Minnesota Hospital Association

Newsroom

August 07, 2017

MHA Newsline: Aug. 7, 2017

In this issue

Allina Health, CHI St. Gabriel’s Health honored with AHA awards

Allina Health and CHI St. Gabriel’s Health were honored with awards presented by the American Hospital Association (AHA) at the organization’s annual Leadership Summit July 27-29.

Allina Health’s LifeCourse program received a 2017 Citation of Honor in AHA’s Circle of Life Awards, which honor innovative palliative and end-of-life care in hospices, hospitals, health care systems, long-term care facilities and other direct care providers.

LifeCourse is a late life supportive care approach for people living with serious illnesses. Trained health care professionals called care guides visit patients in their home every month. They provide assistance in connecting to needed resources and navigating the health care system to help individuals get valuable information and care. By helping individuals identify and access providers and services, LifeCourse supports what matters most to them.

Key components of LifeCourse include providing a LifeCourse care guide who acts as a key communicator across people, settings and organizations; promoting whole person care by asking questions and connecting to support their medical and nonmedical concerns; using a family-oriented approach to help identify the strengths and needs of the person, and their key friends and family; and helping the person communicate what matters most to them and supports care that aligns with their expressed preferences

CHI St. Gabriel’s Health’s Morrison County Community-Based Care Coordination program received a 2017 AHA NOVA Award, which recognizes effective, collaborative programs focused on improving community health status.

In response to the opioid epidemic, CHI St. Gabriel’s Health developed this program, which is part of a $45 million State Innovation Model (SIM) cooperative agreement awarded to the Minnesota Departments of Health and Human Services in 2013 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to help implement the Minnesota Accountable Health Model. The hospital launched the program in partnership with South Country Health Alliance, Morrison County Public Health and Social Services departments and several other representatives from the Morrison County Prescription Drug Task Force. The program includes three key components: a multidisciplinary, care-centered team; a leadership team that oversees the care team; and a communitywide prescription drug task force.

During the first year of the program, the drug-seeking diagnosis fell off the top 20 list at CHI St. Gabriel’s Emergency Department. One local pharmacy saw a 20 percent drop in narcotics prescriptions. In a four-month period, South Country Health Alliance tabulated a $439,674 reduction in pharmacy claims compared with the same period the year before. return to top

Fairview Health Services honored with MHA Innovation of the Year in Patient Care Award

MHA on June 2 honored innovative programs and outstanding leaders in health care at its 33rd annual awards ceremony.

Fairview Health Services received the MHA Innovation of the Year in Patient Care Award in the large hospital category, which recognizes hospitals for developing innovative ways to meet the needs of patients and ensure that they are delivering safe and high-quality care.

Fairview earned this award for its spread of sepsis best practice work flows developed by the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis to its five community hospitals located in Burnsville, Edina, Princeton, Wyoming and Hibbing. The goal was to save 90 lives from October 2015 to October 2016. This effort was launched on July 31, 2015, giving the team only two months to implement the work flows in all hospitals.

Fairview developed an innovative spread process using the structure of a system Network Team. The team designated clear roles and responsibilities for each member, forming connections of accountability and collaboration for implementation and ongoing improvement. Network Team work sessions were held in a collaborative environment to develop the spread plan. Key to this collaboration was weekly team phone huddles to discuss progress and barriers on the spread implementation plan and to share successes and ideas for continuous improvement that the members brought back to their hospitals to implement.

The team was thrilled that the innovative and collaborative approach to spread the implementation of sepsis best practices saved 134 lives by October 2016, which far exceeded the goal.

Additional award winners will be profiled in upcoming issues of Newsline. To learn more about the award winners, visit the MHA website. return to top

Register for Aug. 24 medication safety conference

MHA will host a medication safety conference on Aug. 24 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza in Plymouth. Pharmacists, physicians, nurses, leadership, medication safety officers and quality and risk management staff are encouraged to attend this full day of learning on medication safety.

Conference topics will include updates from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on controlled substance diversion reporting, direct oral anticoagulants, newer insulins, medication reconciliation and a successful project to reduce readmissions with pharmacist-led interventions.

Conference registration is free. Due to government contractual restrictions, MHA is not able to provide food or drinks at this event; however, participants may purchase a meal ticket directly from the Crowne Plaza for a $50 fee, which includes breakfast, snack breaks and lunch buffet. The deadline to order a meal ticket is noon on Aug. 21.

To learn more and register, view the conference brochure or event page. return to top

PAC golf tournament a success

The annual Minnesota Hospital PAC golf tournament was held July 31 at the Territory Golf Club in St. Cloud. Thank you to the hospital leaders and vendors who participated in the event. Special congratulations to Tim Rice, president/CEO of Lakewood Health System, Staples, for an amazing hole-in-one on hole six of the course.

Recognition also goes out to our team winners:

  • Third place team members included Steve Underdahl, president and CEO, Northfield Hospital; Mary Ellen Wells, administrator, CentraCare Health, Monicello; David Wetherelt, 3M Information Systems; and Mark Sonneborn, MHA, with a score of 62.

  • Second place team members included Brad Beard, region president, South Region, Fairview Southdale Hospital; Richard Karulf, M.D., Fairview Southdale Hospital; Mike Youso, CEO, Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital; and Scott Hughes, Knutson Construction, with a score of 60.
  • First place team members included Mary Edwards, vice president, public policy, Fairview Health Services; Nate Mussell, Lockridge Grindal Nauen; John Reich, Winthrop & Weinstine; and Ben Peltier, MHA, with a score of 58.

MHA members are reminded to make their 2017 PAC contributions now. For more information about the PAC or your hospital PAC goal, contact Andrea Wombacher, division assistant, 651-603-3539, or Kristin Loncorich, director of state government relations, 651-603-3526. return to top

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