Delaware Healthcare Association

DHA/Gift of Life Organ Donor Designation Campaign

The Delaware Healthcare Association and Gift of Life Program, the region’s leading organ transplant coordinator, launched their 2012 Organ Donor Designation Campaign this week to coincide with April as National Donate Life Month.  Currently, 600 people are waiting for organ transplants in Delaware.  The goal of the campaign is to get an additional 28,000 Delawareans to register as organ donors by the end of the year. 

Signing up is easy!  Look for various sign-up activities throughout the next nine months in all Delaware hospitals.  People can also register to become organ donors at www.donatelife-de.org or at www.dmv.de.gov .

For additional information, please contact Lisa Schieffert, Director of Health Policy at (302) 674-2853.

Delaware Healthcare Association Launches

Delaware Health Tracker

Web-Based Tool is One-Stop Shop for Accessing Health Data

The free website, www.dehealthtracker.com, is a key resource for community health professionals, policymakers, researchers, and advocates to address identified health problems.  Website data is constantly updated from dozens of sources meeting rigorous criteria for data collection and analysis.

Read the Press Release.

Delaware's hospitals have collectively agreed to new visitation guidelines to protect patients, their loved ones  and health care workers from both seasonal and H1N1 flu.  Many states nationwide are implementing new temporary visitation guidelines as a result of increasing concern over containing the spread of both seasonal and H1N1 flu.  To read the press release, click here.

Links to individual hospital's visitation guidelines, click here.

Community Benefit Report Delaware’s Hospitals Major Contributor to Health, Prosperity of State Member Hospitals Contributed Healthcare and Healthy Living Initiatives Valued at Over $357 Million 18,000 Jobs at an Average Salary of $59,343 $192 Million in Taxes Paid Delaware’s hospitals have a tremendous impact on the healthcare and economy of the State.  Their contributions to Delaware’s quality of life were recently quantified in the Delaware Healthcare Association’s Community Benefits Annual Report.  The report details financial and programmatic data for Fiscal Year 2010.  Read the press release.  Read the report.

Delaware Hospitals Adopt Common Color Wrist Bands

As part of a mission to ensure patient safety during hospital visits, the Delaware Healthcare Association announced implementation of a voluntary initiative among Delaware hospitals to standardize the use of color-coded patient wristbands.  All Delaware acute care hospitals have adopted the following colors and meanings to convey specific information to physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals about patient care:
 - Red for patient allergies.
 - Yellow for fall risk. and
 - Purple for patient's do-not-resuscitate preferences.
To read more about this initiative, click here.

Delaware Hospitals Reach 100% Participation in DHIN

The Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN), Delaware's statewide health information exchange, announced 100% full participation of all Delaware acute care hospitals in DHIN. What does this mean for your practice or facility? This means that DHIN practices and providers will soon be able to retrieve results and reports from all Delaware hospitals, making for a more complete patient health record. Read the official press release.

Delaware is Fifth State to Implement Inclusive Statewide Pediatric System

Delaware’s Division of Public Health (DPH) announces the completion December 30, 2011 of the initial phase of development of Delaware’s Statewide Pediatric System through recognition of Delaware’s hospitals as Pediatric Emergency Care Facilities. According to the EMSC National Resource Center, Delaware is only the fifth state in the nation to successfully implement the Pediatric Emergency Care Facility Recognition Program.   Read the press release.

DMMA Overview of The Patient Protection and  Affordable Care Act in Delaware

Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (DMMA) Overview of implementation timeline of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  This slide show was presented by DMMA Director Rosanne Maheney at the Delaware Health Care Commission on September 2, 2010.  It gives a timeline of when the major pieces of health reform involving Medicaid become operational in Delaware.