A Collaborative Effort with the Oregon Association of Hosptials and Health Systems and Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation
We are pleased to launch the Hospital Quality Network (HQN), as part of the Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative. AF4Q is the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s signature effort to lift the overall quality of health care in targeted communities, reduce racial and ethnic disparities and provide models for national reform. AF4Q is committed to improving care for all patients and engaging hospitals is a critical component of this work. The goals of the Hospital Quality Network are to:
- Engage health care providers at all levels of the health care organization to improve the quality and safety of patient care;
- Identify potential disparities in the quality of care and develop a plan to ensure equity as a core component of quality; and,
- Develop and encourage the spread of effective and replicable quality improvement (QI) strategies, models and resources within the organization and AF4Q communities.
What is the Hospital Quality Network?
Hospitals that join the HQN will become a part of a network of hospitals that learn and share QI tools, strategies and lessons learned with each other. All AF4Q hospitals will have the opportunity to participate in QI work that is appropriate for their organizations, and will be offered the flexibility of selecting QI areas that are compatible with the needs of their organizations. In addition, hospitals will have the option to participate in multiple hospital QI areas. The HQN areas of improvement will be Improving Language Services, Reducing Readmissions, and Increasing Throughput. Hospitals will engage in a variety of activities designed to improve the quality and safety of patient care as well as opportunities for sharing and learning. Some activities will involve hospitals across all improvement areas while others will be topic specific. These activities include:
- Performance Measures and Data Reporting: hospitals will collect and submit data on specific metrics on a monthly basis. All measures will be stratified by patient race, ethnicity and/or language (R/E/L). The AF4Q National Program Office (NPO) will provide the data collection templates and data will be submitted via a password-protected Web site.
- R/E/L Training Web Seminars: All hospitals across the three improvement areas will be trained on the standardized collection of self-reported R/E/L data.
- Quality Forums: Hospitals will participate in monthly quality forums such as webinars and conference calls that are both educational and informational. These forums offer an excellent venue for peer-to-peer discussion of common issues as well as concerns and successes.
- Quarterly Quality Updates: Hospitals will submit quarterly progress reports detailing their progress towards reaching the program goals. The NPO will use these reports to determine the need for additional education and identify opportunities for targeted technical assistance.
- Connecting with AF4Q Alliance: Hospitals will be asked to report to their AF4Q Alliance on a periodic basis their progress, successes and lessons learned.
- Read More about the Hospital Quality Network
What will the areas for improvement focus on?
HQN: Improving Language Services: Hospitals use a tested quality improvement measurement process to look at how they communicate with non-English-speaking patients. The goal is to engage clinicians, language services providers and leaders at all levels to demonstrably improve availability and delivery of language services - a necessary part of quality care.
Read More about HQN: Improving Language Services
HQN: Increasing Throughput: Hospitals nationwide struggle to improve the efficiency and flow on their emergency departments, so that patients are treated in a timely manner, and either leave the hospital or are admitted and assigned a bed. The goal is to engage doctors, nurses and various administrative services to better manage the patient flow so timely, high-quality care is delivered in the most appropriate setting.
Read More about HQN: Increasing Throughput
HQN: Reducing Readmissions: Hospitals participating in this network aim to reduce the readmission of heart patients back into the hospital, which increases costs and slows recovery. The goal is to engage health care providers and leaders at all levels, in an effort to improve the quality of care delivered to all patients with acute myocardial infarction and heart failure.
Read More about HQN: Reducing Readmissions
Why should my hospital join?
- Help meet regulatory and accreditation standards
- Demonstrate our commitment to achieving equitable care
- Participate and collaborate with hospitals in peer-to-peer and shared learning activities
- Access an inventory of best practices, strategies and tools
- Receive technical assistance from national experts in hospital quality improvement
- No fee to participate
How does my hospital sign up?
- To view a recent OAHHS Webcast explaining the program, please click here. (NOTE: To view a playback of our member webcasts, you will need to have the WebEx media player. To download it, click here.)
- For a slide presentation about the program, click here (PDF)
Contact Diane Waldo at 503-479-6016 or diane.waldo@oahhs.org
Building 2, Suite 100
Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035
503-636-2204 | Fax: 503-636-8310
info@oahhs.org
Copyright © 2009 Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. All rights reserved.