| January 5, 2012 | For More Information Contact: Andy Van Pelt 503-479-6018 |
OAHHS Joins National Initiative to Improve Hospital Quality and Patient Outcomes
Partnership for Patients will expand resources to help health providers identify and spread local ideas, improve care, and reduce preventable health care-acquired conditions.
The Oregon Association of Hospitals & Health Systems (OAHHS) has joined forces with the Health Research and Education Trust (HRET) of the American Hospital Association to provide resources and support to help Oregon health care providers improve safety and quality while reducing health care costs, as a part of a critical national initiative sponsored by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Over a two year period, CMS aims to decrease preventable hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and hospital readmissions by 20 percent through the Partnership for Patients program. If the goals are achieved, the program has the potential of saving $35 billion and 60,000 lives nationally.
The HRET/OAHHS network is one of 26 "Hospital Engagement Networks" across the country. This network, representing nearly 2,000 hospitals in 32 states, will help identify solutions that have been proven to reduce health care-acquired conditions and work to spread them to other hospitals and health care providers. More than 20 hospitals and health systems across the state are joining the effort through the HRET/OAHHS relationship.
"We are strategically positioned with our relationship with HRET to provide our hospitals the best tools to fully engage in the Partnership for Patients program," commented Diane Waldo, director of quality and clinical services for OAHHS, who is responsible for leading the initiative in our state. "This is a tremendous opportunity for our state and participating hospitals to decrease variation in care and improve clinical outcomes. Our patients will benefit from this collaborative work."
"Our focus at HRET is on accelerating performance improvement for the hospital field and this partnership will advance that effort and offer hospitals new tools and resources to further the high-quality care they already provide," said Maulik Joshi, HRET president and senior vice president for AHA.
The project will allow participating organizations to maximize their patient safety and quality efforts through expanded access to national experts to implement best practices as well as provide additional funding to see these efforts implemented. HRET/OAHHS will develop education and training resources to share successful strategies for quality improvement in 10 target areas. The activities of the Hospital Engagement Networks, through HRET/OAHHS, will be closely monitored by CMS to ensure that they are improving patient safety.
ABOUT Partnership for Patients:
Launched in April 2011, the Partnership for Patients now consists of more than 6,500 partners, including over 3,167 hospitals, along with employers, health plans, physicians, nurses, patient advocates, and state and federal government officials who have pledged to work together to reduce the number of hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and reduce hospital readmissions by 20 percent by the end of 2013. The Hospital Engagement Networks will be supported by $218 million in funding through the CMS Innovation Center, which was established by the Affordable Care Act. For more information, visit http://www.healthcare.gov/compare/partnership-for-patients.
ABOUT OAHHS:
Founded in 1934, the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) is a statewide, nonprofit trade association that works closely with local and national government leaders, business and citizen coalitions, and other professional health care organizations to enhance and promote community health and to continue improving Oregon's innovative health care industry.
Follow OAHHS’ hospital quality efforts by visiting http://www.hospitals4health.org
ABOUT HRET:
Founded in 1944, the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) is the not-for-profit research and education affiliate of the American Hospital Association (AHA). HRETs mission is to transform health care through research and education. HRETs applied research seeks to create new knowledge, tools, and assistance in improving the delivery of health care by providers in the communities they serve. For more information about HRET, visit www.hret.org.
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