IHA Daily Briefing: September 8

IHA Leadership Summit: Registration Discounts End 9/17
Ready to dive into the biggest issues in healthcare with top experts in the field? IHA Leadership is just a few weeks away-and the registration discount ends next Thursday, Sept. 17.

This year's Summit, "Navigating Disruption Together," will guide your efforts to lead and shape your organization for future success in the face of significant change impacting healthcare. Held in Oak Brook, the Oct. 1-2 IHA signature event will feature:

• U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin, a steadfast supporter of Illinois hospitals, who will retire in January after 44 years of public service;
• Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Gretchen Evans, one of the most highly decorated women to serve in the U.S. Army, in a powerful closing session;
• Global innovation expert Scott Anthony and thought leader Craig Deao in "The Choice Ahead: Own Your Future or Be Disrupted by It" keynote session;
• American Hospital Association President and CEO Emeritus Rick Pollack on navigating federal health policy; and
• Communications expert Michael Hildebrand in "Public Perception and the Importance of Telling Your Hospital's Story."

Click here to register for discounts in three categories: the first member per organization, each additional member, and hospital and health system board members.

Staff contact: David Strickland

Webinar: Reexamining Coping Skills for Military Suicide Prevention
This Suicide Prevention Month, the Illinois Governor's Challenge (ILGC) continues its mission to prevent suicide among service members, veterans and their families with its upcoming webinar, "Reexamining Coping Skill for Military Suicide Prevention." During the webinar, Lt. Col. Melissa Boyd , PsyD, ABPP, will present on suicidal behavior in the Army; risk and protective factors; building coping skills; social connection/leadership engagement; and resources and policy information. Click here to learn more and access registration information for the webinar, which will take place Friday, Sept. 18 at 11:30 a.m. CT.

The ILGC is a coalition of government and private organizations united to prevent suicides among the military, veteran, and family member community in Illinois.

Boston Scientific: Cardiac Device Remote Monitoring Activation Capability Restored
Today, Boston Scientific issued an update saying the network disruption impact to remote monitoring activations attributed to an Aug. 25 cybersecurity incident has been resolved and activation capability has been restored. Remote monitoring activations for cardiac device implant communicators and insertable cardiac monitor remote monitoring can now resume.

Boston Scientific noted that the network disruption did not impact implantable device function, the ability for programmer communication with implanted devices, nor monitoring capabilities for cardiac devices enrolled in remote monitoring prior to the disruption. However, capability for new remote monitoring activations was impacted. Boston Scientific said healthcare professionals may now resume cardiac device activation and pairing. Hospitals and health systems can visit Boston Scientific's webpage for updates on the incident.

This year's IHA Emergency Preparedness Exercise will challenge multidisciplinary hospital and health system teams to respond to a sophisticated cyber incident that weaponizes artificial intelligence (AI) to amplify the attack. Save the date for the Nov. 4 exercise, a live interactive webinar from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT. The scenario addresses a growing threat as one in four malicious data breaches are AI-enabled, a 56% increase over 2025. Exercise registration will open soon. Contact [email protected] with questions.

U.S. Cancer Deaths Linked to Alcohol Doubled Since 1990
Alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in the United States doubled between 1990 and 2023, according to a new study. The findings, published in The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, highlights alcohol as a potentially modifiable cancer risk factor whose impact extends well beyond liver cancer. Using more than three decades of Global Burden of Disease data, researchers found that annual alcohol-attributable cancer deaths rose from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023. Men and adults age 55 and older experienced the greatest burden, but increases were seen across most cancer types, age groups, and regions. More information can be found here.

National Maternal Mental Health Hotline Offers Support
The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) offers free, confidential support 24/7 by call, text and chat. Trained counselors provide emotional support, information, and referrals to local resources for pregnant and postpartum women and their loved ones. The 1-833-TLC-MAMA toolkit offers free promotional materials-including flyers, posters, magnets, and wallet cards-that you can download or order to display and distribute in your settings.

Illinois Respiratory Disease Surveillance Data

The Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) provides the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data. IDPH also tracks COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information through the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System dashboard.

Briefly Noted

Illinois received its second credit rating upgrade in less than a week, when S&P Global Ratings raised the state's general obligation bond rating to A, indicating a stable outlook. This upgrade represents the highest S&P rating for Illinois in over a decade. The previous week, Moody's also upgraded the state to A1, its highest rating in nearly 15 years. S&P attributed the upgrades to Illinois' consistent fiscal management and governance improvements, noting the state has maintained eight consecutive balanced budgets.

Leading the News