- BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas announced Newman Regional Health had met all the standards necessary for its quality-based reimbursement program.
- Pimple said the hospital’s continuing quality improvement efforts are generally focused on increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and safety surrounding patient care and procedures wherever possible.
Administration and staff at Newman Regional Health were recently recognized for their ongoing efforts to improve the facility’s care offerings and patient experience.
Last month, BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas announced Newman Regional Health had met all the standards necessary for its quality-based reimbursement program. In an email announcing the news, CEO Robert Wright estimated the bonus payments which will be put toward operating costs would amount to approximately $350,000 each quarter for the next year.
“I want to thank and congratulate everyone who participates in the quality improvement efforts here at Newman Regional Health,” Wright’s email read. “And that is really all of you and your staff in one way or another. We do this because it is the right thing to do for our patients, but it is also nice that we receive a Quality Bonus like this from Blue Cross to help us continue to improve the services we offer at our hospital.”
Chief Quality Officer Cathy Pimple agreed with Wright, saying while she appreciated the incentive dollars, the true reward was in knowing staff efforts to ensure the best possible healthcare environment for patients were making a difference.
“Our quality efforts have focused on involving the patient, as we know patient engagement improves quality outcomes,” Pimple said. “By involving patients, we, in turn, provide better care. I think we’ve all really appreciated the community engagement as well. Everyone’s support, through the use of our services, donating to the foundation and through other volunteer work and fundraising, is a major part in us being able to continue providing quality health care.”
Pimple said the hospital’s continuing quality improvement efforts are generally focused on increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and safety surrounding patient care and procedures wherever possible. Pimple highlighted the reduction in the amount of patient falls and hospital-acquired infections along with improvements in the early identification of sepsis and other conditions as areas of which she was particularly proud.
“The outcome of sepsis can be as serious as death in some cases,” Newman Regional Health Clinical Analyst and LPN Nina Topper said. “So, it’s really all about the timeliness of performing all the measures and treatments that need to be done in regard to those types of patients before things get serious. It’s something we’ve always focused on, but now we’re able to address it quicker and more consistently. Nationally, the early recognition and treatment of sepsis is about 50 percent. There’s been months recently where we’ve reached as high as 85 and even 100 percent.”
“Our device infections, so those from a central line or catheter, have been little to none as well,” added Infection Preventionist Ester Knobloch. “Staff has also done a great job in detecting, preventing and dealing with cases of C. difficile bacterial infections, which is one of the metrics BlueCross measures.
“C. difficile actually forms spores which may become incredibly difficult to treat, so hand hygiene is very important. We’ve done a lot of initiatives centered around that. Some can be as simple as sending up a little antibacterial towelette that goes with every food tray or snack plate. Another big risk factor for C. difficile is antibiotics. It’s crucially important that we’re using those types of drugs prudently administering them when they’re truly needed and putting them away when it’s an infection that doesn’t call for antibiotics.”
In addition to the front-line staff, Pimple said she wanted to thank everyone involved at the hospital from the Newman Regional Health Board of Trustees and administration to departmental leadership for their dedication, attention to detail, and hard work over the last few months.
“It’s hard to point to specific people to recognize, because this has really been a team effort through and through,” Pimple said. “It takes an alignment of goals throughout the organization and into the community to meet the needs of everyone Newman Regional Health serves.”
Date: June 28, 2018
Source: The Emporia Gazette