In
this issue
Avera
Marshall Regional Medical Center honored with MHA Quality and Patient Safety
Improvement Award
MHA on June 2 honored innovative programs and outstanding leaders in health
care at its 33rd annual awards ceremony.
Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center received the Quality and Patient Safety
Improvement Award in the small hospital category, which recognizes hospitals
that have taken extraordinary and innovative steps to make patient safety a top
priority throughout the hospital.
While safety has always been important at Avera Marshall, two years ago leaders
and staff began focused efforts to become a safe, highly reliable organization.
The hospital implemented a daily safety huddle to establish a standardized
approach to identifying and capturing safety issues and near misses. Leaders
gather for a quick daily meeting to address safety issues from the previous 24
hours, look ahead for potential issues in the coming 24 hours and follow up on
items identified in the previous day's huddle.
This practice is improving collaboration, efficiency, accountability,
engagement and transparency across the organization. In just two months' time,
more than 50 issues have been reported and addressed. The focus is finding and
fixing concerns that can contribute to errors to minimize harm and prevent
future incidents.
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
15
members met PAC fundraising goal by Aug. 1
Congratulations to the 15 hospitals and clinics that have met
their Minnesota Hospital Political Action Committee (PAC) fundraising goal for
2017:
- Avera Marshall Regional Medical
Center
- CentraCare Clinic - River
Campus, Saint Cloud
- CentraCare Health - Monticello
- Essentia Health-Sandstone
- FirstLight Health System, Mora
- Gillette Children's Specialty
Healthcare, Saint Paul
- Hennepin County Medical Center,
Minneapolis
- Lakewood Health System, Staples
- LifeCare Medical Center, Roseau
- Mille Lacs Health System,
Onamia
- North Shore Health, Grand
Marais
- Northfield Hospital
- Redwood Area Hospital, Redwood
Falls
- Tri-County Health Care, Wadena
- United Hospital District, Blue
Earth
These members demonstrate the importance of supporting the PAC.
For more information about the PAC or your hospital PAC goal, contact Kristin Loncorich, director of state government relations, MHA,
651-603-3526. return
to top
Substance
abuse telehealth grants available
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy is accepting
applications through Aug. 23 for the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Substance Abuse
Treatment Telehealth Network Grant Program. The purpose of this program is to
demonstrate how telehealth programs and networks can improve access to health
care services, particularly substance abuse treatment services, in rural,
frontier and underserved communities. Learn more and access the application online. return to top
Quality
Payment Program hardship application now available
The Quality Payment Program Hardship Exception Application for
the 2017 transition year is now available on the Quality Payment Program website.
Certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) is required for
participation in the advancing care information performance category of the
Quality Payment Program (QPP). Under Merit-based Incentive Payment System
(MIPS) scoring, MIPS-eligible clinicians and groups may qualify for a
reweighting of their advancing care information performance category score to 0
percent of the final score and can submit a hardship exception application for
one of the following specified reasons:
- Insufficient internet connectivity
- Extreme and uncontrollable
circumstances
- Lack of control over the
availability of Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT)
Some MIPS-eligible clinicians who are considered Special Status
will be automatically reweighted (or exempted in the case of MIPS eligible
clinicians participating in a MIPS APM) and do not need to submit an
application.
For more information, contact the Quality Payment Service Center at
1-866-288-8292 or QPP@cms.hhs.gov. return to top
Participate
in Assault Survivor Kits evaluation survey
Assistance League of Minneapolis/St. Paul, in
partnership with the Minnesota Hospital Association, provides Assault Survivor
Kits free of charge to hospital emergency rooms and clinics throughout
Minnesota. The goal of these kits is to comfort victims of sexual assault by
providing needed toiletry and clothing items for distribution at hospital
emergency rooms and clinics.
To assess the effectiveness of these kits and the program, Assistance League of
Minneapolis/St. Paul is conducting a brief online survey. MHA members are asked to share
this survey with staff who use the kits. The survey will be open until Sept. 9.
Survey responses will help determine the most important items to include in the
kits.
Assault Survivor Kits are free to all Minnesota hospitals and contain a
t-shirt, sweatpants, socks, underwear, a sports bra and toiletries. To order
Assault Survivor Kits for your hospital, please visit the MHA store or contact Sarah Bohnet,
MHA, 651-603-3494. return to top