Latest News
National Nurses Month I Week #3 Professional Development
National Nurses Month (Week Three) focuses on professional development; an opportunity to focus on how you can excel and lead in your nursing career or inspire and help other nurses in their professional journey. When it comes to nursing, education does not stop when...
Best Practice Brief: Valuing Diversity at Monument Health I May 24, 2022
Relentlessly Pursuing a Diverse and Inclusive Organization Trust is the foundation for every strong personal and professional relationship. Earning trust begins by seeking to understand. Monument Health offers cultural awareness education programs to provide...
AgriSafe Network I Vaccine Social Media Toolkit Available
AgriSafe Network | Protecting the People Who Feed The World The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard for everyone, especially essential agricultural workers. The AgriSafe Network developed a Vaccine Social Media Toolkit for rural organizations and community groups,...
Great Plains QIN Webinar: Healing and Improving Ourselves and Our Places of Work as We Recover from COVID-19 I May 20, 2022
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is a syndrome resulting from workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It’s characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job or...
Thirteen North Dakota Nurses Honored as the Heart of Health Care
The Bismarck Tribune has partnered with local hospitals, nursing schools, long-term care and businesses to recognize nurses in the Bismarck, Mandan and the surrounding area who go above and beyond to deliver compassionate care. Access the article. This year, 68...
National Nurses Month | Week #2 Recognition
This week for National Nurses Month, the theme is Recognition. We are all indebted to nurses for their unwavering commitment to patients, their communities and our health care systems. Honor the work of nurses who lead, excel, and innovate, not only in our health care...
CMS Releases Its Chronic Pain Experience Journey Map
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently released the Chronic Pain Experience Journey Map which highlights the most prominent barriers experienced by people accessing care and the influencers acting on providers. These access issues and...
Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization Webinar I May 25, 2022
Healthcare providers and stakeholders are invited to join Kepro for a Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization (BFCC-QIO) Program webinar. Kepro is the BFCC-QIO for 29 states, including North Dakota and South Dakota. Kepro offers...
Older Americans Month I May 2022
Every May, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) leads the nation’s observance of Older Americans Month (OAM). The 2022 theme is Age My Way, an opportunity for all of us to explore the many ways older adults can remain in and be involved with their...
Great Plains QIN Webinar: Palliative Care in the Dakotas | May 17, 2022
Rural adults are more likely than urban counterparts to have a larger range of chronic conditions³ and extensive disparities in health, such as greater rates of death, pain and suffering and reduced life expectancy². The increasing need for palliative care services...
Great Plains QIN Webinar: Infection Control in Respiratory Therapy Practices I June 21, 2022
Working the frontlines through a worldwide pandemic, Jessica Danko has a broad knowledge of firsthand respiratory therapy best practices. Through opportunities to provide education and work within an array of healthcare and long-term care settings, understanding the...
National Nurses Month | Self-Care – Taking Care of YOU!
Being a nurse requires consistently caring for others and paying close attention to the physical and mental state of patients. Selflessly showing up for others is an incredible task, but often, those closest to the health care system are at the highest risk of...
Great Plains QIN Vaccination Tracking Log Updated
Great Plains QIN updated the GPQIN Electronic Vaccination Tracking Log to include the second COVID-19 booster, pneumococcal vaccines PCV15 and PCV20. This Excel tracking log is designed as a 'quick review' for the MDS person and/or infection preventionist to access a...
North Dakota Stepping On Program Facilitator Training Opportunity | June 8 – 10
Stepping On Training Opportunity in North Dakota About 36 million falls are reported among older adults each year—resulting in more than 32,000 deaths. Each year, about 3 million older adults are treated in emergency departments for a...
CMS Skilled Nursing Facilities & Long Term-Care Open Door Forum I April 28
CMS Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)/Long Term Care (LTC) Open Door Forum Thursday, April, 28 2022 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM (CT) 1-888-455-1397 | Conference Passcode: 5109694 Conference call...
What Should You Do With Your Unused Medications? April 30 Is Drug Take Back Day
The Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is April 30, 2022. This event, which happens twice a year, is a safe, convenient, and responsible way to dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs at locations in communities throughout...
BrainGuide: Start Your Brain Health Journey
In South Dakota alone, 18,000 older adults, age 65 and older, are living with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. In North Dakota, 15,000 persons, aged 65 and older, are living with Alzheimer’s. Estimated projections show an increase of 6 to 11 percent by 2025. For more...
Best Practice Briefs: Reducing Health Disparities | May 2022
Great Plains QIN and the South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care are co-sponsoring a series of health equity and health disparity learning events. Imagine bare cupboards, an empty gas tank, and a pile of past due bills. Pile on a chronic physical or mental health...
“YOU Make a Difference” – National Nurses Month I May 2022
The impact of nurses on health care is unparalleled; directly affecting the health and well-being of our society. In May we honor them. Nurses are everywhere we live, work, play, learn, and worship and in every health care setting providing care to millions of people....
Recognizing Disparity to Advance Health Equity | April 26 Webinar
Health disparities are important to recognize because they provide a metric to measure progress toward advancing health equity. Individuals living in rural areas have limited access to a variety of services, including health care, which creates an increased level of...
Meet Our Newest Team Member I Stephanie Meduna, RN, BSN
Stephanie Meduna, RN, BSN Quality Improvement Advisor | Great Plains Quality Innovation Network My new role with Great Plains Quality Innovation Network, is Quality Improvement Advisor. I will be devoting my time to doing what I love, Quality improvement. I will...
National Drug Take Back Day | April 30, 2022
During the COVID-19 health crisis, it's more important than ever to remove the risk and keep your loved ones safe. Unused prescription drugs can be dangerous, especially for children, teens and even pets. Misused medications can lead to accidental overdose or...
Remote Patient Monitoring Programs Can Work Magic for Enrolled Patients
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is a system that uses one or more devices to transmit patient-generated health data to healthcare professionals for review. The Dakotas have a high percentage of rural citizens, which requires creativity to deliver services. Remote...
Update to COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers
In response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and under the Secretary’s authority set out at section 1135 of the Social Security Act, CMS enacted several temporary emergency declaration blanket waivers which were intended to provide healthcare providers with...
NEW Campaign: COVID-19 Staff Vaccination Booster Champions
We have launched a new Campaign to celebrate and recognize organizations with high staff COVID-19 booster vaccination rates throughout North Dakota and South Dakota. Organizations that meet this milestone will be provided a Staff COVID-19 Vaccination Booster Champion...
Soul Shop Workshops – Equipping Faith Communities to Minister to Suicidal Desperation
Suicide. We’ve got to talk about it even though people would rather not. North Dakota Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is hosting Soul Shop–Equipping Faith Communities to Minister to Suicidal Desperation. This one-day training is Tuesday, May...
The Dakota Diabetes Coalition: FREE Webinar Series | April – June 2022
Running a Best Practice Program: Increasing Sustainability of Medical Nutrition Therapy & Diabetes Self Management Education Services (DMES) Great Plains Quality Innovation Network is a proud supporter of the upcoming Dakota Diabetes Coalition (DDC) Learning...
Meet our Newest Team Member | Kelsey Olson, BA
Great Plains QIN is pleased to introduce one of our newest team members - Kelsey Olson, BA. Kelsey will serve as part of our communications team as a Communication Specialist. I attended the University of South Dakota as well as the University of North Dakota. While a...
Access the UPDATED CDC Antibiotic Resistance Website
The CDC has recently updated its Antibiotic Resistance Website to better engage and share information on antibiotic resistance (AR) in the United States and around the world. We all have a role to play—from travelers, animal owners, and care givers to patients and...
Increasing Vaccination Rates: Admission and Discharge Processes are Key
Vaccinations are a key component of keeping residents, patients, staff and our communities safe. Studies show health care providers are the most trusted source of vaccine information. Research also shows when a strong recommendation is given by a health care provider,...