IHA Daily Briefing: April 15
In Today’s Issue
DEADLINE: Register by April 19 for IHA’s Hospital Advocacy Day May 8
State Spring Session Update: April 15 - April 19
Ransomware Groups Focusing on Remote Access Systems
HRSA Webinar: Nursing Workforce Funding Opportunities
COVID-19 Information
Briefly Noted
Leading the News
DEADLINE: Register by April 19 for IHA’s Hospital Advocacy Day May 8
Over the final six weeks of the spring legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly will be focusing on issues of significant concern to the hospital community, including Medicaid MCO prior authorization reform, the Fiscal Year 2025 proposed state budget and its impact on hospital funding, IHA’s legislation to protect healthcare workers from violence, and the 340B drug discount program. How these issues will be resolved hinges on our collective effectiveness in reaching legislators with our key messages and our strong, unified voice.
As part of our ongoing advocacy efforts, IHA will hold a special Hospital Advocacy Day in Springfield on Wednesday, May 8. Hospital Advocacy Day is a great opportunity for you to meet face-to-face with your legislators. If you can attend, RSVP by April 19 by clicking here so IHA can arrange meetings with your legislators. For scheduling purposes, please indicate in the RSVP form which state legislators you would like to meet with and the order of your preference.
IHA will hold a briefing for hospital CEOs and other hospital leaders at 7:30 a.m. on May 8 at The President Abraham Lincoln Springfield DoubleTree Hotel (701 E. Adams Street, Springfield). A block of rooms is being been held at the DoubleTree. Rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis. Guests have until tomorrow, April 16 to confirm guest rooms.
Contact us with questions.
State Spring Session Update: April 15 – April 19
This week, the Illinois House of Representatives meets Monday through Friday, with an April 19 Third Reading deadline for House bills. The Senate is scheduled to meet Tuesday through Friday. Last Friday was the Senate’s deadline to pass substantive Senate bills out of the Senate. The Senate passed 244 bills, although more received deadline extensions—including an “agreed bill list” that passed by a vote of 59-0, which contained about 90 bills.
Ransomware Groups Focusing on Remote Access Systems
Ransomware groups are increasingly targeting vulnerable remote access systems in healthcare, according to a recent report by nonprofit patient safety organization ECRI. In a media statement, the organization noted that attackers exploit common entry points—such as hospitals granting remote access to their networks for hybrid or remote employees, or vendors that are given access to remote hospital systems to run financial operations, such as bill payments. If remote access systems are not adequately protected, ransomware groups are able to gain access and move throughout the network. The ECRI media statement identifies a list of recommendations for healthcare leaders to address ransomware attacks on remote access systems.
IHA’s Midwest Alliance for Patient Safety (MAPS) is leading efforts to prevent medical error through resource sharing, education and data collection/analysis. As a certified Patient Safety Organization (PSO) since 2010, MAPS provides disclosure privileges, confidentiality and protections for reported patient events. Click here to learn more about MAPS benefits.
HRSA Webinar: Nursing Workforce Funding Opportunities
The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Bureau of Health Workforce is hosting a May 8 webinar from 1:30-3:30 p.m. CT that will provide information about how to apply for scholarship programs, nursing student loans and loan repayment opportunities, training programs, and the benefits of available programs. Click here to register for the webinar.
Specific information on these opportunities can be found below:
COVID-19 Information
The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) has launched a weekly Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard that will be updated weekly on Friday. This report provides the public with the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data.
Click here to visit the IDPH COVID-19 resources webpage. IDPH will continue to report the weekly number of people with COVID-19 admitted to hospitals from emergency departments, deaths and vaccinations, with COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information also reported through the dashboard of the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System.
Briefly Noted
The number of middle-aged women seen at a hospital due to alcohol misuse increased dramatically during the pandemic, according to a new study published in JAMA Health Forum. The percentage of women aged 40 to 64 who experienced complications of alcohol-related disease rose by 33.3% to 56% compared to pre-pandemic times. CNN Health reported that between 54% and 66% of cases “were due to complications from alcohol-related liver disease, such as cirrhosis. Alcohol withdrawal and alcohol-related mood disorders accounted for 29% to 39% of the visits.”
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton: Investing in Black maternal health is the right move for Illinois
Chicago Sun-Times reported (4/14) that, “Pregnancy and childbirth continue to claim more Black lives than any other ethnicity. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, from 2018 to 2020, Black women were three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related medical conditions than white women. Nationally, research has shown that Black families have the worst childbirth outcomes regardless of their income status or type of insurance coverage.”
Illinois Senate advances changes to biometric privacy law after business groups split
WSIU reported (4/12) that, “It’s been more than a year since the Illinois Supreme Court ‘respectfully suggest(ed)’ state lawmakers clarify a law that’s led to several multi-million-dollar settlements with tech companies over the collection of Illinoisans’ biometric data. On Thursday, a bipartisan majority in the Illinois Senate did just that, approving the first major change to Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act since it was originally passed in 2008.”
America's newest doctors fuel efforts to unionize
AXIOS reported (4/15) that, “A new generation of doctors struggling with ever-increasing workloads and crushing student debt is helping drive unionization efforts in a profession that historically hasn’t organized.”