From The President’s Desk...

Donna Getcliffe, Meridian Health

Welcome to our second HPMSNJ Newsletter! I hope you all enjoyed the first newsletter “published” at the end of February which provided a recap of our 24^th Annual Meeting held this past December. It was a real hit (the Annual Meeting AND the newsletter that is)! The first newsletter is on our website at www.hpmsnj.org in case you haven’t seen it yet! In this volume, you will “hear” from our committees who have information they need to communicate with all of our members. Providing value to our members through networking, professional development/educational opportunities, dissemination of industry-related and Society-related information and the opportunity to provide input into statewide healthcare policy decisions remains a key function of our Society. So, join us for our April 23^rd program (mentioned below!), enjoy our member-only newsletters and learn how you can get involved with statewide regulatory affairs (also mentioned below!). If you know a colleague interested in learning more about our Society and/or how to join, or if your organization is interested in becoming a Corporate Sponsor of our Society, please direct them to our website.

Education Committee Report

Elizabeth Kanabe, St. Clare’s Health Services

The first program of the year is coming up on April 23, 2004! The session, entitled "Developing Successful Hospital-Physician Partnerships", will examine the circumstances that make it critical for hospitals to champion effective relationships with their physicians. Pat O'Connor, CEO of Paladin Medical Development and Management, LLC, will review the current environment and what is motivating physician behavior in today's health care environment. Craig Holm, author and Director at Health Strategies and Solutions, and Robert Pickoff, MD, from Hunterdon Hospital, will discuss strategies for building a successful relationship to benefit everyone involved.

Date: Friday, April 23, 2004

Location: NJ Hospital Association

760 Alexander Road,

Princeton, NJ

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Fee: HPMSNJ members = $100; Non-members = $150 (Includes

breakfast, lunch and program materials)

http://www.njha.com/hret/edupdf/2252004101633AM.pdf

Our second educational session of 2004 is scheduled for Friday, October 15. The topic will be announced shortly.

External Affairs Committee Report

Charlene Harding, UMDNJ

On March 10, 2004, HPMSNJ representatives met with staff from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services for the first quarterly meeting of 2004. The meeting was held at the Hospital Alliance of New Jersey in Trenton.

Agenda items discussed at the meeting include proposed licensure fee changes, status of outstanding certificate of need batches (maternal and child health services, ventilator bed services, etc.), future certificate of need call schedule, DCA/DHSS coordination & functional review, update on hospital inspections timeline/process and recommended procedures for hospital service closures.

The next quarterly meeting is scheduled for June 9, 2004, 2:00 pm at the NJHA in Princeton. If HPMSNJ members are interested in attending please contact an External Affairs Committee member to inquire, as seating is limited.

Minutes from these meetings are available on our website at www.hpmsnj.org.

External Affairs Committee Members:

Debra Levinson, 732-418-3232

Charlene Harding, 732-557-8221

Henry Gerding, 609-275-0678

State Funding for Charity Care: A Hot Issue Yet Again Fred Hipp, Jr., Solaris Health System

What is “charity care” and why is it a hot issue once again?

Charity care is New Jersey’s system to provide care to poor, uninsured residents. The state is supposed to reimburse hospitals for providing that care, but each year, the gap in funding grows wider. In 2003, New Jersey hospitals provided $778 million in charity care services, but the state reimbursed them just $381 million. According to the New Jersey Hospital Association, 70 percent of New Jersey hospitals receive just 12 cents for every dollar of care provided.

The state administration has recognized the need for more money for charity care and is proposing a $30 million increase in charity care funding in its budget that begins on July 1, 2004. At the same time, the state's budget proposal increases as assortment of taxes and fees, including those on hospitals, to pay for charity care – and that does not make sense.

The state’s hospital associations and hospitals around the state are fighting for significantly more charity care funding and opposing the increased assessments on hospitals. Adequate funding is critical so that hospitals can continue to provide the community with quality health care services.

For more information about this issue, go to the New Jersey Hospital Association web site, www.njha.com.

Communications Committee

Anthony Stanowski, Solucient

The HPMSNJ web site has been updated and enhanced with new content, graphics, and design. Make sure you check it out at http://www.hpmsnj.org/.

In addition, you are now reading the second newsletter! If you have any comments or member news, please e-mail me at astanowski@solucient.com.

Member News

Contrary to various rumors, Theo Tamborlane has not retired to Florida. She can be reached at her Cranford NJ office 908-276-4967 or at her Florida office 305-296-2700. She continues to provide legal services to facilities and professionals in both states on a regular basis and she welcomes your calls. Her email is Tamborlane@aol.com

Gwenn Karel Levine, Ph.D., a NJ health planner for 22 years, was honored on December 15, 2003 by the Paterson Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition. Each year, the Paterson Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition presents Leadership awards to individuals and agencies that are nominated by members of the community. Dr. Levine received the Community Service Award.

Dr. Levine is an independent consultant who works for hospitals in New Jersey and non-profit agencies, many of which are in Paterson. As a consultant, she does strategic and program planning; researches and writes grant proposals; analyzes data and writes related reports; and evaluates current and proposed NJ health regulations.

HPMSNJ’s Annual Meeting

**SAVE THE DATE**

The HPMSNJ’s 25th Annual Meeting

is scheduled as follows:

Place: Forsgate Country Club

Date: Friday, December 10, 2004

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Details about the topic and speaker

will be finalized soon!

Please call Alisa Wasserman at

(973) 228-9000 if you have any questions.

HPMSNJ Corporate Sponsors

HPMSNJ is very grateful to its corporate sponsors:

Health Strategies & Solutions, Inc

(www.hss-inc.com)

New Solutions, Inc.

(www.newsolutionsinc.com)

Solucient

(www.Solucient.com)

Vertices, Inc (website sponsor)

(www.Vertices.com)

Corporate sponsorships contribute greatly in helping HPMSNJ produce excellent educational programs, produce a very informative website and help us overall with our day-to-day activities.

In return, HPMSNJ provides value to our sponsors’ organizations in several ways. Benefits are dependent on the level of sponsorship, but can include free memberships, marketing opportunities at our meetings, recognition on our website, and recognition in our newsletters. To learn more about corporate sponsorships, please contact Donna Getcliffe at 732-751-7580.