Auburn, Neb (November 28, 2018) – Nemaha County Hospital today announced it is the recipient of a 2018 Rural Provider Excellence in Quality Award from the Nebraska Office of Rural Health. Presented during the recent Nebraska Critical Access Hospitals Conference on Quality, the Rural Provider Excellence in Quality Award honors top 10 overall performance among Nebraska’s Critical Access Hospitals in the area of Quality.

“This award is evidence of our hard work in patient care in all areas of our facility. Thanks go out to all our staff for making this possible,” Kermit Moore, Chief Operating Officer.

The Rural Provider Excellence in Quality Award is based on analysis of Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) measures for all of Nebraska’s Critical Access Hospitals. The analysis was conducted by The Chartis Center for Rural Health utilizing iVantage Health Analytics’ Hospital Strength INDEX® framework. The INDEX is rural healthcare’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural provider performance and the data foundation for several national rural recognition programs, advocacy efforts and legislative initiatives.

“Quality is such a vital component of the care process and we established the Rural Provider Excellence in Quality Award as a way to honor the ability of our Critical Access Hospitals to deliver outstanding quality to their communities,” said Nancy Jo Hansen, Flex and SHIP Program Manager, Nebraska Department of Health. “The 10 hospitals recognized with this 2018 award have set a benchmark which I am sure other Critical Access Hospitals in Nebraska will work diligently to reach – and surpass.”

“For years, rural hospitals have been tracking a consistent body of data under MBQIP, reflecting quality, outcomes, safety and patient satisfaction,” said Michael Topchik, National Leader, The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “This exciting new state-level recognition program – the first of its kind in the country to utilize INDEX – celebrates the efforts of the very best Critical Access Hospitals in Nebraska.”

About Nemaha County Hospital

Located in Auburn, Nebr., Nemaha County Hospital is a county-owned critical access hospital serving the Southeast Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri regional area. 

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Auburn, Nebr. (November 14, 2018) – Nemaha County Hospital announced that it has been named to the Top 500 of the 2018 HomeCare Elite, a recognition of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. For 13 years, HomeCare Elite has annually identified the top 25 percent of agencies and highlighted the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall.

The ranking is developed by ABILITY^® Network, a leading information technology company helping providers and payers simplify the administrative and clinical complexities of healthcare. It is sponsored by DecisionHealth, publisher of Home Health Line and the Complete Home Health ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Coding Manual.

“I would like to congratulate the team at Nemaha County Hospital and thank them for their commitment to providing consistently high-quality care,” said Christine Lang, senior director for ABILITY Network. “During a time of increasing demands on home health professionals’ time and attention, these caregivers and leaders have demonstrated that they have prioritized their patients and created a solid foundation for serving their communities and partnering with other healthcare providers.”

Marty Fattig, Chief Executive Officer, credits their individual commitment to high standards of practice combined with an organizational culture of caring to achieve recognition as one of the HomeCare Elite. “We are honored to be acknowledged for our quality care. Our skilled staff, combined with personalized care techniques helps deliver superior outcomes allowing us to deliver quality care, every time to our communities,” said Fattig.

“Congratulations to Nemaha County Hospital from all of the staff at DecisionHealth,” said Marci Geipe, product manager at DecisionHealth. “Your leadership and staff have placed a premium on the patient care your agency provides, as showcased by your quality outcome scores. The entire community benefits from the compassion that your staff shows toward your patients, leading to cost savings for the entire healthcare system.”

HomeCare Elite agencies are determined by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, best practices implementation, patient experience (HHCAHPS), quality improvement and consistency, and

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Page Two: Nemaha County Hospital Named to Top 500 of the 2018 ABILITY HomeCare Elite

financial health. In order to be considered, an agency must be Medicare-certified and have data for at least three outcomes in Home Health Compare. Out of 8,898 agencies considered, 2,223 are recognized on the 2018 HomeCare Elite winners list overall. The entire list of 2018 HomeCare Elite agencies can be downloaded by visiting the ABILITY Network website at abilitynetwork.com/hce.

About Nemaha County Hospital

Located in Auburn, Nebr., Nemaha County Hospital is a county-owned critical access hospital serving the Southeast Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri regional area. 

About ABILITY^® Network

ABILITY Network, an Inovalon Company (NASDAQ:INOV), is a leading cloud-based, SaaS information technology company helping providers and payers simplify the administrative and clinical complexities of healthcare through innovative applications and data analytics. The combination of myABILITY and the Inovalon ONE™ Platform creates a vertically integrated cloud-based platform empowering the achievement of real-time value-based care from payers, manufacturers and diagnostics, all the way to the patient’s point of care. For more information, visit www.abilitynetwork.com or write to resources@abilitynetwork.com. For more information about HomeCare Elite, call 888.572.4009, write to homecareelite@abilitynetwork.com or visit www.abilitynetwork.com/hce.

About H3.Group

In March 2017, Simplify Compliance LLC announced the merger of DecisionHealth, LLC with existing brands HCPro and HealthLeaders Media, to form the H3.Group! H3.Group, with its three pillars of thought leadership, expertise, and application, provides critical insight, analysis, tools and training to healthcare organizations nationwide empowering today’s healthcare professionals with solution-focused information and intelligence to guide their organizations’ efforts in achieving compliance, financial performance, leadership, and organizational excellence. The creation of the H3.Group comes as healthcare faces an unprecedented period of transition that brings uncertainty and opportunity. As policies and regulations are revisited and payment models changed, the need for clarity, actionable guidance and expert training for all provider settings and functional areas will increase dramatically.

About DecisionHealth

For over 30 years, DecisionHealth, an H3.Group brand, has served as the industry’s leading source for news, analysis and instructional guidance with brand names such as Home Health Line and Part B News. Our unique blend of award-winning on-staff journalists and unmatched access to health care executives, providers and their administrative staffs results in business management advice and operationally focused editorial that has captured the attention of nearly 100,000 home health care professionals and specialty physician practices.

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Auburn, Neb (May 14, 2018)— Nemaha County Hospital has achieved certification to the new ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, reflecting the organization’s long-term commitment to quality, transparency, and customer satisfaction. 

The certification is valid for three years and is provided by DNV GL – Business Assurance. 

ISO 9001 is the most widely used quality management standard and has recently undergone a periodic update to better reflect modern business challenges. Last modified in 2008, the new 2015 version of ISO 9001 is the result of input from business and technical experts around the world. The program requires greater involvement of senior management, broader understanding of supply chains, and more focus on stakeholder (not just customer) expectations.

“We are extremely proud of our commitment to quality,” says Marty Fattig, CEO. “Our ISO certification helps us continually move forward and, equally important, allows us to publicly communicate our dedication to excellence. It’s a symbol that everyone – our employees, our partners, our customers – recognizes and values.”

All organizations currently certified to the previous version of ISO 9001 are required to transition to the new version by October 2018 or risk losing their certification.

“We are encouraging people to move quickly because the deadline is fast approaching and there are finite resources for conducting certification audits,” says Anders Lindgren, President for DNV GL Business Assurance USA, Inc. “If you are being certified for the first time, the process will automatically employ the new 2015 version of the standard.”

About Nemaha County Hospital

Located in Auburn, Nebr., Nemaha County Hospital is a county-owned critical access hospital serving the Southeast Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri regional area.  

About DNV GL – Business Assurance

DNV GL – Business Assurance is part of the DNV GL Group, a world-leading certification body helping businesses assure the performance of their organizations, products, people, facilities and supply chains through certification, verification, assessment, and training services. 

For more information about DNV GL – Business Assurance, visit www.dnvglcert.com.

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Auburn, Neb (May 07, 2018) –   Nemaha County Hospital’s outpatient services is undergoing improvements to give patients a more comfortable climate, surrounded by an increased visually aesthetic environment. 

The remodel will start the week of May 14, 2018, and last approximately four months. Among the improvements include a new HVAC system, new flooring, painting, and wall coverings. 

“Our current HVAC system has run its course and can no longer keep up in the cold winter and hot summer months,” said Marty Fattig, CEO. “It also consumes an enormous amount of energy with the hospital operation running 24/7.”

The Nemaha County community and the Nemaha County Hospital will both benefit by the installation of a new HVAC system. The new equipment will be more energy efficient which can lead to cost savings, as well as an improved and healthier environment for patients.

The Outpatient Services wing is the last area of the hospital to be updated. While the HVAC system is being installed it is the perfect time to complete the remaining renovation needs. “

Our hospital is undergoing changes, but our top-notch care will remain the same, during the improvement process and after completion. Our patients will feel a seamless transition and will continue to enter the hospital the same way, through the front doors. Upon entering the hospital, patients will be greeted and then directed on where to go depending on their needs,” Fattig noted. 

About Nemaha County Hospital

Located in Auburn, Nebr., Nemaha County Hospital is a county-owned critical access hospital serving the Southeast Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri regional area.  

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Auburn, Neb (April 16, 2018) – Nemaha County Hospital is offering a new and needed community service option helping people dispose of expired and unused medications safely and conveniently – and keep them out of the wrong hands. 

Installed last week, the MedSafe receptacle service features a secure, shiny blue container (see attached picture) at the hospital’s ER entrance. 

Secured with two locks, the containers can be used for most old and unneeded medications. People can even leave those medications in the original packaging with the personal information still intact. 

“It’s one of the newer services we’re excited about offering our community,” said Marty Fattig, CEO. “Until now there hasn’t been a great option for disposing of unused medications.” 

The MedSafe program offers several benefits. Proper disposal prevents pharmaceuticals from circulating into community water supplies. Flushing used medications or throwing them away poses several safety and environmental risks, Fattig noted. 

The new service also helps a vital public health issue. Unused medicines that remain in home medicine cabinets are susceptible to misuse. Studies also show a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends. MedSafe disposal helps to reduce the chance of unintended and illegal use of drugs by providing a safe and convenient disposal option. 

The Nebraska prescription drug overdose prevention efforts are supported by the State Targeted Response (STR) Opioid Crisis Grant, it has multiple funding sources including Bureau of Justice Assistance Grant, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Grant, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) HITECH funding, designated State appropriations, and Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NeHII).  They have been distributed across southeast Nebraska, including Otoe, Nemaha, Johnson, Richardson, and Pawnee counties.

The MedSafe container is available during regular hospital hours. It can be used for any medication – over-the-counter and prescription drugs, including prescribed narcotics. However, any liquid of four (4) ounces or more should be placed in a plastic baggie. And for safety reasons, the system won’t accept sharps (such as needles), batteries or aerosol containers (such as inhalers.)  

About Nemaha County Hospital

Located in Auburn, Nebr., Nemaha County Hospital is a county-owned critical access hospital serving the Southeast Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri regional area.

Auburn, Neb (November 6, 2017). — The Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) recognized 66 statewide hospital employees October 27, 2017, for their excellence in service by bestowing them with the organization’s prestigious “The Caring Kind” award. Among the awarded was Carol Schneider of Nemaha County Hospital.

For 38 years, The Caring Kind award has been given to Nebraska’s most caring and compassionate hospital employees. The award honors outstanding healthcare employees who have demonstrated compassion for patients, cooperation with co-workers and dedication to excellence in their job responsibilities.

“It is such an honor for me to meet ‘The Caring Kind’ award recipients each year.  They demonstrate the kindness, caring, dedication and commitment to their hospitals which is why they were awarded this recognition,” NHA President Laura J. Redoutey, FACHE, said. 

“I am very honored to have received this award and to be able to represent Nemaha County Hospital in this manner,” said Carol Schneider. “Thank you to all the employees at Nemaha County Hospital.”

Hospitals across the state each select one The Caring Kind award recipient from within their respective institutions to be recognized during the NHA Annual Convention.

More than 2,400 caring, skilled and dedicated health care professionals have received this award since its inception in 1979. This year, 66 employees throughout the state of Nebraska were honored before nearly 500 people in attendance at The Caring Kind Awards Luncheon held at Embassy Suites Omaha-La Vista Hotel & Conference Center in La Vista.

The event showcases the exemplary work and care hospital employees provide every day throughout the year. Every Nebraska hospital employee plays a critical role in providing high-quality, cost-effective treatment and ensuring the safety of themselves, their co-workers and patients each and every day.

These honorees are star performers through their dedication to patients and teamwork, ensuring that care is safe, quality-driven and cost-effective for consumers, as well as for the organizations they represent.

About the Nebraska Hospital Association 

The Nebraska Hospital Association is the unified voice for Nebraska’s hospitals and health systems. The association offers collaborative leadership, assisting its members to provide comprehensive care to their communities, improving the health status of those communities. For more information, visit the NHA website at  HYPERLINK “http://www.NebraskaHospitals.org” www.NebraskaHospitals.org.

About Nemaha County Hospital

Located in Auburn, Nebr., Nemaha County Hospital is a county-owned critical access hospital serving the Southeast Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri regional area. 

Auburn, Neb (November 6, 2017) – Nemaha County Hospital has announced the purchase of 3D mammography equipment. The addition of this new equipment is a service that will provide quality healthcare in Nemaha County, eliminating the need for local residents to travel to Lincoln or Omaha for screening.

The exam allows doctors to examine breast tissue layer by layer. Instead of viewing all the complexities of breast tissue in a flat image, as with conventional 2D mammography, fine details are more visible and no longer hidden by the tissue above or below. 

“This modern technology is offering new opportunities for physicians to diagnose breast cancer and provide life-saving treatment earlier than ever,” said Marty Fattig, CEO. “Three-dimensional mammograms are another way to provide vital preventive care.” 

Three-dimensional mammograms, also known as “tomosynthesis,” are becoming more common as many health care facilities in Nebraska are enhancing the traditional 2D mammography with 3D technology.

“Nearly all breast cancers can be successfully treated if found early and this is another tool to make early detection possible. We are committed to providing quality care every time,” Fattig said. 

About Nemaha County Hospital

Located in Auburn, Nebr., Nemaha County Hospital is a county-owned critical access hospital serving the Southeast Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri regional area.  

(AUBURN, Nebr. – August 4, 2017) Representatives from Nemaha County Hospital (NCH) attended the 9^th Annual Nebraska Information Initiative (NeHII) Annual Meeting, held in Kearney, Nebr., August 3. The hospital received two recognitions – the hospital conducted a panel discussion summarizing their efforts with a one-of-its-kind NeHII pilot program. And, Marty Fattig, CEO, received the 2017 HIT Visionary Award. 

NCH’s Fattig and Kathy McNaughton, Chief Information Officer, lead a panel discussion examining the hospital’s knowledge and experience with data sharing as part of the NeHII Interoperable Community pilot study. Other program panelists include Dr. Michael Zaruba, physician at Auburn Family Health Center; Jeff Harvey, Administrator of Good Samaritan Society in Auburn; and, Amanda Harrifeld, DON of Good Samaritan Society in Auburn.

For the pilot, healthcare providers from the Auburn Community, including Nemaha County Hospital, Nemaha County Good Samaritan Society and Auburn Family Health Center, worked with the Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NeHII) and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) through a grant funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to share patient information through a safe and secure data exchange.  This Interoperable Community allows patient medical records to be available to healthcare providers wherever the patient seeks medical care regardless of where the record was created in the community, which improves patient safety and the timeliness of care.  

“The interoperability of electronic health records is something that the entire nation is striving to achieve.  Developing an Interoperable Community locally is the first step to achieving this goal.  The work we have done here can be duplicated across the state and nation in pursuit of this goal,” Fattig said.

In addition to hosting the informative panel, Fattig also received the NeHII 2017 HIT Visionary Award. Fattig and Nemaha County Hospital has been major contributors and supporters of a statewide health information exchange in Nebraska.  

Dr. Michael Westcott, President of the NeHII Board of Directors, recognized Marty as a HIT Visionary and presented the award on behalf of the NeHII Board of Directors. 

“Marty’s commitment to NeHII and his encouragement of other critical access hospitals to become NeHII participants has been key to NeHII’s success in achieving fifty-three percent of the state’s critical access hospital beds connected and contributing data this past year.  Marty represents the interests of rural America and NeHII during his frequent travels to Washington D.C.  We are truly thankful for his past support and commitment to NeHII’s success.” 

Marty also serves as the Nebraska eHealth Council Co-chair and had been appointed to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology(ONC) HIT Policy Committee Meaningful Use Workgroup.  He was also accepted as a Health IT Fellow by the ONC.

CHICAGO, July 10, 2017—Technology is making it easier for patients and providers to interact, thus improving communication, safety and patient-provider relationships. New tools are helping patients become more actively involved in their care and maintaining their health, according to results of the 19^th Annual Health Care’s Most Wired® survey, released today by the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Health Forum.

According to the survey, Most Wired hospitals are using smart phones, telehealth and remote monitoring to create more ways for patients to access health care services and capture health information. This year’s results show:

• 76 percent offer secure messaging with clinicians on mobile devices.
• When patients need ongoing monitoring at home, 74 percent use secure e-mails for patients and families to keep in touch with the care team. 
• 68 percent simplify prescription renewals by letting patients make requests on mobile devices.
• 62 percent add data reported by patients to the electronic health record to get a better picture of what is going on with the patient.
• Nearly half of the hospitals are using telehealth to provide behavioral health services to more patients.
• 40 percent offer virtual physician visits. 

• More than 40 percent provide real-time care management services to patients at home for diabetes and congestive heart failure.

“Increased patient safety and higher quality of care are a direct result of our utilization of technology for patient care.  Our staff combine personalized care techniques with technology to ensure superior  patient care  outcomes are achieved,” Kermit Moore, Chief Operating Officer / Chief Nursing Officer. 

“The Most Wired hospitals are using every available technology option to create more ways to reach their patients in order to provide access to care,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “They are transforming care delivery, investing in new delivery models in order to improve quality, provide access and control costs.”

Innovation in patient care embraces emerging technologies and underscores the need for secure patient information exchange. Hospitals have increased their use of sophisticated IT monitoring systems to detect patient privacy breaches, monitor for malicious activities or policy violations and produce real-time analysis of security alerts. 

• 97 percent use intrusion detection systems. 
• 96 percent perform data access audits.
• Nearly 90 percent run targeted phishing exercises to teach employees to question suspicious emails.

Most Wired hospitals are transforming care delivery with knowledge gained from data and analytics.  They are investing in analytics to support new delivery models and effective decision-making and training clinicians on how to use analytics to improve quality, provide access and control costs.

• 82 percent analyze retrospective clinical and administrative data to identify areas for improving quality and reducing the cost of care. 
• Three-quarters use sophisticated analytics such as predictive modeling and data to improve decision-making. 
• Nearly 70 percent interface electronic health record data with population health tools for care management.
• More than 70 percent are providing data analytic tools training to physicians and nurses.
• 45 percent initiate a patient pathway using health IT to follow a care plan.
• Nearly 40 percent deliver quality metrics to physicians at the point-of-care.
• 32 percent have tools for real-time patient identification and tracking for value-based care conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

HealthCare’s Most Wired® survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, 2017, is published annually by Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN). The 2017 Most Wired® survey and benchmarking study is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology (IT) use and adoption among hospitals nationwide. The survey of 698 participants, representing an estimated 2,158 hospitals — more than 39 percent of all hospitals in the U.S. — examines how organizations are leveraging IT to improve performance for value-based health care in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management; quality and safety; and clinical integration.

Detailed results of the survey and study can be found in the July issue of H&HN. For a full list of winners, visit www.hhnmag.com.

About the Most Wired Survey 

The 2017 Most Wired Survey is conducted in cooperation with the American Hospital Association and Clearwater Compliance, LLC. 

About the American Hospital Association

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit www.aha.org. 

About Health Forum 

Health Forum is a strategic business enterprise of the American Hospital Association, creatively partnering to develop and deliver essential information and innovative services to help health care leaders achieve organizational performance excellence and sustainability. For more information, visit www.healthforum.com. 

About Clearwater Compliance, LLC | https://clearwatercompliance.com/

Clearwater Compliance, LLC is a leading provider of healthcare compliance and cyber risk management solutions. Its mission is to empower hospitals and health systems to successfully manage healthcare’s evolving cybersecurity risks and ensure patient safety. Exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association, Clearwater solutions have been deployed within hundreds of hospitals and health systems, Fortune 100 organizations and federal government institutions. More information about Clearwater Compliance is at http://www.Clearwatercompliance.com.

Nemaha County Hospital recognized the need to decrease medical errors and reduce variation in their care delivery processes. Utilizing an internal audit tool they identified variation in multiple processes and decided to reduce this variation and eliminate II unnecessary steps, thus providing care more reliably. Department directors identified processes to be audited. Audit teams do not audit their own departments, allowing for “fresh eyes” to examine each process.

Through the use of these audit teams, they were able to reduce the number of policies and procedures by 35 percent, reducing redundant and unnecessary procedures. When focusing on the specific procedure regarding advanced directives, they were able to achieve a 50 percent increase in patient awareness of the need for advanced directives to guide their care.