HIPAA Olympics win gold.After the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191) Also known as the "Kennedy-Kassebaum Act," this U.S. law protects employees' health insurance coverage when they change or lose their jobs (Title I) and provides standards for patient health, security and privacy laws were passed, we poised ourselves to become HIPAA-compliant at the Saint Elizabeth Saint Elizabeth may refer to:
adj. 1. Happening every two months. 2. Happening twice a month; semimonthly. adv. 1. Once every two months. 2. Twice a month; semimonthly. n. pl. and is composed of representatives from social services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales , administration, health information services See Information Systems. , in-service staff, and nursing services. With the full support of our administrator and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , who give us creative freedom, we set on a course to find a fun method of educating our employees about this new--and serious--law. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Employee education and adoption are vital in becoming compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website, Title I of HIPAA protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when of 1996 (HIPAA), so we spent significant time thinking about how we could inform the entire staff without boring them to tears, while motivating them, increasing morale, and team building. Because 2006 was an Olympic year--and knowing everyone's fascination with sports--we thought, "Why not challenge all of our staff to participate in a 20-hour HIPAA Olympics event?" And so our program evolved. The goals of the Saint Elizabeth Home HIPAA Olympics were to: * Provide an educational vehicle for staff members that would meet the statute requirement of HIPAA and Public Law 107-347 of the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 and the National Institute of Standards and Technology National Institute of Standards and Technology, governmental agency within the U.S. Dept. of Commerce with the mission of "working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and standards" in the national interest. . * Make all employees aware of the HIPAA Administrative Simplification law and its safeguards, risk assessment, and privacy/security rules. * Foster community spirit among the staff and further develop communication, morale, and trust among all participants. During the planning stages in October 2005, the team selected a 20-hour period during which staff would most likely be on hand to participate. Our Olympic "athletes" committed to being at work during that period and divided themselves into five teams, named specifically for leaping animals in recognition of our commitment to the LEAP (Learn, Empower, Achieve, and Produce) program of person-centered care. (Many staff members were already certified at that time and we had committed to 100% employee LEAP certification across all disciplines.) Teams were named Rabbit, Leapfrog, Leaping Lizard, Kangaroo kangaroo, name for a variety of hopping marsupials, or pouched mammals, of the family Macropodidae, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. The term is applied especially to the large kangaroos of the genus Macropus. , and Tadpole tadpole, larval, aquatic stage of any of the amphibian animals. After hatching from the egg, the tadpole, sometimes called a polliwog, is gill-breathing and legless and propels itself by means of a tail. . Each team was composed of randomly assigned members, and every employee received his or her designation via an addressed paycheck attachment. That communication included an invitation to participate that featured our toga-clad administrator, team assignments, rules of participation, and a two-page article with consolidated HIPAA facts. Each team member was provided with five time slots during which he or she could come to the Olympic Coliseum (our employee cafeteria) and answer one of 45 questions developed by the HIPAA team. With a correct answer, the Olympian would then progress to the next qualifying round of competition. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To mark the official start of the Olympic Games Olympic games, premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests. The Olympics of Ancient Greece Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 B.C. , we held an opening ceremony at noon on February 22, 2006. As staff members arrived in the main lobby, they were given an animal-coded sticker so that they could identify and congregate with their corresponding team members. Our Olympic events included indoor teddy bear sledding, a crossword puzzle, foam archery with a Nerf bazooka bazooka, in warfare, portable, lightweight metal tube from which rockets are launched, usually operated by two men. It is used by infantry as an antitank weapon and also for attacking pillboxes and bunkers. gun, a scavenger hunt scavenger hunt n. A game in which individuals or teams try to locate and bring back miscellaneous items on a list. , and stationary bicycling. To complete the authentic Olympic feeling, we enlarged photos from the 1908 Olympic Games and posted them around the room with balloons at the site of each competition. Everyone helped us prepare the room for this fun celebration, including the residents of our Alzheimer's total care unit, who helped prepare and decorate the scoreboard. Competitions were held five times throughout the afternoon, evening, and early morning to provide staff from all shifts the opportunity to participate. Each of the teams rivaled and encouraged each other throughout the entire period, and we watched as teams that were behind after the day shift became front-runners by the end of the event. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Winning teams were announced at a 7:00 a.m. closing ceremony the next day. Gold medalists were each awarded a $10 Wal-Mart gift certificate and gold foil-wrapped chocolates; silver medalists were awarded a $5 Dunkin' Donuts Sources: Dunkin' Donuts is an international coffee and donut retailer founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S. by William Rosenberg. Corporate Profile History gift card and silver foil-wrapped chocolates; and bronze medalists were awarded a $2 Dunkin' Donuts gift card and bronze foil-wrapped chocolates. A breakfast of fresh fruit, juices, muffins, and eggs was delivered to each unit and administrative area to thank everyone for their participation. As an added incentive, the day before the event we held an hourly quiz (delivered over the paging system) to address the needs of staff members who were not scheduled to work during the HIPAA Olympics. Those who answered correctly received $2 lunch gift cards for the employee cafeteria. The results of the Saint Elizabeth Home HIPAA Olympics were impressive. The event succeeded because of the ownership, participation, and enthusiasm of the HIPAA team members. Because 86 staff members each answered five questions, there were 430 opportunities to educate staff about HIPAA. With the majority of employees participating, managers noted, anecdotally, an unusually accelerated adoption and understanding of the privacy and security regulations. The international Olympics may be held every four years, but the HIPAA Olympics were such a success that they were held again on February 22-23, 2007. The Saint Elizabeth Home HIPAA Olympics are just one example of how we use creativity to educate and motivate our employees while promoting person-centered care. Our mission stresses the importance of family in achieving optimum care and that family-centered focus begins with our employees, a vital asset in creating continuity of care and a thorough understanding of our residents' personal, spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. Creative leadership--as exemplified by the HIPAA Olympics--helps us keep all our employees at the top of their game. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Marlene Haglund-Hatch, RHIA RHIA Registered Health Information Administrator (formerly Registered Records Administrator; American Health Information Management Association) , is Manager, Health Information/HIPAA Privacy Officer at Saint Elizabeth Community in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. For more information, phone (401) 471-6060 or visit www.stelizabethcommunity.com. To send your comments to the author and editors, e-mail haglund-hatch0307@nursinghomesmagazine.com. BY MARLENE HAGLUND-HATCH, RHIA A collaboration of the American Association American Association refers to one of the following professional baseball leagues:
Not-for-Profit Report, appearing in every issue of Nursing Homes magazine, addresses issues of particular interest to long-term care's not-for-profit sector. It provides nonprofit aging service providers with an additional information resource. Topics have been identified in collaboration with the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Nursing Homes welcomes comments and suggestions for future coverage. |
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