Becker's Hospital Review

61 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY Carolina Family Healthcare will drop patients who miss checkups By Megan Knowles C arolina Family Healthcare, an indepen- dent practice based in Charlotte, N.C., sent an email to patients in January saying it would discharge patients under age 18 who have not completed their periodic well- child visit, according to e Charlotte Observer. e well-child schedule requires 10 visits within the first two years of a child's life and then every year aer that, according to Caro- lina Family Healthcare's email. "Beginning March 1, 2018, any patient under the age of 18 who has not had their periodic well-child visit will be discharged from Car- olina Family Healthcare," the email said. e email emphasized the benefits of well-child visits, which include establishing relation- ships with providers and tracking each child's growth and development. "We decided to require regular period well vis- its for children because not only is it extremely important to record your child's growth over the years, but we need to keep their records current, even if they don't immunize," Dino Kanelos, MD, president of Carolina Family Healthcare, told the Observer. Carolina Family Healthcare's well-child sched- ule is similar to recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, the association does not have a policy for discharg- ing patients who do not meet the schedule. Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health, for- merly Carolinas HealthCare System, said it encourages wellness visits at intervals rec- ommended by the AAP, but does not enforce rules or policies about discharging patients from practices for lack of compliance with these visits. Additionally, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health said wellness visits are im- portant to maintaining community and fam- ily health. "While recommended, well-child visits are not mandatory and we do not dis- charge patients for not having a wellness vis- it," a Novant spokesperson told the Observer. Atrium and Novant also said they do not have policies that require discharging patients for not getting immunizations. ese well visits not only work to improve and maintain patients' health, but can also provide an opportunity for parents to raise concerns about their child's development or behavior, according to Carolina Family Healthcare's email. However, the email advises patients to "Please be aware that, depending on the is- sues raised, an office visit may also be charged which may result in a copayment." n Judge says California hospital violated rights of union employees: 6 things to know By Kelly Gooch A National Labor Relations Board judge ruled against Napa, Calif.-based Queen of the Valley Med- ical Center Feb. 28 on issues regarding caregivers who supported unionization. Here are six things to know. 1. Judge Sharon Levinson Steckler ordered Queen of the Valley Medical Center to continue bargaining in good faith and reverse retaliatory actions taken against the more than 400 employees who voted to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers in November 2016, according to a union news release. 2. NUHW said the judge found the hospital had committed a "litany" of violations against those employees, including one case where a pro-union employee's shift was changed, forcing her to give up her second job. 3. The judge's ruling comes after the NLRB filed a "bad faith bargaining order" against Queen of the Valley Medical Center last year related to the election. 4. Union officials said the hospital initially worked with NUHW but later "abruptly withdrew recognition, claiming that the labor board erred in conducting the election by mail rather than inside the hospital. Since last March, the hospital has refused to honor its agreements with NUHW, provide workers with union representation, or bargain a contract unless we agreed that the contract could be void- ed if the hospital succeeded in overturning the election." 5. According to NUHW, the judge allowed two weeks for the hospital to comply with her ruling. 6. Queen of the Valley Medical Center's CEO, Larry Coomes, disagreed with the ruling. In a statement to Becker's, he said the "decision is not final and will be reviewed by the National Labor Relations Board ... Either party can appeal the NLRB's decision to the federal court of appeal to determine whether the regional office of the NLRB properly certified the election. We strongly believe that pursuing our appeal to the highest allowable court is necessary to protect the rights of our employees and is consistent with our mission of inclusion for all." n

• Cover