Reuters on Wednesday reported on a new report from Moody’s.  The article reports, “Nonprofit hospitals in the United States face a future of rising costs and dwindling funds as the healthcare reform is implemented and the Congress battles over the budget, according to a Moody’s Investors Services report released on Wednesday. To survive what the rating agency is calling a ‘transition period,’ the hospitals, which frequently provide free or discounted care for lower-income patients, will have to drastically cut spending.”  http://tinyurl.com/cftq6om.

We encourage everyone to view the report of the NN/LM San Francisco Earthquake Summit (http://nnlm.gov/ep/2012/05/04/nnlm-san-francisco-earthquake-summit-report/) that took place at the UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management on April 6, 2012.  Like the NN/LM Miami Hurricane Summit report, it is designed to be brief and visual.

Speaker contact information is provided on the site.  If you’d like to see any of the slides, contact:

Daniel T. Wilson
Assoc. Dir. for Collections & Library Services
Coordinator, NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Initiative
University of Virginia Claude Moore Health Sciences Library
Charlottesville, Virginia  22908

Another account of the event written from the perspective of an attendee is available.  This item was published in the NN/LM Pacific Southwest Region’s Latitudes blog and is available at: http://nnlm.gov/psr/newsletter/2012/04/27/nnlm-earthquake-summit-held-at-ucsf-on-april-6-2012/.

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine has a daily blog of health information issues related to the community, especially underserved communities.  Looking to keep up on health information funding opportunities, conferences, and resources?  Read the blog or subscribe to the daily digest of postings: http://nnlm.gov/bhic/.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking input from health information exchange (HIE) project evaluators to participate in studies to assess the usability and usefulness of a revised version of the AHRQ HIE Evaluation Toolkit.

Participants should not have used the AHRQ HIE Evaluation Toolkit.

• Study #1 is a usability study and seeks participants developing an HIE project evaluation plan with limited experience in HIE project evaluation.

• Study #2 seeks participants who will be developing an evaluation plan in the latter part of 2012. Participation in study #2 will require use of a revised HIE Evaluation Toolkit in planning the HIE project evaluation.

Participation in both of the studies includes an interview of up to 90 minutes.  Participants in each study will receive $100.

If interested in participating, please email Westat at HIEevaluationtoolkit@westat.com or call toll-free, 888-653-4336 by May 13, 2012 for Study #1 and by June 1, 2012 for Study #2.  Contact Mary Crimmins at marycrimmins@westat.com for more information.

Public health institutes (PHIs) are nonprofits that improve the public’s health by fostering innovation, leveraging resources, and building partnerships across sectors.  PHIs address current and emerging health issues by providing expertise in areas such as:  Fiscal/Administrative Management; Population-Based Health Program Delivery; Health Policy Development, Implementation, and Evaluation; Training and Technical Assistance; Research and Evaluation; Health Information Services; Health Communications and Social Marketing and Convening/Partnering. See NNPHI’s membership categories http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0015SI1ebXXO-RVZSmvIiaseANLYc8UlAS5G72qesOyo2iEY4pdSqPdh0L6AB6byMeDw4tn2nc3u1IycjD2WXmYdkL-5deRcufgvf0sE8V1tEXxMU_8JuXgCoyc7UQQJK99I0753G9DISR8lbMthHil5YN1SHaOtvAN9jrl4ujGzjQ= for more information.

In August 2011, NNPHI embarked on a new set of projects that are designed to amplify  PHI’s roles and impact http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0015SI1ebXXO-SrnhrPU_bp02yTFuTDwpbkLTiJPVJ3BlvpFXg-oES5gVoqZmu1qRJbkXtYc7hZmrV9zPNNtJt0Z_-tph1igJhhJNNTlDhxPSCdu59NsR6CQnUcx1BW-wlJV27oXz4U1uDLMNkIzrxk0atihptNecec5wHFmS43h8g= on public health performance, policy, and evidence, as well as strengthen NNPHI’s own infrastructure and partnerships to promote PHIs as an essential component of the “new public health system” http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0015SI1ebXXO-QOiEaNZmS0TmqC4X7CRDM4EfILIWY9FuLCCgt4aNVYhqpMkGH7QaU4HzYaijho8OGNz74oxlz67x1P1DfeAhGvCZCxlWZTDXc-JP3H_R32aDxEbbIajR36sYnS3smBtHNXqMWvEFxRZkTbnHq4zP6PKbsis2f0XdXcmoQ-9grHoPmH9T-5l3RxQ57Xyvwymtv7FBbjpCiZNbL80W9EgDpgbFs4B4Jfg8kU1H3ELk341RHQncpcdcmWDWuyro_7eFHToOJpaf3HT4bWieLm8a7rYeSfVlc14GPtRVukwgCegguM1JK1yiFJ0X2kl-q1J-Q=“. This CFP seeks to enhance the performance of the public health system by supporting additional states with finding ways to use the PHI model to help address their pressing health challenges.  The 22 states currently without a PHI (as defined by NNPHI http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0015SI1ebXXO-QXdcilfWHaldaR-81cQzCexj2cFB7IBs92lcNOoKzK0VPrabtcJ97lNna9QPLG7yK7v7nyaSdydXNFTNtaJW1kJxd-JhaKOt-AU-VV_RYkEcmY1TMFSB_pqE9o151erDmyhaWPtNhDEEUu8TtcyLdGtci9GTIUTBq04beROCoocxmbNP552pSy04lwks7Cl48= are eligible to apply for this opportunity (click for a map of current NNPHI Members http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0015SI1ebXXO-R0W8rynKTFqHH7rKdl5D_8uL840QGArK4Vs-bGtH8QZbsEfqtmGMaKppKmUyPCGtq-u_N9R0m55ElVpWfMS2vD6HBXhukJzFIfbf9sYWlz68xILUoniMB3N_zZj7ugaJqjUvosD2BgDA==. This project will fund up to two states to advance efforts to establish a PHI that meets NNPHI’s definition, with an ultimate goal of improving these states’ public health systems.

Important Dates:

• May 30, 2012 (1:00-2:00 PM CT): Dialogue4Health Webinar http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0015SI1ebXXO-TGha5zbzqCtZOlc_zE05jhrdedje3z4aiZffQd0DpgpT7d9KE9GaOHr2m3a5H5YOXSq-ZASCTlDAfSi0jyRQq9RnG7LEjqgaFqUZtgGs6fOnx9x3a_xeOAYlDXMR6eAd8JJNrwrY3BDLQ3LFJtPf2PErSu5-86SZNz2_eA5HM5QO12x4Y3i9U_xSeEuAML4qIJc1GNLeQ1wAO00Gmys_kAkO7cPsr1dS0boxVjR1LR1sgnTHOMVxLLC5yZkzV6zSv8M0p8eno-UooT7UPG142I on “What can a Public Health Institute do for my Health Department” featuring additional information on the CFP opportunity).
• June 6, 2012: Letters of intent are due
• June 25, 2012: Deadline for full receipt of proposals
• Late July 2012: Projects are selected

Project Timeline:

Selected states will be notified in late July.  The grant period begins August 1, 2012 and continues through March 31, 2013.

EMForum.org is pleased to host a one hour presentation and interactive discussion Wednesday, May 9, 2012, beginning at 12:00 Noon Eastern time.  Our topic will be the recently published Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Guide (CPG) 201.

The guide provides a comprehensive approach for identifying and assessing risks and associated impacts and expands on existing risk methodologies by broadening the factors considered in the process, incorporating the whole community throughout the entire process, and by accounting for important community-specific factors.

Our guest will be Donald “Doc” Lumpkins, Executive Director of FEMA’s PPD-8 Program Executive Office since mid-2011.  Doc Lumpkins also serves as Branch Chief, National Planning Coordination and Assistance, National Preparedness Directorate. In this position he oversees the development of national planning doctrine, catastrophic preparedness planning initiatives, and tailored technical assistance programs.

Please make plans to join us, and see the Background Page for links to related resources and participant Instructions.  On the day of the program, use the Webinar Login link not more than 30 minutes before the scheduled time. The password is attend.

As always, please feel free to extend this invitation to your colleagues.

EIIP and Jacksonville State University are now partnering to offer CEUs for attending EMForum.org Webinars.  See http://www.emforum.org/CEUs.htm for details.

Is your organization interested in becoming an EIIP Partner?  Click here to review our Mission, Vision, and Guiding Principles and access the Memorandum of Partnership.

This educational opportunity is provided by the Emergency Information Infrastructure Project (EIIP).

Note: Our instructions have changed since we have moved to a WebEx Webinar service. Mac users are now able to join us, and we hope to see improvements in access to computer audio.  Please take time to review the new instructions in advance.

John C. Scott

President, Center for Public Service Communications

3221 North George Mason Drive

Arlington, Virginia 22207

Phone: 703-536-5642

Fax: 703-782-1620

jcscott@cpsc.com

The National Library of Medicine Training Center is bringing their PubMed for Trainers course to New York City, October 11 – 23, 2012.  The course requires attendance at all sessions, both online and  in-person:

• Online session:                                                October 11, 2012 (10:00 am – Noon ET)
• Online session:                                                October 15, 2012 (10:00 am – Noon ET)
• Online session:                                                October 18, 2012 (10:00 am – Noon ET)
• In-person session in New York, NY:            October 23, 2012 (9 am – 4 pm ET)

Seating is limited.  For class details and to register, see:  http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/classes/schedule.html.

The Department of Veterans Affairs commemorated Research Week from April 23-27.  Several national and local events took place to recognize the key role that VA research plays in advancing health and health care:  http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2304.

A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health and Mathematica Policy Research presents new data on electronic health records (EHR) adoption.  According to the report, “Physicians reporting use of any EHR reached 57 percent in 2011, a substantial increase from 17 percent in 2002, while adoption of at least a basic system grew from 12 percent to 34 percent over the same time period.  The rate of adoption of at least a basic EHR system increased more quickly among primary care physicians, younger physicians, practices of three or more physicians, and those in the Northeast region of the United States”:  http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/product.jsp?id=74262.

The Institute of Medicine on Friday posted a new ‘discussion paper’ titled, “Developing a Robust Clinical Trials Workforce,” authored by Drs. Ann Bonham (AAMC’s Chief Scientific Officer), Robert Califf, Elaine Gallin, and Michael Lauer.  Also posted is a related commentary by Dr. Sherine E. Gabriel, “Educating the Workforce for a Transformed Clinical Research Enterprise.”  All the authors are participants in the activities of the IOM Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation and participated in the Forum’s November 2011 workshop to envision a transformed U.S. clinical trials enterprise.
http://www.iom.edu/Global/Perspectives/2012/RobustWorkforce.aspx
http://www.iom.edu/Global/Perspectives/2012/EducatingtheWorkforce.aspx
http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2012/Envisioning-a-Transformed-Clinical-Trials-Enterprise-in-the-United-States.aspx.