Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/961245
141 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY DOJ sues Wisconsin nursing home over mandatory flu shot policy By Megan Knowles T he Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Ozaukee County, Wis., March 6, alleging county- owned Cedarburg, Wis.-based Lasata Care Center discriminated against a former nursing assistant's religious objections to receiving a flu vaccine. The suit claims Barnell Williams, a former nursing assistant at the care center, requested exemption from the center's vaccination requirement due to her "sincerely held religious belief that Bible-based scriptures prohibited flu shots," according to a statement from the department obtained by CNBC. The center allows employees to opt out of receiving the vaccine due to religious beliefs only if they provide a written statement from their clergy leader agreeing to the request. Since Ms. Williams did not belong to a church with a clergy member and could not obtain this written statement, she was denied exemption, according to the suit. Ms. Williams opted to receive the flu shot after the nursing home allegedly told her refusing the vaccination would result in her termination, the suit claimed. The nursing home's vaccination policy would have labeled this termination a "voluntary resignation," since the employee did not achieve an exemption, according to the lawsuit. The complaint also alleged Ms. Williams went through "severe emotional distress," experienced sleep problems, anxiety and a "fear of 'going to Hell.'" The DOJ is arguing the requirement to receive a statement from a clergy member violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees against employer discrimination based on race, gender and religion. The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages for Ms. Williams, "in addition to injunctive and other appropriate relief." An administrator at the center did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the suit. n Medtronic inks 5-year partnership with Lehigh Valley Health Network By Alyssa Rege M edtronic signed a five-year partnership deal with Lehigh Valley Health Network, an eight-hospital organization in Allentown, Pa., to improve patient outcomes and minimize costs, CNBC reported. Here are four things to know about the partnership. 1. Under the partnership, the organizations will work together to create medical processes and treat more than 70 medical conditions using Medtronic technology. Specifically, Medtronic seeks to help LVHN providers detect signs of respiratory compromise earlier to reduce the number of related adverse events patients may experience by 20 percent, the report stated. 2. LVHN officials will compare patient outcomes and cost savings from those processes with data from its eight hospitals. Medtronic will only receive payment for some treatments if the processes lead to favorable outcomes. 3. Medtronic Chairman and CEO Omar Ishrak, PhD, said Medtronic started incorporating such payment models to help transition the company, and the industry, toward value-based care. For example, the company signed nearly 1,000 contracts specifying it must reimburse hospitals for part of the costs if its Tyrx antibacterial envelope doesn't prevent infection for patients receiving cardiac devices, according to the report. 4. Through the partnership, the organizations aim to reach 500,000 patients across northeast Pennsylvania and cut LVHN's costs by $100 million. n