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Nurse Admitted to Hospital After Literally Working Her Ass Off.

Houston, TX -  After years of mandatory overtime, 16-hour days without a restroom break and a revolving door of understaffed and overworked conditions as a hospital nurse, it finally happened.  Jan Stevens, R.N. was admitted to the hospital last week shortly after her ass literally fell off during a busy day in which two nurses called in sick at the last minute, without explanation, on a sunny Friday afternoon.

"I tell my husband and kids all the time that I'm exhausted after working my ass off at work , but I never thought it would actually happen," said Jan.

The strange event occurred while Jan was giving Ativan to an old and naked demented guy trying to ask her out on a date while two young Facebookers demanded more Dilaudid for their abdominal pain of no possible cause, one patient's out-of-town physician daughter was on hold waiting to reverse an end-of-life DNR and two smokers descended on the nurses station, in their street clothes, asking when the doctor would be there to discharge them.

"I was just standing there, overwhelmed with nonsense, when I felt a sudden weight lifted off my pelvis.   I turned around and  there was my ass laying on the floor in a pool of c diff.," said Jan.

Rapid response team members transported the hard working nurse to the  ER where Emergency physicians worked for hours to try and find an admitting physician.

"The ER doctor told me he was working his ass off to find a surgeon to admit me and I just looked at him and shook my head.  I told him 'You don't get to say that to me today.'"

Surgeons working their asses off to fix Jan's ass.
Hospital officials were stunned by the work related injury, but they admit it was only a matter of time before something like this was bound to happen.

"We've got some pretty hard workers here at the hospital but Jan is one of our best.  We'll have to take this incident back to our 12 committees to start a root cause analysis,"   said Wendy Stenson, Vice President of Meetings.

"But regardless of what we find, we just don't have the money to increase staffing ratios.  Maybe we'll think about  implementing mandatory prophylactic ass taping for all our staff."

Since Jan's remarkable event went viral, she has received hundreds of job offers, but Jan is thinking about taking advantage of the workers' compensation lifestyle for awhile instead.

"I think I've earned it."



ACA, Medicaid and Unintended Consequences for People with Disabilities

People with disabilities who are eligible for healthcare through Medicaid may experience painful gaps in coverage during transitions. There are groups of people with disabilities that are particularly vulnerable: those who need long-term care services, those who apply but are not yet found eligible for SSI in 209b states with expanded Medicaid and youth transitioning to the adult system.

Long-term care services and supports, such as personal assistance services or durable medical equipment, are critically important to some people with disabilities. Medicaid packages for people with blindness and disabilities, or AABD or SSI Related Medicaid, offer comprehensive coverage, including long-term care supports and services. For those who need them, these services are a lifeline to independence, living in the community and employment.  Either not affordable or available through the private insurance market, Medicaid has been the sole access point for people with disabilities who need long-term care services. The Adult ACA Medicaid group, or expansion group, is a Medicaid program that may or may not provide an individual with long-term care services in any given state.

209(b) Expansion States Facing Challenges with Transitions 

One key difference across states is the option to automatically provide SSI Related Medicaid to recipients of the federally-administered state supplementary payments though the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Ten states use at least one eligibility criterion that is more restrictive than the SSI program for Medicaid eligibility and are referred to as 209(b) states. This means that an individual in these states who applies and is found eligible for SSI must make a separate application for Medicaid coverage.

The following states are currently 209(b) states: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Virginia. All but Missouri, Oklahoma and Virginia have expanded Medicaid eligibility through the ACA.

Limited Access to Long-Term Care and Providers in the ACA Adult Group

Because many SSI applications take longer to process than Medicaid applications, people with disabilities can frequently be found eligible for ACA Adult Medicaid while waiting for SSI eligibility to be approved. While this group of individuals who have been approved as ACA Adult Medicaid eligible has access to healthcare, they may not have access to long-term care services.

Once SSI eligibility is approved, however, the beneficiary is no longer eligible for the category of Medicaid (ACA Adult) they are currently receiving. When they are put into the correct category for coverage (SSI Related Medicaid), they are sometimes dropped from one health plan and put into another without their knowledge. The end result is a current Medicaid beneficiary who is denied or faces delayed access to long-term care services he or she should be receiving under SSI Related Medicaid, as well as potentially losing access to providers and being forced to reapply altogether.

In addition to the lack of access to needed long-term care services, people may also experience challenges related to accessing medical service providers. In some states, the integration of the ACA and managed care has vastly changed provider infrastructure, with managed care plans for SSI Related Medicaid offering different provider networks and services than ACA Adult Medicaid managed care plans.

Many individuals, especially those new to SSI Related Medicaid, will not be aware that they are in a different category until another action is taken, such applying for a Medicaid waiver service, attempting to contact their managed care plan or going to see their providers. Both of these issues can result from the timing of an individual’s Medicaid application and approval.

Youth with Disabilities Facing Challenges with Transitions

Youth with disabilities can also potentially face significant unintended consequences around access to appropriate healthcare coverage. Children with disabilities are found eligible for SSI due to a reduction in both Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. This means a youth can be eligible for SSI under a broader context of criteria, like an inability to socialize or play with others.

Adult disability determinations, by contrast, are made based on a disabling condition that impacts employment—not only current employment, any employment in the country that may be available to someone with such impairments. These are vastly different criteria.

As a result, many children are found eligible and begin receiving childhood SSI and SSI Related Medicaid. However, when they turn 18, they are required to meet the adult disability guidelines in order to remain eligible. Many children fail to meet those adult requirements and their benefits are terminated. Of those that are found ineligible when they turn 18, a number are later found to be eligible in further review or appeal processes. Because Medicaid waiver programs are available only to individuals who are current Medicaid recipients, a child may have waited years to be eligible for Medicaid waivers, be found eligible, only later to be denied eligibility for adult disability—which results in losing benefits under SSI Related Medicaid and SSI eligibility. If, upon later application, the individual is once again found eligible for both adult SSI and SSI Related Medicaid, he or she must now go to the back of the waiting list for the same waiver services previously lost under a youth determination. This can result in years without necessary, critical services and care.

Experiences in the States

Health & Disability Advocates conducted a short, informal survey of seven 209(b) states that have expanded Medicaid to learn more about how states identify people who are in the “wrong” eligibility category and the processes states have in place to prevent this from happening. With six of the seven states responding to the survey, HDA found that:

• Three of six respondents offer Medicaid provider packages that are different depending on whether you are in SSI Related Medicaid or ACA Related Medicaid.

• Three of the six responding states offer some variety of waivers to individuals even if they are placed in ACA Related Medicaid.

• None of the responding states have a formal process for coordinating information about individuals who transition eligibility from one service package to another.

• Four of six states are unaware of whether individuals have been improperly placed in the wrong Medicaid eligibility package; the remaining 33% have implemented trainings, but know that individuals continue to get placed into the wrong eligibility group.

• Five states (all but North Dakota) were not aware of specific alerts that notify the Medicaid beneficiary that their eligibility for one program has ended and another started.

Upon further contact, roughly half of the states were in the early stages of identifying the issue of individuals being inappropriately placed and noted a need to develop a process for re-engaging the beneficiary to get them connected to appropriate providers for maximized health.

Recommendations Going Forward

While states are currently uncertain about the scope and breadth of these issues, it is important to identify individuals who have fallen through the cracks and may experience a significant disruption in services and eligibility. At a minimum, requiring states to create an automated notification system for changes to eligibility would provide beneficiaries greater clarity and time to plan.  In North Dakota, for example, individuals receive a notice as they leave eligibility under one Medicaid group and become eligible for another. Notice of and clear information about the ramifications of the change is critical.

Another recommendation for states is to look at integration of its systems and data tracking of disability populations. Data exchanges between the state and federal systems, along with the differing eligibility criteria among various programs, should make tracking persons with disabilities a high priority for states. Minnesota, for example, is developing a new integrated system with the capacity to match data sets to a broader context of information, such as employment status. This will greatly enhance the ability of the state to make sure that people with serious health needs receive the proper services and have access to the supports they need for the greatest possible independence.

Joe Entwisle, MS, CLCP
Sr. Policy Analyst
Health & Disability Advocates

The Future of Enrollment in Illinois: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going

When Get Covered America came to Illinois before the first open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act in 2013, there was a lot of work to be done. At that time 78% of the uninsured had not heard of the health insurance marketplace and were unaware of the new health coverage options or opportunities for financial help available to them for the first time. The initial awareness gap was daunting, but hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans stood to benefit from the marketplace and needed to know how the Affordable Care Act could help them.

Many Milestones Through Collaboration

Fortunately, there were a number of stakeholders like Health & Disability Advocates (HDA), the Campaign for Better Health Care (CBHC), Alivio Medical Center and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, among others, eager and ready for the challenge ahead. This commitment helped achieve many of the goals laid out in the beginning. After two successful open enrollment periods, nearly 350,000 Illinoisans have enrolled in health insurance through the marketplace, and hundreds of thousands more have received coverage through expanded Medicaid and CHIP. Working together towards the same mission, Get Covered America and its partner organizations increased awareness and provided enrollment resources for consumers across the state.

Stepping Back to Move Forward

Because of the great work that has happened on the ground in Illinois, Get Covered America will be stepping back with full confidence in capable partners like HDA, CBHC and many others—such as Family Guidance Centers and Ada S. McKinley—to continue this important work to make health care enrollment a permanent part of communities. It’s clear that the coalition of partners who have come together on this issue have made great strides over the past two years. As the insurance landscape changes and the number of uninsured Illinoisans continues to decrease, Get Covered America wants to make sure that resources are allocated in the smartest and most effective way.

While Get Covered America won’t have an active outreach presence on-the-ground in Illinois moving forward, the organization will continue to support partners in the state with cutting edge data, best practices, tools and resources. Get Covered America will refine and continue to offer digital tools like the Get Covered Connector while also introducing new programs, like  training and support for local partners and health insurance literacy resources for the newly insured.

The Enrollment Challenge Ahead

Just released by Get Covered America, the State of Enrollment Report takes a critical look at the lessons  learned and what still needs to be done to get Illinois covered. Using on-the-ground knowledge and data analysis, the report identified several key initiatives integral to maximizing the number of Illinoisans who enroll in coverage. This is a great resource for partners on the ground and the foundation for a sustainable coalition for years to come.

The Get Covered America team is thrilled at what has been accomplished in Illinois so far, but there’s still important work to be done. While more Illinoisans have health coverage than ever before, there are still too many who remain uninsured and need the facts about how the Affordable Care Act can help them and their families.  On-the-ground partners like CBHC, Family Guidance Centers and Alivio Medical Center will continue this work and make health care enrollment an institutional reality for years to come.  And Get Covered America  looks forward to supporting their efforts.

David Elin
National Fundraising Director
Enroll America

Joint Commission Implements Mandatory Universal Patient Helmet Regulations.

Baltimore, MD - In an effort to reduce injuries and deaths related to in-hospital falls,  the Joint Commission notified hospitals last week of strict new universal  helmet regulations for all hospitalized patients, without exception.

Patient death or serious injury associated with a fall while being cared for in a health care setting has been a recognized since 2002 as one of 27 original never events as defined by the National Quality Forum (NQF).  The complete list was revised in 2011 to include 29 never events, but falls by confused old naked men have continued to result in serious injuries despite endless attempts to counteract natural traumatic hospital acquired deaths.

"We've heard from hospitals loud and clear.  They've tried everything from 4 point leather restraints and  putting on fall-risk arm bands to Ativan drips with soothing country music and we have concluded that patients are just gonna fall.  So we figure it  makes sense for us to force all patients to wear a helmet," said Mark R. Chassin, M.D. FACP, M.P.P, M.P.H, president and chief executive officer of The Joint Commission (TJC).

"In a few years, universal helmet use will be as normal as universal hand washing is today."

Hospitalists were thrilled to learn about mandatory helmet regulations in the hospital.  "I get at least two calls a night from the night nurse letting me know they found a patient laying unresponsive on the floor in a pool of blood at 2 a.m. with a large pulsating scalp bleeder and do I want to do anything about it," said Hospitalist James Fleming.

"But now with mandatory helmet regulations, I think we'll be more comfortable not ordering the stat CT head.  It's just going to take some time getting used to."

While hospitalists were thrilled with their new found nocturnal freedom, not all specialities were equally excited.  Stan Bedlow, a prominent local Neurosurgeon was concerned the new policy would interfere with his ability to operate effectively and efficiently.

"We asked The Joint Commission to waive their tough new standards for neurosurgical patients, but they said no.  "I'm not really sure how I'm going to access the brain through a helmet, but we believe The Joint Commission is the gold standard in safety, so we'll probably just consult the  hospitalist to manage it.

Hospitals prepare for mandatory patient helmet use.
Some surgical nurses were happy to hear the hospital was finally going to counteract unsafe operating practices. "We've had a few patients roll off the table and die while the anesthesiologist was doing advanced sudoku puzzles and trading stocks and the orthopedic surgeon was blasting Guns N' Roses and singing Sweet Child o' Mine, " said one surgical nurse who wished to remain anonymous for fear of telling the truth and losing her job.

Even the Obstetricians were left scratching their heads on the new mandatory helmet policy.  "We've been told by our hospital quality officials that all expectant mothers and their newborns will be required to have a helmet secured prior to the baby exiting the birth canal or C-section.  We figured this was a perfect job for the third year medical student so we've decided to base their whole clerkship grade on how well they perform retraction-helmet duty," said Academic Obstetrician Dr. Michelle Johnson.

The Joint Commission expressed confidence their strict new safety measures would be accepted kindly by physicians who understand the importance of universal safety precautions in the hospital.  "We anticipate physician experience with our helmet regulations will help them fully embrace our anticipated full body Charmin wrap requirement planned for next year's accreditation process," said Dr. Chassin.