by Keri McDermott | Apr 3, 2024 | Antibiotic Stewardship, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Medication Safety, Nursing Home Quality, Patient Safety, Quality Care Coalition
Antibiotic Stewardship: The right antibiotic. The right dose. The right duration. The right time. Did you know? Up to 75% of antibiotics prescribed in nursing homes are considered inappropriate or unnecessary.¹ Antibiotic stewardship refers to a set of commitments and...
by Kelsey Olson | Mar 27, 2024 | Care Coordination, Chronic Disease Self-Management, Covid-19, Diabetes Care, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Health Equity, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Home Health, Hospitals, Immunizations, Medication Safety, Nursing Home Quality, Opioids, Patient Safety, Q Tip Podcast, Quality Care Coalition, Quality of Care Transitions
Looking for health care information and quality resources? We added a few more episodes to our new podcast series: Q-Tips For Your Ears. This podcast is designed for everyone – healthcare professionals, patients and family members; sharing basic healthcare information...
by Kelsey Olson | Mar 18, 2024 | Antibiotic Stewardship, Care Coordination, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Home Health, Hospitals, Nursing Home Quality, Patient Safety
Sepsis remains the #1 diagnosis for admissions and readmissions and is the #1 facility-acquired infection related to hospitalization in North Dakota and South Dakota. Understanding the early signs or the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is vital for all...
by Kelsey Olson | Feb 23, 2024 | Featured, Great Plains QIN, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Hospitals, Nursing Home Quality, Patient Safety, Q Tip Podcast, Quality Care Coalition
Sepsis is the systemic inflammatory response to an infection. When sepsis involves one of the major organs it is known as severe sepsis. It is noted that over the last 30 years the mortality rate of severe sepsis has dropped by 80%. The drop in mortality is due to the...
by Keri McDermott | Feb 23, 2024 | Chronic Disease Self-Management, Covid-19, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Health Equity, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Home Health, Hospitals, Immunizations, Nursing Home Quality, Patient Safety, Q Tip Podcast, Quality Care Coalition
Pneumonia is a common lung infection caused by germs, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. It can be a complication of the flu, but other viruses, bacteria and even fungi can cause pneumonia. Pneumonia and its symptoms can vary from mild to severe. Treatment depends...
by Kelsey Olson | Feb 20, 2024 | Featured, Great Plains QIN, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Hospitals, Nursing Home Quality, Patient Safety, Q Tip Podcast, Quality of Care Transitions
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), is a type of bacterial infection that causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, and sometimes life-threatening complications. CDI has been most associated with antibiotic use, which can disrupt the normal balance of gut bacteria and...
by Kelsey Olson | Feb 13, 2024 | Care Coordination, Covid-19, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Hospitals, Nursing Home Quality, Patient Safety, Quality Care Coalition
The Great Plains QIN team strives to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes. We work with partners and community coalitions to identify areas for improvement, which include reducing avoidable hospital admissions and readmissions, including those caused by...
by Kelsey Olson | Feb 2, 2024 | Chronic Disease Self-Management, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Health Equity, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Nursing Home Quality, Patient Safety, Q Tip Podcast, Quality Care Coalition
Did you know that a wood frog can hold its urine for up to 8 months? Don’t let your residents be wood frogs! Emptying the bladder often helps prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Sometimes it’s difficult for residents living with dementia to express...
by Kelsey Olson | Jan 2, 2024 | Care Coordination, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Home Health, Hospitals, Nursing Home Quality, Patient Safety, Q Tip Podcast, Quality Care Coalition, Quality of Care Transitions
In North Dakota and South Dakota, sepsis is the #1 admission and readmission diagnosis. With sepsis, time is of the essence. For every hour of delayed treatment, the risk of death increases by between 4 and 9 percent.¹ Experts say that 80 percent of sepsis deaths...
by Kelsey Olson | Nov 30, 2023 | Antibiotic Stewardship, Care Coordination, Featured, Great Plains QIN, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Hospitals, Nursing Home Quality, Patient Safety, Q Tip Podcast, Quality Care Coalition
Clostridioides difficile is formerly known as Clostridium difficile – and often called C. difficile or C. diff. – is a germ (bacterium) that causes diarrhea and colitis (an inflammation of the colon). Most cases of C. diff infection occur while an...