N'lighten team members are asked to report their activity numbers to Ellen as soon as possible.

Club members are reminded they can do make-ups on the web at  http://www.rotaryeclubone.org.

Notes from the April 4th Meeting - Program Chair - Lana Pleak

 Lana's guest for the day was Vickie Saunders, the HIPPA Compliance Officer for the Blair Memorial Community Hospital.  HIPPA, Health Insurance Portability Act, which became effective in 1996, deals with the ability of employees to move from one job to another and not loose coverage. In addition to the portability issues, the legislation also addresses the privacy rights of patients.  The privacy portion of the act became effective in April of 2003.

The right to patient confidentiality is the root of the issue.  All information about the patient must be protected and health care providers must take every prudent step to insure compliance.  Failure to do so can result in fines and imprisonment for violators. During the past year over 4,600 complaints regarding violations have been reported.  In many cases the problem may be an inadvertent disclosure which can be prevented with proper training of staff.  Obviously the health and well-being of the patient is taken into consideration when disclosing information, for example, if other health care providers or family members need to know in order to better care for the individual an exception can be made..  Likewise if the disclosure would be in the best interest of the public, the proper authorities can be contacted and information shared. 

In about a year (04/21/05) health care providers will also have to provide adequate measures of security to protect patient information. This may involve new network system fire-walls, encrypted files and various levels of password security on data systems.

Rotary Question of the Week

What is the name of the book that was written to recognize the accomplishments of Rotary during the past 100 years?

Rotary Fact of the Week (from  the RI or District Website)

Experience the journey of Rotary's first 100 years.  The inspirational book, A Century of Service, commissioned by RI for the Rotary Centennial, vividly captures Rotary's humanitarian spirit.  Discover a wealth of fascinating facts, untold stories, and never-before-published photographs.  As you learn more about the early years of Rotary, the development of its programs, and the contributions That Rotarians have made around the world, you'll feel proud to be a Rotary.  A Century of Service (913-EN) is now available in English for $25, and an additional five languages (French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish) after July 1, 2004.

Thought of the Week

"Reputation is built by a thousand individual acts, and lost by merely one." 

April Birthdays
Lana Pleak 7th
Mary Jean Rahlfs 5th
Chris Boswell 17th
Mick Jensen 27th

Service Above Self!