May 2008 e-Bulletin

Welcome to the Home Health QIOSC monthly e-Bulletin, your source for the latest updates in home health quality improvement. You may either browse the newsletter or use the icons at the top of the page to jump to a specific section.

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The Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) National Campaign Best Practice Intervention Packages (BPIPs) can be accessed at www.medqic.org.

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There are no pending deliverable dates at this time.

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CoP Call:  Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 3:00 p.m. (ET)
1.877.260.8899; ID: 898686

• Speaker:  Debora A. Terkay, RN, MS, Nurse Consultant/HH OASIS GTL, Office of Clinical Standards and Quality, Quality Measurement and Health Assessment Group, Division of Chronic and Post Acute Care, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Topic:  Update on CMS Projects

National HH QIO Call:  Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 3:00 p.m. (ET)
1.866.861.5389; ID: 898992

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Note: For the remaining HHQIO e-bulletins we will be featuring home health agencies that have put best practices into action. Thanks to all the QIOs and home health agencies that have helped coordinate these tips and applications.

Agencies in Action

Parkview Homecare is a hospital based not for profit agency in Colorado. It received national recognition in 1993 by winning the Henry Ford Health Systems "Healthcare Innovations in Technology Symposium" award for innovative partnering with technology in the development of their homecare point of care clinical documentation software program. In 2006 and 2007, they were named by OCS as one of Homecare's Elite Top 100 agencies in the nation for quality care - only 1 of 23 agencies to appear on the list for both years the report has been generated. Theresa Frazier, Director of Services, ascribes their success in quality improvement to their hospital's leadership in implementing Dr. Deming's Quality Improvement Philosophy in the 1980s, one of the first in the nation to successfully apply and with constancy of purpose, sustain these strategies in the service industry.

“Our agency reviewed the contents of every Best Practice Intervention Package and carefully selected elements to enhance current processes. We used the resources to improve our already functional processes of emergency care planning, SBAR and telemonitoring. We also incorporated new processes like the Timed Up and Go screening tool. We had our staff review the Timed Up and Go video, and now all our clinicians are using this protocol. Another helpful resource from the campaign was the podcasts - we used every single one! We also reviewed the clinician post-tests at staff meetings and our staff found this to be quite helpful and educational.” - Theresa Frazier, RN, CPHQ, CHCE, Director of Services, Parkview Homecare, Pueblo, CO

The leadership at Parkview Homecare truly has a good understanding of continuous quality improvement. They are focused on refining current processes while also developing new processes as appropriate. Ms. Frazier was enthusiastic about the HHQI Campaign and wished it would continue. Thanks, Theresa Frazier, for directing Parkview Homecare to uphold quality patient care.

Tips of the Week

View the April 2008 Tips of the Week.
View the March 2008 Tips of the Week.
View the February 2008 Tips of the Week.

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