Norfolk Area Sepsis Community Action Team (SCAT)
In August 2018, members of the Great Plains Quality Innovation Network (GPQIN) Nebraska team began meeting monthly with healthcare representatives from the Norfolk community to bring forward each organization’s efforts related to sepsis. Self-named the Norfolk...
Joint Commission Issues New Standards for Anticoagulation Therapy
The Joint Commission’s new National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) for anticoagulation therapy will become effective July 1, 2019. The intention of the standards is to reduce the risk of medication-related adverse events and applies to all Joint...
BFCC-QIO Changes That Require Action by Healthcare Providers
Effective June 8, 2019, there will be changes to the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care – Quality Improvement Organization program. The Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program is the cornerstone of Medicare’s efforts to improve the quality of care and health...
11th Annual Summit on Quality – A Huge Success!
The 11th annual Summit on Quality was held on May 10, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita, Kansas. The Summit is a quality improvement educational event drawing healthcare leaders from across Kansas; this years’ Summit boasted a record number of...
Pharmacy School Supports Changes in Medication Management
University of North Carolina (UNC) Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Center for Medication Optimization is creating a care coordination hub to help community pharmacists proactively manage medications for chronically ill patients. Linked below are podcasts, developed by...
National EMS Week: Beyond the Call
EMS practitioners are often a sepsis patient’s first contact into the healthcare system and in severe cases, the timely assessment and treatment they provide can greatly impact patient outcomes. EMS practitioners are uniquely positioned to improve the early and vital...
Avera Eureka Health Care Center Consistently in Top 10% for Quality Measure Composite Score
Avera Eureka Health Care Center (Avera Eureka) has achieved the monthly National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NHQCC) Quality Measure Composite Score goal of 6.0 or less for the past 30 months. Achieving this monthly score is significant as only 10% of the...
Moderating Lifestyle to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
When speaking with your patients about how to decrease their risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, lifestyle changes are an important aspect but can be difficult to tackle. One place to start is the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7: encouraging...
Strong Beyond the Call: Recognizing the Value of EMS Professionals
Residents of rural and frontier areas rely on local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals and volunteers to provide life-saving care when time is of the essence. These first responders become the faces and voices for those in healthcare crisis. In addition...
Stroke and the Importance of Accurate Blood Pressure Measurement
The number of Americans at risk for heart attacks and strokes just got a lot higher. An estimated 103 million U.S. adults have high blood pressure, according to new statistics from the American Heart Association. That’s nearly half of all adults in the United States....