Three-Part EMTALA Compliance Webinar – Why Attend
As enforcement of Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) regulations ramps up, facilities—including small and rural hospitals—are facing penalties for missteps in emergency department screening, signage and patient transfers.
EMTALA mistakes can lead to serious penalties. IHA is offering a three-part webinar series on July 9, July 23 and Aug. 6, tailored specifically to today’s evolving compliance challenges. Whether you’re a compliance officer, emergency department nurse, risk manager or hospital CEO, you’ll gain tools to assess and strengthen your protocols.
Led by nationally recognized expert Nancy Ruzicka, each session runs from 9:30-11:30 a.m. CT and offers:
- Federal EMTALA requirements and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) interpretive guidelines;
- Compliance strategies for the 2024 CMS signage update;
- Key patient transfer provisions in the November 2024 Conditions of Participation Emergency Services update;
- Lessons from recent civil monetary penalty cases; and
- Practical tools and strategies to support your ongoing compliance.
Registration is per webinar. You can select the “Health System” option to enroll multiple hospitals in a program. Click here to register for this high-impact course.
Staff contact: Bridget McCarte
REGISTER: Social Drivers of Health IHA Webinar Series Next Week
Ensure your hospital’s screening process for social drivers of health (SDOH) builds trust between patients and clinicians by attending a complimentary, two-part IHA webinar series on June 24 and June 26. You’ll also learn strategies for strong partnerships with community-based organizations.
Tuesday’s webinar, “Integrating Social Care into Your Medical Practice,” will help clinical teams build foundational processes to incorporate social care into medical care delivery.
Next Thursday’s webinar, “Addressing Social Needs at the Individual and Community Level,” will assist teams in moving from screening and referral to building systems for sustainable, measurable impact.
Each webinar will be from noon-1 p.m. CT. Expert presenter Natalie Graves, MPH, with Convergence Health, will lead the sessions. Graves has over a decade of experience leading programs to transform healthcare by leveraging quality improvement strategies and promoting peer-to-peer learning.
There is no fee to attend. Funding was provided by the IDPH Improving the Health of Illinoisans Through Chronic Disease Prevention grant. Registrants will receive a link to the webinar recording after each session. Register today.
Staff contact: Abby Radcliffe
Gov. Pritzker Signs IHA HAP Legislation, FY 2026 Budget Into Law
This week, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget (SB 2510/PA 104-0003) into law. The state FY 2026 budget approved by the General Assembly includes $55.2 billion in General Revenue Fund (GRF) spending supported by $55.4 billion in revenue. No reductions to Medicaid eligibility or rates were included in the budget. However, the budget doesn’t include funding for the Healthy Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA) program. The Governor also signed the Medicaid omnibus bill (SB 2437/PA 104-0009).
Gov. Pritzker also signed the IHA and the hospital community’s Hospital Assessment Program (HAP) legislation (HB 2771/PA 104-0007). This legislation represents a collaborative effort between hospitals, the Pritzker Administration and the legislature, to increase net hospital reimbursement by $1.47 billion, representing an overall average increase of 65% over current net reimbursements for hospital state directed payments. The payments and tax levels in the legislation prioritize funding to hospitals that are either highly dependent on the Medicaid program, or that the Medicaid program is highly dependent on as measured by the high volumes of care provided to Medicaid patients. Additionally, the program provides funding to rural Critical Access Hospitals and specialty providers such as behavioral health, rehabilitation service and pediatric care providers. Having been approved by the state, the plan must now be approved by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Detailed information on the FY 2026 budget, the HAP legislation and the Medicaid omnibus can be found in IHA’s June 2 memo sent to hospital leadership.
AHA Report: Workplace, Community Violence Cost Hospitals $18B+ Annually
Hospitals spent an estimated $18.27 billion in 2023 to prevent and respond to violence within their facilities and surrounding communities, according to a recently released report from the American Hospital Association (AHA). The analysis, conducted by the Harborview Injury and Prevention Research Center at the University of Washington School of Medicine, details the substantial financial burden violence imposes on the healthcare system—along with broader impacts on hospital operations and staff well-being.
The total includes both pre- and post-event expenses. Pre-event costs—totaling $3.62 billion—included investments in staff training, security, policy development, community outreach, facility modifications and surveillance technology. Post-event costs were significantly higher, at $14.65 billion, driven primarily by healthcare services for violent injuries, as well as infrastructure repair, legal expenses and staffing impacts.
Beyond the financial toll, the report notes additional consequences that are harder to quantify—such as the psychological effects of workplace violence, challenges in workforce recruitment and retention, legal risks, and diminished job satisfaction among healthcare workers.
