St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) has been selected as one of 16 national, regional, or state hospital associations, Quality Improvement Organizations, and health system organizations to continue efforts in reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions. The Hospital Improvement Innovation Network (HIIN) contracts awarded build upon the collective momentum of the Hospital Engagement Networks (HEN) and Quality Improvement Organizations to reduce patient harm and readmissions. This announcement is part of a broader effort to transform our health care system into one that works better for the American people and for the Medicare program. 

“We are very honored to be selected from applicants nationwide to continue our work on improving health care quality and safety for all Minnesotans,” said Dr. Rahul Koranne, MHA’s chief medical officer. “Building on more than 15 years of quality improvement work at MHA, and through our past participation in the Hospital Engagement Network, hospitals and health systems across the state were able to make significant progress toward reducing hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions, as well as reducing harm across the board. We are excited to continue our journey of relentless quality improvement in service of patients and families as members of the new Hospital Improvement Innovation Network.” 

MHA will receive $4.25 million for each of the next two years to continue the statewide quality improvement work begun in 2011 with the Partnership for Patients Hospital Engagement Network. The HEN sought to reduce patient harm from hospital-acquired conditions in 10 focus areas. As part of the HIIN, MHA will continue work in the 10 focus areas plus additional areas, including the following:

• Increasing from 69 to 100 percent the number of hospitals having Patient and Family Engagement Councils;  
• Reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections by building on the current “bundle,” that is, 4- 5 evidence-based steps that providers follow for culturing every patient every time;
• Building on an 81 percent reduction in sepsis mortality rates;  
• Reducing readmissions beyond the 30 percent reduction under HEN by helping hospitals partner with their communities to work on mental health, medication safety and transitions between settings of care;
• Creating a streamlined improvement tool for hospitals called SAFER Care that addresses all harms in one roadmap. MHA was recognized by CMS for a SAFER Care roadmap for critical access hospitals as part of HEN. 

“Minnesota’s hospitals and health systems work to provide every patient with the highest quality care,” said Dr. Jeffrey Lyon of Essentia Health, who chairs MHA’s Quality and Patient Safety Committee, comprised of hospital and health system leaders from across Minnesota. “Participating in HEN from 2011 through 2016, our hospitals and care teams served as national leaders in expanding quality and patient safety improvement efforts. Our selection for HIIN provides us with additional opportunities and resources to fuel statewide collaboration that will benefit patients, families and communities.” 

Through 2019, these Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks will work to achieve a 20 percent decrease in overall patient harm and a 12 percent reduction in 30-day hospital readmissions as a population-based measure (readmissions per 1,000 people) from the 2014 baseline. Efforts to address health equity for Medicare beneficiaries will be central to the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks efforts. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will monitor and evaluate the activities of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks to ensure that they are generating results and improving patient safety.  

“We have made significant progress in keeping patients safe – an estimated 2.1 million fewer patients harmed, 87,000 lives saved, and nearly $20 billion in cost-savings from 2010 to 2014 – and we are focused on accelerating improvement efforts,” said Patrick Conway, M.D., CMS acting principal deputy administrator and chief medical officer. “The work of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks will allow us to continue to improve health care safety across the nation and reduce readmissions at a national scale – keeping people as safe and healthy as possible.” 

Minnesota hospitals and health systems have prevented more than 24,000 patients from being harmed and saved more than $211 million as a results of a reduction in hospital-acquired conditions since 2011. The 16 organizations (listed in alphabetical order) receiving contracts in the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks are:

• Carolinas Healthcare System
• Dignity Health
• Healthcare Association of New York State
• HealthInsight
• The Health Research and Educational Trust of the American Hospital Association  
• Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey
• Health Services Advisory Group 
• The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania
• Iowa Healthcare Collaborative
• Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) Health Foundation
• Minnesota Hospital Association
• Ohio Children’s Hospitals’ Solutions for Patient Safety
• Ohio Hospital Association
• Premier, Inc.
• Vizient, Inc. 
• Washington State Hospital Association 

The Partnership for Patients model is one of the first models established in 2011 to be tested under the authority of section 1115A of the Social Security Act (the Act) with the goal of reducing program expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care. Since the launch of the Partnership for Patients and the work of Hospital Engagement Networks in collaboration with many other stakeholders, the vast majority of U.S. hospitals have delivered results as demonstrated by the achievement of unprecedented national reductions in harm. CMS believes that the upcoming work of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks, working as part of the Quality Improvement Organization’s work to improve patient safety and the quality of care in the Medicare program, will continue the great strides made in improving care provided to beneficiaries.    

For more information on quality and patient safety in Minnesota, please visit: mnhospitals.org/quality-patient-safety. For more information on the Partnership for Patients and the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks, please visit: partnershipforpatients.cms.gov.  

The Minnesota Hospital Association represents 137 hospitals and health systems, which provide quality care for their patients and meet the needs of their communities. 

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