Update: "To Err Is Human" packet

The Missouri Hospital Association will be e-mailing a media packet today to prepare hospitals for inquiries about the 10th anniversary of the Institute of Medicine's 1999 groundbreaking report on medical errors. If you do not receive the materials, please contact the flack at ddillon@mail.mhanet.com. We also will be pitching an op-ed from MHA, the Missouri Center for Patient Safety, the Missouri State Medical Association and Primaris to Missouri's major daily newspapers.

Update: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the St. Joseph News-Press have published the op-ed.

Visitation policies

Association PR folks around the country are buzzing about hospitals' revised visitation policies related to nH1N1 Influenza. If your hospital has adjusted its policy, e-mail the flack with information about the changes.

Evans, Hailstone elected to MHA Board

Ballots for the election of trustees in Missouri Hospital Association Districts 1 and 4 were counted on September 16. Myra L. Evans, administrator of Community Hospital - Fairfax, was elected from District 1, and Sherlyn A. Hailstone, president of SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis, was elected from District 4. The three-year terms of these trustees will begin January 1, 2010.

Two at-large trustee elections, along with the election of MHA’s 2010 chair-elect, will take place during the association’s annual business meeting Wednesday, November 4 at Tan‑Tar‑A Resort in Osage Beach.

Congratulations Tess

Tess Niehaus has been named president elect of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development, the nation's premier organization for health care planners, marketers and communications and public relations professionals. SHSMD is an American Hospital Association affiliated organization.

EMR usage

Mike Sherry of the Kansas City Business Journal has inquired about hospitals' use of electronic medical records technologies. Specifically he is interested in critical access hospital adoption rates. Apparently he also is interested in physician adoption rates.