10th Annual HomeTown Health Spring Meeting
"Weathering the Storm"
The theme of our 10th Annual HomeTown Health Spring Conference, which was held at Sea Palms Resort on St Simons Island, April 28th through the 30th was "Weathering the Storm -Together We Will Weather the Storm".
This year's power-packed agenda addressed the storms facing Georgia’s rural hospitals and providers. The agenda provided them the umbrella for protection and proven solutions and best practices to turn dark clouds into sunshine.
There was great attendance with over 200 plus hospital members and business partners.
Some of our keynote speakers during the conference included Alec Steele, GA Dept. of Community Health, Dr. Paul Moore, Sr. Health Policy Advisor, and Carolyn Bordeaux, Senate Budget Office.
2009 GEORGIA HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY(HITECH) CONFERENCE -
DEC 10TH in MACON , GA
Background: On February 17, 2009 a $787 Billion, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aka “the Stimulus Bill,” was signed into law by the federal government. Included in this law is $19.2 Billion which is intended to be used to increase the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) by physicians and hospitals; this portion of the bill is called, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH Act.
This Conference provided information needed to make educated decisions regarding the HITECH Act, HIS upgrades and system conversions to ensure that your hospital or practice meets the EHR Meaningful Use milestones required to receive the stimulus funding.
Presenter Agenda
Overview of the HITECH Act - ONC to Establish National Research Center
Ned Ellington, Program Manager, HITECH Research Center, ONC
EHR Meaningful Use Milestones for HIT Funding
Michele Madison, Morris, Manning & Martin
Physician/Clinic EHR Component
Ken Shumard - Precision Practice Management (PPM)
Overcoming Barriers - Financing, Group Buys, HIT Outsourcing
Jimmy Lewis - HomeTown Health
Federal-State-Local Initiatives Discussion Panel Led by Ned Ellington
Panel to include: Paula Guy, GA Telehealth; Michele Madison, MMM; Dr. Paul Moore, PCM Co.
First Things First - Why is Patient Safety & Quality the Driver of Meaningful Use
Dr. Paul Moore, Pharmacist and Former President of NRHA
Steps Required to meet the EHR Milestones:
Step #1 Going Paperless - Forms / Document Management – Bottomline Tech.
Step #2 Assessing your Needs / Preparing an RFP - Siemens
Step #3 Engaging your Clinical Staff for a Smooth Implementation - Healthland
Step #4 Key Elements of a Successful Conversion & ROI of the EHR - HMS
Step #5 Secure EHR Lab Results for Patients, Physicians & Hospital - Azalea Health
Health Information System Requirements to Achieve Meaningful Use Certification?
Ed Brown, CIO Gwinnet Medical Center
Health Information System Demos
Healthland, HMS, Siemens, Bottomline Technologies, PPM, and Azalea Health
Click Here to review presentations that were given.
2009 Fall Meeting - 10th Anniversary Celebration
During its 2009 Fall conference, HomeTown Health celebrated
A Decade of Dedication
to Georgia Rural Hospitals
The conference was held in Callaway Gardens, November 11th - 13th. A celebration dinner was held in honor of our 10 year hospitals and business partners; and, the enitre meeting was a huge success with over 200 hospital members and business partners in attendance.
This year's conference was power packed with excellent and informative speakers, including Alan Essig, Josh Belinfante and Former Governor Roy Barnes. These presenters gave presentations on the most timely and necessary topics.
CLICK HERE to review the presentations that were given.
HomeTown also presented several awards at the conference including its annual awards for Business Partner of the Year, Hospital of the Year, Hospital Leader of the Year, Meritorious Service, along with a new award for Business Office of the Year. Kathy Whitmire, Managing Director, was also honored for 10 years of service to HomeTown Health.