare CAH leadership for RAC review.
The educational activities at this conference are offered in a group-live format.
If you have questions about the conference program, please contact Meaghan McCamman at 202-639-0550. For more information regarding refund, complaint, and program cancellation policies, please contact the NRHA's Kansas City offices at (816) 756-3140.
