HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 1
HomeTown Happenings
Did You “Get the Picture?”
Also Inside:
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 2
Jimmy’s Notes
For those who missed it… In what was a momentous
occasion for rural hospitals, Governor Nathan Deal
spoke to the HomeTown Health Annual Spring
Conference. Entering to a standing ovation for his
support of rural hospitals, Governor Deal spoke of his
commitment to rural hospitals and the stress that they
are under due to the rapidly changing health care envi-
ronment. Fulfilling his commitment during the session,
Governor Deal announced his three pronged approach
to helping rural hospitals and health care. Governor
Deal named his Rural Hospital Stabilization Committee,
a rural hospital liaison within DCH (Charles Owens),
and his support for the stand alone ED language being
considered by the DCH Board.
Speaking to nearly 200 HomeTown Health Rural hospi-
tal and business partners affiliates , Governor Deal’s
remarks were warmly received as many of the attending
hospitals are benefactors of his recent help for them in
their financial crisis. HomeTown would like to extend a
great thank you to the Governor and his staff and to
Commissioner Reese who on Governor Deals behalf has
been incredibly supportive of the rural hospitals.
With that encouraging news, our work continues.
What do we see and hear in the rural hospital industry
in Georgia and beyond? As a general update, here’s
“What we Know.”
DSH has been distributed & exhausted for this
cycle. More than ever, board training is becoming a
major issue due to personal liabilities, cash flow, and
reimbursement complexity. CEO turnover continues at
a rapid fire basis.
Cash is critical – and there are major issues for the sum-
mer regarding cash. Counties with outstanding bonds
still have the debt service of these bonds as a major con-
cern for the county. And as cash tightens, the Revenue
Cycle has continued to get more complicated.
The Affordable Care Act has kicked into place and is
taking its toll. Some large hospitals have reported very
large losses – there is no immunity for size. The ACA
predicated on and the accepted closure of 1000 hospitals
nationally of 5000 total in next few years.
That’s what we know—here’s
“What we hear.” Several hospitals
have reported that their net revenues
have continued to plummet since
January 1, in some cases as much as
10%-20%. In addition, Physician availability for recruitment
remains very tough.
In light of what we know and what we hear, here’s the
“What to do.”
1) Rural hospitals operations must be run by the bench-
mark numbers- achieved by the use of best demonstrated
practices, as well as through the use of our business part-
ners, who continue to have great success in helping rural
hospitals achieve these benchmarks.
2) Reimbursement education is not optional– your hospi-
tals must attend all HomeTown Medicare and Medicaid
webinars.
3) Continue to give us any specific or ongoing issues on
the State Health Benefit Plan as we remain involved in this
area on your behalf.
4) Please forward any specific issues for CMO’s that you
want dealt with as we begin our round of summer of meet-
ings with them
5) Board Training: Schedule Board training with
HomeTown as a follow-on to the HTH Spring Meeting
Board Training.
We will be producing a series of communications shortly
based on the details of the recent HTH travels such as:
1) How and why have Georgia’s Critical Access Hospitals
gotten in so much financial stress;
2) What will the future hold for rural hospitals and
rural health care in Georgia;
3) How should rural hospitals and county governments
work together; and
4) What will the ACA really mean to Georgia’s hospitals ?
As always, tell us what you think– your input is highly
valuable.
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 3
HomeTown Happenings
Contents
Help is Here! DCH, HP, GA-HITEC, GA-HIN, and
Hometown Health’s “HealtHIE Georgia” Bus Tour is
coming to a town near you! Read more on page 11.
Positioned to Grow 4
HTHU’s New System 5
Did You “Get the Picture?”
6
HR Director & Leadership Training
8
Upcoming Events & Announcements 9
GA-HITEC Webinar 10
HealtHIE Georgia Bus Tour 10
HomeTown Staff Directory 11
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 4
Kathy Whitmire, Managing Director
For those of you at the Spring Conference this year, the
growing needs for rural hospital resources and the
growth of Hometown as an organization was clear! Our
aim is to keep our eyes and ears peeled to both hospital
members and industry changes, with an intent to stay
ahead of changing areas of need. Out of those needs has
come the addition of two key developments within
HomeTown.
Out of an immediate need at several hospitals has grown
HomeTown Health’s Financial Advisory Services and
Financial Improvement team. The team becomes a part
of yours — aiding hospitals by providing Reimburse-
ment review, education, process improvement and
implementation of best identified practices by HTH
partners.
Another development was the creation of a new position
for the team, a Director of Business Development. In
May, we welcomed Jennie Price to serve in that position.
Already, Jennie has been working with our team
members to organize and develop our focus group
strategy, with a goal of deepening the resources
available to each group, from Board Member to hospital
volunteer. In addition, she will be working to
communicate more “Best Practice” solutions from
hospitals and Business Partners in an effort to increase
collaborations and celebrate successes in hospitals.
Moving forward, we are positioning HomeTown to
grow—both in breadth of reach and depth of services. If
you have an idea or need, we encourage you not to
hesitate to reach out to our team.
Organization Update
Positioned to Grow
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 5
Education
HTHU Upgrades to A New LMS
Kristy Thomson, Director of Education
In April, the HomeTown Health University team began the transition of enrollees and course material to a new Learning
Management System (LMS). We are pleased to announce the successful completion of that transition on May 15.
Education is at the heart of our commitment to rural
hospitals and providers. The HTHU education program
has grown steadily over the past few years, with over 6500
users at the beginning of 2014. A number of new
certification programs have been added to meet the
increasing need for education within facilities, such as the
School of ICD-10 Preparedness. With this growth came the
need for a system that could support more programs,
streamline the user process, and provide greater reporting
for managers of education within facilities.
What does this mean for our students? For all users, login to the system has not changed, and remains at www.hthu.net. All
student records, including previously completed courses and certifications have made the transition to the new student home
pages. Existing users will notice a much smoother process to launch education, and should complete the ‘Orientation to the
New System’ which will pop up upon first login to the new LMS. All new enrollments and users registering with
www.hthu.net will be first sent to a system orientation that will give them a tour of HTHU.
June 4 - 12:30 p.m. EST
2014 Patient Access Recertification
July 23 - 12:30 p.m. EST
2014 Financial Counselor
Recertification
August 6 - 12:30 p.m. EST
2014 Billing Specialist Recertification
September 11 - 12:30 p.m. EST
2014 Healthcare Hospitality Specialist
Recertification
Upcoming HTHU Events
1. A streamlined enrollment process for new users
2. An improved appearance on the student user page and the manager
dashboard
3. A smoother process for users to login and launch course material
4. Accessible across multiple platforms, devices, and browsers such as
Macs, iPads, and PCs
5. More interactive Manager Reporting, with increased functionality for
user maintenance, course reports and accessing user transcripts
Did You Know?
Our library of free content and education is
growing. Be sure to check out our new
courses in the Healthcare Solutions Free
Training Center.
HTHU provides education for a variety of
roles within a hospital- clinical, business
office, volunteers, HR and Education
Directors, board members, executives, and
more.
HTHU has the ability to customize
annual education and compliance programs for hospitals, and to develop
accredited courses in new areas as needs arise.
Unsure if facility has a subscription? Unsure of what courses are
included? Like a demo of our programs available?
Please contact Meghan Williams at [email protected].
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 6
There were several firsts at this year’s Spring Conference. This
year marked a milestone as we officially outgrew our customary
meeting space and moved to beautiful Savannah in order to
accommodate a growing organization. We enjoyed new
restaurants and activities with our Business Partners just steps
outside the hotel.
We held our first ever Board & Governance Breakout Session on
the first day of our meeting, and welcomed board members,
trustees and executives from many of our member hospitals. It
was a tremendous success, as hospital leaders came together to
discuss legal issues, compliance, and best practices for rural
hospitals. This was just the start of a rollout of additional
resources for board members with the growing need for educa-
tion and training on the complex challenges facing our hospitals.
Event Recap
Did You “Get the Picture?”
The highlight of the Spring Conference was a visit and announce-
ment from Governor Nathan Deal. Fulfilling a commitment that
he made during the recently finished session, Governor Deal
announced the establishment and named the appointees to the
Rural Hospital Stabilization Committee. The charge of this
committee will be to identify ways and means to stabilize the rural
hospital and health care situation in Georgia. Hometown believes
that this is an exceptional committee of appointments, with several
rural hospitals having a prominent place. The members of the
Committee can be viewed in entirety online, here. The first
committee meeting will be held on June 9.
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 7
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 8
Event Recap
HR Directors & Leadership Training
On May 15, a group of HR Directors from member
hospitals as well as members of the 2014 Leadership
Program met together in Macon for a day of education
and discussion.
Topics included:
Education and Compliance Program Management—
Meghan Williams, HTHU
Legal Updates, Fair Labors Standards Act Pitfalls,
and EEOC Complaints—
Jason D’Cruz, Morris, Manning & Martin
Supervisor Survival—Top 10 Do’s & Don’ts -
Stephanie Woods, MedCare South
Healthcare Reform and Marketplace Exchanges—
Grant Campbell, Gallagher Benefits
Family Medical Leave Act Administration—
Stephanie Woods, MedCare South
We finished the day with an “HR Best Practice Panel,”
covering a range of topics such as background checks,
credentialing, and physician recruiting strategy.
Participants left the workshop with new knowledge,
useful resources, and new connections with others who
face similar challenges. Thanks to all of the attendees
and business partners who joined us.
Business Partners shared on
the “HR Best Practice Panel,”
including (from L to R) Neil
Brogran (ESS), Keith Colson
(D&Y), Derek Whitworth
(Altera), Mike Broxterman
(Pinnacle), and Panhandle
Credentialing (via phone).
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 9
HomeTown Health
15th Annual
Fall Conference & Anniversary Celebration
November 11-13, 2014
The Lodge & Spa at Callaway Gardens
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 10
Grants & Projects
“How Can Care Coordination Improve
There are many reasons to engage with your patients
post discharge. In this webinar, Jim Bowling and Van
Willis of PREMEDEX will guide us through new
opportunities to drive innovation and profitability
among rural providers – hospitals and physician
practices alike.
Post-acute care transition, care coordination, patient
engagement – you’ll want to join HomeTown Health for
the Lunch N Learn in partnership with GA-HITEC to
hear how PREMEDEX works with some of the country’s
On June 24 and 25, the “HealtHIE Georgia” Bus may be com-
ing to a city near you! We are currently planning a bus tour
through rural Georgia full of resources for rural physicians and
practice managers to provide them with much needed help in
the form of technical assistance and education from DCH, HP,
GA-HITEC, GaHIN, and Hometown Health.
The driving force of the bus tour is the urgent need for
technical assistance with the Meaningful Use attestation
process required to receive their Medicaid Incentive funds.
However, equally important is the need to raise physician’s
awareness of secure messaging and health information
exchange and the vital role it plays in coordinated care and improved health outcomes of their patients. We hope for this bus
tour to be the first of several across the state to bring much needed help to providers.
Please watch your email for more information as it becomes available, or reach out to Sherri Ackerman with questions.
Help on Wheels– the HealtHIE Georgia Bus is Coming!
Revenue and Profitability?”
leading healthcare organizations to help them achieve
their objectives through patient engagement programs
and analysis of their feedback. Case studies and a demo
will be shared.
HomeTown Happenings | Spring 2014 11
Hometown Health
STAFF CONTACTS
For more information on HomeTown Health Business Partners, Members,
and Events, visit or website at www.hometownhealthonline.com or contact:
Hometown Health University For more information on education and programs of study, visit our online
university at www.hthu.net or contact: