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August 2021 Vol. 11 No. 4

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Expedition Leader andResiliency Expert to KeynoteFall ConferenceJoin western Pennsylvania healthcare leaders onFriday, October 1, 2021, for Healthcare Council’s FallConference, featuring mountain climbing expeditionleader and resilience expert, Jim Davidson. He willshare how his 36 years of adventure and survival hasresulted in his focus on personal resilience, resilientteamwork, and resilient leadership.

The Conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at thePittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry Township and isopen to Healthcare Council’s members, sponsors, andbusiness partners. Due to the generous support ofHealthcare Council’s sponsors, the program is offeredfree of charge.

Jim will share compellingstories and uplifting lessonsabout how to overcomechange, challenge, anduncertainty throughresilience. He has scaledhigh peaks in severalcountries and in his firstattempt to ascend Mt.Everest in 2015, he and hispartners survived massiveearthquakes andavalanches. He has been

featured on national television and co-authored the NewYork Times best-selling memoir, The Ledge: AnInspirational Story of Friendship and Survival.

The conference also featuresJessica Brooks, PHR, MPM,chief executive officer (CEO)and executive director of thePittsburgh Business Group onHealth (PBGH). She will discuss

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the importance of health equity tothe business community. As CEOand executive director ofPBGH, Jessica is leading the effortto redefine and advance thediscussion around health carevalue, access, and quality onbehalf of employers.

David Dausey, Ph.D., theexecutive vice presidentand provost of DuquesneUniversity, Pittsburgh,will share his insights onthe regional impact of theUniversity’s new College

of Osteopathic Medicine (seeking accreditation). Hewill provide details about the College, and the potentialaffect of the College on the region’s healthcareworkforce. He is an internationally recognizedepidemiologist and has led global health projects withsenior leaders on the ground in more than 20 countries.

In addition, Healthcare CouncilPresident A. J. Harper will provideremarks during the Conference.

Healthcare Council’s annual CEObreakfast (by invitation only) will beheld prior to the opening session.The Supply Chain ProfessionalsCommittee will meet immediatelyfollowing the Conference.

Although the Conference is provided free of charge,registration is required. An invitation will be sent soonwhich will include a link to the registration page.

For registration information, contact Toni Bresnahan.For information about the Conference, contact JaneMontgomery or Pat Raffaele.

Healthcare Council'sCorporate SponsorsHealthcare Council's Fall Conference is made possibleby the generous support of the following CorporateSponsors:

Platinum Level Sponsors:Arnett Carbis Toothman LLP; Cozen O'Connor; SaulEwing Arnstein & Lehr LLP; and UPMC Health Plan

Gold Level Sponsors:Constellation Energy Solutions; Grane Supply, Inc.;Highmark; Intalere, A Vizient Company; Jackson KellyPLLC; and OC Reilly

Silver Level Sponsors:Altius Healthcare Consulting Group; Amare MedicalNetwork; BKD CPAs & Advisors; Blue & Co., LLC;Chessboard Consulting, Inc.; Corazon; CowdenAssociates, Inc.; Cura Hospitality; Fox Rothschild LLP;Healthworks Inc.; Leech Tishman; Lockton Companies;Paymerang; Print Tech; Revecore; Revenue CycleSolutions LLC; Sparq Designs; Strategy Solutions;UnitedHealthcare; and Vertical Solutions

For more information about corporate sponsorship,contact Pat Raffaele.

Council Recognized asPartner in COVID RegionalResponse ProgramHealthcare Council will be recognized as a partner in theRegional Response Health Collaborative Program(RRHCP) of western Pennsylvania by UPMC SeniorServices on October 14, 2021, at the 13th AnnualCelebrating Senior Champions Dinner and Auction.

Partners in the RRHCP will be presented with the UPMCSenior Services Community Champion Award, givenannually to recognize exceptional organizationalleadership to improve the lives of seniors. Threepartners of the program will accept the award on behalfof the group: Emily Jaffe, M.D., vice president andexecutive medical director of Home and CommunityServices for Allegheny Health Network; Nancy Zionts,chief operating officer for the Jewish HealthcareFoundation; and A. J. Harper, president of HealthcareCouncil. UPMC Community Provider Services will alsobe recognized as a partner.

Jane Montgomery, chiefoperating officer ofHealthcare Council, thepoint person for HealthcareCouncil to the RRHCP, willbe featured in a videopresentation.

Under the leadership of thepartners, as well asseveral sub-contractedpartners, the programsteered and providedguidance to keep seniorssafe during unprecedentedtimes. Sub-contracted partners throughout the regioninclude Excela Health, Penn Highlands Healthcare, andSt. Clair Health. Three COVID Alternate Care Sites wereestablished by HCR Manor Care, Vincentian, andUPMC Senior Services.

The RRHCP was launched in Pennsylvania in 2020 tosupport the state’s long-term care system by offeringCOVID-19 readiness and response services.

Healthcare Council ofWestern Pennsylvaniaworks strategically withhealth care providers tomeet the mission of servingtheir communities.

Call: 1-800-704-8434

UPMC Senior Services will also recognize David A.Nace, MD, MPH, CMD, with the Grand ChampionAward and The Rev. Gaea Thompson, M.Div. with theCaregiver Champion Award.

Dr. Nace serves as:Clinical Chief of Geriatric MedicineDirector, Long-Term CareDivision of Geriatric MedicineUniversity of Pittsburgh

Chief of Medical AffairsUPMC Senior Communities

The Rev. Gaea Thompson serves as:Manager, Pastoral CareUPMC Presbyterian/Montefiore Hospital

Diplomate Supervisor for CPECollege of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy

For more information about the event visit the UPMCwebsite.

For information about Healthcare Council’s partnershipin the RRHCP program, contact Jane Montgomery.

Growing ResilientOrganizations ThroughTraumaBuilding a More Resilient Organization ThroughTrauma Informed Practice is the topic of a programfocused on how the collective trauma of the pandemicmay impact work environments and staff. The virtualprogram will be held from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. onAugust 19, 2021.

The program provides an opportunity to understand howto continue to grow organizations to be more resilient inthe face of trauma and to support employees as theycontinue healing from the past year.

The interactive program will cover several topicsincluding: collective trauma, COVID as trauma, traumainformed organizations, attending to the workforce, andpost traumatic growth.

Leading the program is Maggie Feinstein, director of the10.27 Healing Partnership. She is a master’s leveltherapist who worked in communities with high levels oftrauma and poor access to mental health support. Shelearned about trauma and resilience in this work andapplies some of these principles to the work of recoveryin Pittsburgh since the shooting on 10/27/18.

The program is offered free of charge; however,registration is required. To register, contact ToniBresnahan. For more information about the program,

Visit our website

contact Jane Montgomery or Pat Raffaele.

Upcoming Program on Risksof Fraud Related to Payments

Risks of fraud related to payments isthe topic of Are Your BusinessPayments Safe?, a program offeredby Healthcare Council in partnershipwith one of its sponsors,Paymerang. The program will beheld on September 8, 2021, from 2

p.m. until 3 p.m. and will explore the growing paymentfraud risks to organizations, including risks related tocheck processing and AP payments.

The program topics include: thereview of recent payment fraudincidents that have impactedorganizations, mitigation of riskpayment fraud, and safeguardingpayments through electronic paymentsolutions, such as virtual cards andACH transactions.

Paymerang’s panel of speakersinclude experts in finance,information security, and fraud. Thepanel of speakers include MichaelJohnson, vice president of BusinessDevelopment; Jeff Gainer, directorof Information Security and Risk

Management, and Sierre Lindgren, senior fraud analyst.

The program is offered free of charge; however,registration is required. To register, contact ToniBresnahan. For more information about the program,contact Pat Raffaele.

Annual Medicare UpdateHealthcare Council and the western Pennsylvaniachapter of the Healthcare Financial ManagementAssociation (HFMA) are partnering to present this year’sAnnual Medicare Update. The in-person program willbe held on Friday, September 17, 2021, at thePittsburgh Marriott North, Cranberry Township,beginning with registration at 8 a.m.

Brad Brotherton and Sue Brammer, partners in the firmBKD LLC, will kick off the program with a presentationon the new rule changes from the Centers for Medicareand Medicaid Services (CMS).

Two speakers from Novitas Solutions, Bruce Snyder,director, Provider Audit and Reimbursement, and GregMahoney, lead auditor, Provider Reimbursement, willshare information on changes in the Medicare Cost

Report and audit plans for the coming audit season.

Speakers from the firm Arnett Carbis Toothman LLP willprovide presentations on "hot topics" in both long-termcare and acute care. Speakers include partners EdwardKlik and James Raley as well as senior managersKristopher Pattison, Christopher Luckett, Dionna Slagle,and Healthcare Consultant, Richard Snyder.

HFMA will award 6 hours of continuing professionaleducation (CPE) credits for the program. The fee toattend the program is $149 and registrations must bereceived by September 3, 2021. For more informationabout the program, contact Denis Lukes and to register,contact Toni Bresnahan.

Teen’s Guide to MedicalIndependence WebsiteTeens can now access a new website, The Guide toMedical Independence, created by Healthcare Counciland its partners. The accessible and health literatewebsite is based on the printed version of A Teen’sGuide to Medical Transition, created to empower andassist young patients, including those with chronicconditions, to transition from pediatric healthcare toadult healthcare.

The new website was made possible through funding bythe FISA Foundation, Health Care ImprovementFoundation, UPMC Health Plan, and HealthcareCouncil. Healthcare Council partnered with UPMCChildren’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, National Health Corpsof Pittsburgh, and the Health Law Clinic at the Universityof Pittsburgh to develop the website, which was createdand designed by Sparq Designs.

The printed version of the Guide was created byHealthcare Council and two students from CarnegieMellon University.

Members can access the website to assist families,patients, and teens with the medical transition frompediatric to adult care.

For more information contact Hillary Holes.

HR Survey UpdateBenchmark Salary SurveyMembers participating in the Benchmark Salary Surveyreceived the survey results July 1st and individualcompa-ratio reports July 9th. The Survey reflects datafrom 100 facilities, including 68 acute-care andrehabilitation participants and 32 long-term careparticipants. The survey included 76 positions with data,as of March 31, 2021.

IDD Benchmark SurveyParticipating members received the IDD BenchmarkSurvey on July 1, 2021. The survey was sent to sixparticipating IDD members and covers 47 positions withdata as of March 31, 2021.

Upcoming SurveysLong-term care members received the request forinformation for the Long-Term Care Labor Turnoverreport on July 1, 2021.

For more information about data and data collection,contact Steve Forest. For more information aboutHealthcare Council’s HR Surveys, contact JaneMontgomery.

Upcoming Member MeetingsAll Committee meetings will be held via Zoom, unlessnoted below. The link to virtual meetings will be sent tomembers prior to each meeting. All in-person meetingswill be held at the Pittsburgh Marriott North located inCranberry Township.

Long-Term Care Director of Nursing and QualityCommitteeStaffing issues, legislation, regulatory and payor issueswill be the focus of the August 18, 2021 meeting.Specific discussion items include recruitment andretention and organizational strategies related toresiliency, among others. The meeting will be held from9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. For more information contactJane Montgomery.

Risk Quality CommitteeThe Risk Quality Committee will meet in person onSeptember 1, 2021, at the Pittsburgh Marriott North andat the Patient Tower at Penn Highlands Brookville. Themeeting will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.Meeting details will be sent to Committee memberssoon. For more information contact Jane Montgomery.

Compliance CommitteeEthics and compliance will be the focus of theSeptember 9, 2021 meeting of the ComplianceCommittee. The in-person meeting will be held from9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Lisa Martinelli, Ph.D., J.D.,vice president, Integrated Clinical Ethics for HighmarkHealth, will provide a presentation and lead a discussionon topics related to ethics and compliance. TheCommittee will also discuss HIPAA-related issues andupcoming audits. The meeting will conclude with aroundtable discussion. For more information contactJane Montgomery or Patricia Raffaele.

Chief Nursing Officers CommitteeThe Chief Nursing Officers Committee will meet inperson on September 10, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. until11:30 a.m. Meeting details will be sent to Committeemembers soon. For more information contact JaneMontgomery.

Fund Development CommitteeThe next Fund Development Committee meeting will beheld on September 14, 2021, from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30a.m. Meeting details will be sent to Committee memberssoon. For more information contact Patricia Raffaele.

Human Resources CommitteeThe Human Resources Committee meeting will be heldon September 15, 2021, from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.Meeting details will be sent to Committee memberssoon. For more information contact Jane Montgomery.

Revenue Cycle CommitteeThe Revenue Cycle Committee meeting will be held onSeptember 22, 2021, from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.Meeting details will be sent to Committee memberssoon. For more information contact Denis Lukes.

Supply Chain Professionals CommitteeThe Supply Chain Professionals Committee will meet inperson on October 1, 2021, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.,immediately following Healthcare Council’s FallConference. Meeting details will be sent to Committeemembers soon. For more information contact PatriciaRaffaele.

Healthcare Council WelcomesNew SponsorHealthcare Council welcomes Constellation EnergySolutions as a new Gold Sponsor. ConstellationEnergy Solutions helps government, healthcare,education, and commercial customers completesignificant infrastructure improvements. The companyleverages technology so customers can save moneyand achieve their sustainability and efficiency goals.

For more information visit the Constellation EnergySolutions website or contact Dave Lefebvre, seniorbusiness development manager, Healthcare, via emailor phone at 724-331-7358.

Other Information of InterestHealthcare Council provides the information below thatmay be of interest to members.

UPMC Summit on A Trauma-Informed Approach toRacial Healing

A Trauma-Informed Approach to Racial Healing: ASummit for Collaborative Approaches is being hostedby UPMC Behavioral Health. The Summit will be heldfrom 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, September 17,2021, at the Herberman Conference Center at UPMCCancer Pavilion, UPMC Shadyside, Pittsburgh.

The program will open with a welcome from DeborahBrodine, MBA, MHA, president of UPMC WesternPsychiatric and president, UPMC Senior Services.

The program includes several speakers and moderatorscovering a wide-range of topics including trauma inunderserved communities, the psychology of poverty,the impact of childhood trauma, and resilience. Theprogram will conclude with a discussion on next steps.

There is no fee for the program which is open toindividuals interested in participating.

To register, visit the Summit website.