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Latest CDC Overdose Data Shows Opioid Epidemic Getting Worse
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, overdoses from opioids increased by about 30 percent in 2016. Opioids (including prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl) killed more than 42,000 people in 2016, more than any year on record. More...
Expanded Telemedicine Services Benefit Long-Term Care
Residents and staff of long-term care facilities throughout the Midwest are taking advantage of telemedicine services to improve care and reduce costs. Avera eCARE Senior Care was able to expand telemedicine services to 45 rural and urban long-term care facilities in...
CMS Commitment to Putting Patients First
Federal Initiative to Put Patients in Control of Their Health Data The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the launch of the MyHealthEData initiative, which CMS Administrator Seema Verma says is the first time any administration has set in...
Patient Safety Awareness Week: We Are ALL Patients
March 11 - 17, 2018 is National Patient Safety Awareness Week, a highlight of the United for Patient Safety Campaign, an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The Campaign is asking both healthcare professionals and consumers to take a pledge to...
North Dakota Cancer Survivors Share their Personal Stories
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. It is also one of the most preventable. This March, we continue to encourage men and women 50 and older to make getting...
Music and Memory℠ Program Expands to South Dakota
Individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other cognitive and physical challenges often struggle to reconnect and engage with others. The Music and Memory Program uses personalized playlists to trigger deep memories and improve the ability to converse, socialize and...
Nebraska Clinics and Partners – Collaborating for Success
The Great Plains QIN Nebraska team hosted a one-day educational session on Wednesday, March 7 in Kearney, Nebraska. The event, Collaborating for Success: Moving Beyond the Quality Payment Program, was a big success! The session was an opportunity to learn more about...
Great Plains Quality Innovation Network Helps Meet HHQI Member Milestones
Great Plains Quality Innovation Network recently helped the Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) National Campaign welcome its 20,000th participant and 6,000th home health agency to the initiative. The HHQI National Campaign is a quality improvement program of the...
Does Where You Live Affect How Long You Live?
Everyone should have the opportunity to live the healthiest life possible, regardless of their ZIP code. How does your area’s life expectancy measure up to the national average? A ZIP code is 5 numbers meant to give mail to people - not indicate how long they live....
Study: Hand-Hygiene Practices Could Reduce Nursing Home Deaths
U.S. News & World Report recently published an article showing that nursing home mortality and rates of antibiotic prescriptions can be reduced when staff, residents and visitors have consistent hand-hygiene protocols. A one-year study in France of 26...