OSPF Offers Free Suicide Prevention Training for Clinical Staff

AHA is now accepting applications for the 2027 Foster G. McGaw Prize, which honors hospitals and health systems that demonstrate excellence in community service. Applications are open through May 5. The award recognizes organizations that align programs with community health needs and forge partnerships to improve access to care and address social determinants of health. Past winners have co-created mental health crisis clinics, expanded housing for people transitioning out of homelessness and strengthened vital community benefit organizations. One winner and up to three finalists will be recognized at the 2026 AHA Leadership Summit in Denver. Learn more and submit applications here.

The Ohio Department of Medicaid will expand its Next Generation MyCare program on April 1 to include Sandusky, Erie, Henry, Williams, Defiance, Paulding, Fayette, Fairfield, Licking and Ashtabula counties. To help providers prepare, ODM is hosting monthly webinars through August, alternating sessions for Ohio Department of Aging providers and other provider types. The webinars will cover program details, impacts on providers and necessary preparation steps, with recordings available online. Providers in Phase 2 counties are encouraged to register for the sessions that fit their needs. For more information, visit the Next Generation MyCare Resources for Providers webpage.

The American Hospital Association’s latest Costs of Caring report shows hospitals and health systems are facing increasing financial pressures as expenses outpace growth in hospital prices. Total hospital costs rose 7.5% in 2025, with roughly 60% going to staff salaries and another 36% tied to treating more patients and caring for sicker, more complex cases. Hospitals also spent $43 billion collecting payments from insurers, and nearly 56% of costs were for services reimbursed below the cost of care, including behavioral health, obstetrics and infectious disease. AHA president and CEO Rick Pollack said rising labor, supply and drug costs, combined with administrative…

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine this week signed Senate Bill 137, legislation supported by the OHA, requiring hospitals to provide overdose reversal drugs, such as naloxone, to certain patients at discharge. The law applies to patients experiencing an opioid overdose, opioid use disorder or other adverse events related to opioid use, unless a clinician deems it inappropriate, the patient already has the medication or the patient refuses it. Hospitals providing the drug must also give instructions for use, information on medications for opioid use disorder and harm-reduction resources or peer-support services. The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health will supply free overdose reversal drugs to…