Better Together:
Arizona's Hospitals Advocate for Patients

The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) is a statewide trade association representing more than 100 hospitals, healthcare systems, affiliated health organizations, and the patients and communities they serve. With a mission of sustaining and improving the health of Arizonans, AzHHA supports its members by providing advocacy, education and services.

Company skips hospital hearing concordmonitor.com | 2/8/2012
Lawmakers deciding whether to bend state rules and waive Medicaid taxes for a private, out-of-state cancer hospital were left with several unanswered questions yesterday because the hospital sent no one to testify on its behalf at a scheduled public hearing. "Is anyone from the company or the CEO speaking?" asked Rep. Robert Fredette, a Hillsboro Republican. The answer seemed to surprise him. "...
State funding to help hospitals should be increased usatoday.com | 2/8/2012
When the phone rings in the middle of the night, you answer it with fear, knowing that bad news almost certainly waits on the other end of the line. Your child has been in an accident. A beloved grandparent is critically ill. Someone you love is in the hospital. And so you go to the place where the lights are always on and the door is always open, where a team of doctors and nurses and highly s...
Three New Trustees Join Carondelet Foundation Board tucsoncitizen.com | 2/8/2012
TUCSON, Ariz. – (Feb. 3, 2012) – Three new members have joined the Carondelet Foundation Board of Trustees: James K. Beckmann, William D. Pike and Paul S. Sypherd. James K. Beckmann was appointed President and CEO of Carondelet Health Network in December after serving in an interim capacity since October 2011. Beckmann comes to Carondelet after eight years with Ascension Health in St. Louis, Mis...
Beads that spell c-o-u-r-a-g-e azstarnet.com | 2/8/2012
Thirteen-year-old Hailey Lugo lightly touches her beads - white for chemotherapy, beige for bone-marrow aspirations and one with a face design for hair loss. She then picks out the most special beads, the glass ones. They are for acts of courage. "The acts of courage are for things I didn't think I had the courage to do. I didn't think I'd be able to get past a reaction where I stopped br...
Arizona Cardinals deliver 'baskets of hope' to Pho... kpho.com | 2/8/2012
PHOENIX (CBS5) - Linebacker Paris Lenon was among several Cardinals players who delivered 200 gift baskets filled with toys, games, crafts and movies to seriously ill children at Phoenix Children's Hospital. The Arizona Cardinals took part in the Basket of Hope program, which delivers thousands of baskets to more than 17 hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses around the country each year. T...
Valley Veterans fighting another battle KTVK-TV Phoenix | 2/8/2012
PHOENIX -- They fought for our country, but as more Veterans return home from the combat zone, many will be battling another war. When Dawn Lake got back from serving in Afghanistan in 2004, the retired Army Lieutenant Colonel couldn't help but feel like she was still in a war zone. “My next immediate thought was to get my weapon to make sure it was locked and loaded,” Lake said....
Getting Medicare-covered health services at home Arizona City Independent | 2/8/2012
Medicare covers a variety of heath care services that you can receive in the comfort and privacy of your home. These include intermittent skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech-language pathology services, and occupational therapy.Such services used to be available only at a hospital or doctor’s office. But they’re just as effective, more convenient, and usually less expensive...
With safeguards, mobile health van should be ready... Flagstaff Arizona Daily Sun | 2/8/2012
Posted: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 5:05 am Time for another whirl around the world of news ... We understand why some parents might be wary of a mobile health clinic visiting schools in low-income neighborhoods in Flagstaff. When it comes to medical care for you and your children, there is probably nothing more private. And when the van pulls into the school parking lot and chil...
Health care growth to push job market Bullhead City Mohave Valley Daily News | 2/7/2012
BULLHEAD CITY — A new report released this month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows which jobs are likely to be most in-demand by the end of the decade and which are expected to see a continued decline in employment.The report, published Feb. 1, analyzes each individual industry and occupation and extrapolates how many employees will be working in each sector through 2020. The report al...
Local officials encouraged by BLS list Bullhead City Mohave Valley Daily News | 2/7/2012
BULLHEAD CITY — Lisa McCabe, president of the Bullhead Regional Economic Development Authority, said that the BLS’s projections of the fastest-growing job sectors through 2020 offers some promising signs to the local job market, particularly in the area of health care.McCabe noted that four of the top 20 fastest-growing industries listed in the BLS report are directly related to the he...

Unveiling Some Cuts Don’t Heal: A New Grassroots Advocacy Website

The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) is pleased to launch Some Cuts Don't Heal, a new grassroots advocacy website to increase awareness of cuts to our state’s Medicaid program and promote our proposed alternative, the special healthcare assessment. Please click here to learn how these cuts will affect healthcare in Arizona and to let your lawmakers know there is an alternative.

coalition launches "don't hurt the ones you love" campaign

The Coalition to Protect America's Health Care launched the "Don't hurt the ones you love" campaign, urging lawmakers to oppose any further federal reductions to hospital care as part of any debt-limit/deficit reduction agreement. The Coalition is an organization of hospitals and national, state, regional and metropolitan associations united with the business community to protect and preserve the financial viability of America's hospitals. Please contact your lawmakers and reinforce this important message.
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ARIZONA HOSPITAL AND HEALTHCARE ASSOCIATION'S NEW HEALTH REFORM
WEB PAGE

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(ACA). The following week, the president signed into law H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which made modifications to H.R. 3590. Together, these bills constitute the largest change to America’s healthcare system since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid.
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statement from the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association on the state budget

The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) is deeply concerned that the budget will damage Arizona’s economy at a time when we are struggling mightily to recover from the recession. The budget authorizes the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) Administration to alter eligibility in a way that could result in 120,000 patients losing their healthcare coverage and financially harm the hospitals and healthcare professionals who will care for them when they become ill or injured.
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CLICK HERE to see impact of Governor's proposed plan on hospitals...

CLICK HERE to see AHCCCS economic impact fact sheet ...

CLICK HERE to see AzHHA's letter to Sec. Sebelius regarding demonstration waiver request ...

HQA Updates Hospital Compare Data

The Hospital Quality Alliance updated the Hospital Compare website with the latest hospital inpatient and outpatient quality data, including the yearly update of 30-day readmission and mortality rates for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia inpatients. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the national mortality and readmission rates for heart attack were slightly lower this year, while the rates for heart failure and pneumonia were slightly higher.

member spotlight:
PHOENIX BAPTIST HOSPITAL

Phoenix Baptist Hospital, an affiliate of Abrazo Health Care, is a 216-bed acute care facility and teaching hospital that has been providing quality care to patients in the Phoenix community for more than 40 years. The hospital is recognized for cardiovascular care, orthopedics, breast health, women’s services, radiology and 24-hour emergency services.
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