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Many Thanks

This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.

This Thanksgiving, many of you might participate in a well-known tradition in which friends and family members, full of turkey and stuffing, go around the table and say aloud what they are thankful for.

Answers vary, but visit any table this Thursday and you wouldn’t be surprised at what you hear: my health, my family, food on the table each day, a warm place to sleep at night, love.

I too am deeply thankful that I have these things in my life.

It’s telling that the same themes come up at every table…perhaps because they are the building blocks of a good and happy life.

Sadly, millions of Californians don’t have this foundation.

Nearly 130,000 Californians do not know if they will sleep on the street or in a shelter tonight. Nearly 6 million Californians, including 2 million children, live in low-income households affected by food insecurity, not knowing where their next meal will come from.

You know well that these two factors alone make other life successes challenging, if not impossible. Health, family, love – are these possible without food and shelter?

Maybe, but it’s hard.

That’s why each year, when asked about what I’m thankful for, I also think of all of you – of hospitals.

For the Californians who will not be sitting at a table Thursday; for those who will sleep outdoors as temperatures dip into the low 40s; for those who struggle to answer what they are thankful for, I’m grateful they have you.

Every day, California’s hospitals demonstrate what it means to show empathy, kindness, and compassion to those in need: a social worker making a few extra calls to find an open bed for a patient experiencing homelessness; a street nurse program; an extra sandwich for someone who hasn’t eaten in a few days.

So, this year, when we go around the table at my house, and here in this message, I say thanks to you, the women and men who serve others at California’s hospitals – because often, you’re the only ones that those in need have.

From your California Hospital Association family, please know that you have our deepest gratitude for everything you do to give others something to be thankful for.

— Carmela

Area Wage Index Battle Presses On

This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.

In a little more than a month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will issue a final rule of significant importance for California’s hospitals: a decision that could alter the way Medicare adjusts hospital payments for geographic differences in labor costs (known as the Area Wage Index).

Their proposal? Take money from hospitals in California with high wages to give to hospitals in states with lower wages. CMS suggests this is an effort to address longstanding inequities in the wage index and to help rural hospitals.  

Hospital Care in the Crosshairs

Over the past couple of weeks, as federal and state budget proposals have come into sharper focus, the details are shaping up to be grim for hospitals and the patients who rely on them. 

Eye on Washington — Health Care in Spotlight as Congress Reconvenes

This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.

With less than two months before America selects its next president, Congress has returned to Washington, D.C., to consider a federal funding plan, with action required before Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown. Given it is an election year, a shutdown is unlikely, and Congress will need to take temporary actions to keep programs operating.  

Seismic Survey Results and Campaign Briefing

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CHA has launched a community engagement and education campaign to help lawmakers understand the critical need to provide hospitals with relief from the 2030 seismic requirements. 

Quality and Safety Through Transparency and Compassion

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As the quality and safety arm for CHA and the Regional Associations, the Hospital Quality Institute (HQI) is always working to find new ways to help hospitals not only improve the lives of the patients they touch, but also create a culture of patient safety within their organizations.  

The Long Fight for Financial Relief

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Late last month, the respected health care financial analyst Kaufman Hall released its latest examination of the condition of hospitals as the nation continues to toil through the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the conclusions is something hospital leaders know all too well. From the report:

“As many push for a rapid return to ‘normal,’ hospital and health system leaders face a hard reality that there may never be a return to the old normal. The pandemic likely will have long-lasting repercussions on patient behavior, volumes, and the role of telehealth in an evolving healthcare landscape.”

Specifically, the report calls attention to several factors likely to influence hospitals’ ability to provide care in the same manner as prior to the pandemic, including: