by Keri McDermott | Dec 28, 2020 | Featured, Opioids
CDC released a new suite of training tools and resources to help clinicians and healthcare executives apply CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain in clinical settings Addressing the Opioid Overdose Epidemic in the Emergency Department: This new...
by Keri McDermott | Dec 28, 2020 | Featured, Nursing Home Quality
Golden ticket: an extremely valuable opportunity or means of access to something desired [Dictionary, Merriam-Webster] The Rolling Hills Healthcare team in Belle Fourche, SD implemented a ‘Golden Ticket’ program as an ‘extremely valuable...
by Keri McDermott | Dec 14, 2020 | Chronic Disease Self-Management, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Hospitals, Medication Safety, Opioids, Patient Safety
Emergency departments are among the frontline providers for assessment and treatment of substance use, opioid use and non-fatal drug overdose. According to the Avoid Opioid web site, opioid deaths in South Dakota have steadily increased since 2012 and unintended...
by Keri McDermott | Dec 14, 2020 | Cardiac Care, Chronic Disease Self-Management, Featured, Great Plains QIN
Chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, require ongoing management in order for individuals with these conditions to stay at their healthiest. That doesn’t stop because of a pandemic, family emergency, or otherwise. For some, the added stress of the...
by Keri McDermott | Dec 14, 2020 | Chronic Disease Self-Management, Diabetes Care, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Home Health, Medication Safety, Patient Safety, Quality of Care Transitions
Author: Jane Strommen, PhD Gerontology Specialist, North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension Caregiving can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be filled with enormous physical, emotional, and financial challenges. It is essential for caregivers to...
by Keri McDermott | Dec 10, 2020 | Covid-19, Featured
CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the healthcare community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and...
by Keri McDermott | Dec 10, 2020 | Covid-19, Featured
The Great Plains QIN team recently added these Vaccination resources to the COVID-19 page of our Web site; locate them on the Vaccinations tab of this page. COVID-19 Vaccine Resources COVID-19 Vaccination Communication Toolkit — Medical centers, clinics, and...
by Keri McDermott | Dec 10, 2020 | Covid-19, Featured
CDC COCA Call: What Every Clinician Should Know about COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Monitoring vaccine safety is a vital part of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As COVID-19 vaccines become available, the public’s knowledge and confidence in their safety,...
by Keri McDermott | Dec 10, 2020 | Covid-19, Featured
Crucial Content for Every Frontline Healthcare Worker Project Firstline’s first video in a series called Inside Infection Control was launched earlier this week. The video, “What’s the goal of infection control?” sets an important foundation for episodes to come. The...
by Keri McDermott | Dec 8, 2020 | Featured, Immunizations
December 6-12 marks National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW), an annual observance to remind everyone that there’s still time to get your flu vaccine if you haven’t already. Flu activity is still low, but it may increase as we head into the winter. There are many...