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Rural Healthcare Quality Network Honors Hospitals for Accomplishments in Quality Improvement

Release Date: July 12, 2011

SEATTLE — Rural hospitals in communities across Washington State are striving to ensure patients receive the right care at the right time. In recognition of these efforts, the Washington State Rural Healthcare Quality Network (RHQN) distributed awards in nine categories for hospitals meeting or exceeding the organization’s 2011 Quality Initiatives. The awards were presented during the network’s annual meeting in June.

“Our network of critical access hospitals is delivering high quality health care, these awards are recognition of their commitment to excellence,” RHQN Executive Director Randy Benson, PhD, said. “Washington State’s rural residents should be proud of their community hospitals and feel confident in the quality and safety of the care they receive.”

Bev McCullough, RN, MBA, CPHQ, RHQN Quality Improvement Manager, said “These awards show evidence of the hard work and commitment of staff, physicians and administrators to ensure the best healthcare for their communities.”

The Rural Healthcare Quality Network is a partnership of thirty-four Washington Critical Access Hospitals working to ensure quality health care for the communities they serve. The network, founded in 2002, provides access to national patient safety experts, physician peer reviews, and quality improvement education. More information is available through the network’s website: http://www.rhqn.org/ or by contacting Randy Benson, RHQN Executive Director, at randyb@wsha.org.

The following is a description of each award and the organizations honored:

Best Practice Superstar: Staff Flu Immunization

• Sunnyside Community Hospital

Vaccination is the most effective way to reduce the spread of the flu virus to patients. Sunnyside Community Hospital was recognized for reaching 100 percent flu prevention for all staff members. This is a remarkable achievement! Sunnyside is one of just four hospitals in the state to reach this level of protection for their patients.

Best Practice Superstars: Stroke Systems Leadership

The winners of this award are noted as leaders in the efforts of the RHQN, Washington State Department of Health (DOH), and the American Heart Association (AHA) to improve stroke care for Washington residents. Part of this effort is the development of partnerships between Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers, small/rural hospitals and larger urban hospitals to ensure that patients experiencing a stroke have access to the care they need no matter where their stroke occurs. Time is of the essence in preventing damage to the brain when a stroke occurs. Award winners in this area excelled in ensuring patients received expedited care. These hospitals developed and shared best practices and processes with other hospitals across the state. Winners of this award included:

• Kittitas Valley Community Hospital
• Lake Chelan Community Hospital
• Lincoln Hospital
• Mason General Hospital

Best Practice Heart Attack Protocol Stars: Emergency Department Door to Electrocardiogram in Under 10 Minutes

The RHQN worked with the Washington Department of Health and the American Heart Association to standardize statewide protocols in every community for heart attack patients. For patients who have a heart attack, time is muscle. Every minute counts. Winners of this award successfully reduced the amount of time between a patient’s arrival at the Emergency Department (ED) and the electrocardiogram (or ECG). The goal for 2011 was 10 minutes or less. Several hospitals exceeded the goal and now have door to ECG times of six to eight minutes. Nine hospitals met or exceeded this goal:

• Jefferson Healthcare
• Kittitas Valley Community Hospital (Superstar for second year in a row)
• Lake Chelan Community Hospital
• Mid-Valley Hospital (Superstar for second year in a row)
• Newport Hospital & Health Services
• North Valley Hospital (Superstar for second year in a row)
• Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center (Superstar for second year in a row)
• Skyline Hospital
• Whidbey General Hospital

Best Practice Heart Attack Protocol Superstar: Emergency Room Transfer time under 30 minutes

• Kittitas Valley Community Hospital

Kittitas Valley Community Hospital is a leader in decreasing the time patients spend in the Emergency Department for initial evaluation and treatment before being sent to a larger hospital for more advanced care. Kittitas’ leadership in ED transfer times led to their being asked to present their Best Practice expertise at the Washington Emergency Cardiac and Stroke Symposium in Spokane and the Washington State Hospital Association Rural Hospital Conference in Chelan on June 28, 2011.

Best Practice Superstar: Reducing Preventable ED visits

• Tri-State Memorial Hospital

Using the Emergency Department to provide care that would be better treated in another setting is a considerable concern for the increasing cost of health care. Patients, when possible, should be treated by their primary care provider for non-emergency conditions in order to promote consistent, quality care. Tri-State Memorial Hospital is a leader in Washington State in developing programs to ensure good patient care and reduce preventable ED visits.

Best Practice Superstar: Caring for Heart Failure patients

• United General Hospital

Heart failure is a chronic condition. It results in symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, and fatigue. There are four measures for Heart Failure quality care in a hospital: The right test of heart function, the right medications, consistent counseling to help smokers stop smoking and detailed instructions to help patients manage their symptoms after they leave the hospital.

This best practice award recognizes United General Hospital for developing processes that ensure that all heart failure patients receive the appropriate care 100 percent of the time. United General has been a leader among Washington hospitals in developing processes to ensure Heart Failure patients receive Best Practice care. Staff generously shared their expertise on conference calls and by mentoring other hospitals across the State.

Best Practice Stars: Smoking Cessation Counseling

Smoking damages the lungs and increases the risk of developing blood clots and heart disease that can result in a heart attack, heart failure or stroke. It is especially damaging for those patients who already have pneumonia or heart failure. Quitting may reduce a patient’s chances of getting pneumonia, heart failure or a heart attack again. The following hospitals provided smoking cessation counseling to help all pneumonia and heart failure patients before they leave the hospital:

• Jefferson Healthcare
• Kittitas Valley Community Hospital
• Newport Hospital & Health Services
• Ocean Beach Hospital
• Skyline Hospital
• Tri-State Memorial Hospital
• United General Hospital

Best Practice Stars: OB Care: Adopting national Induction Guidelines

Physicians and hospitals face increasing pressure to schedule deliveries for convenience. The hospitals recognized in this category are following the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists August 2009 “Guidelines for Inducing Labor” to ensure that delivery occurs when it is safest for the baby. Delivering a baby before 39 weeks of pregnancy without a clear medical reason puts the newborn at an increased risk for low birth weight, respiratory distress, and issues with hearing and eyesight. Hospitals recognized for not doing elective deliveries before 39 weeks include:

• Lake Chelan Community Hospital
• Skyline Hospital
• Whidbey General Hospital

Best Practice Superstars: Participation in the national Rural Medicare Beneficiaries Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP).

The following member hospitals joined with the Washington State Rural Healthcare Quality Network as one of the first Critical Access Hospitals in the country to voluntarily monitor, report and ensure best practices on quality measures for Heart Failure, Pneumonia, Emergency Department care, patient satisfaction and medication safety. The three year project is aimed at improving rural care through transparency and ensuring the best care for every patient, every time.

Best Practices Stars: Inpatient and Outpatient Safe Surgical Care

Hospitals are able to reduce the risk of infections after surgery by making sure they provide care that is known to get the best results for most patients. Eight RHQN member hospitals were recognized for their Best Practices in the following areas: giving antibiotics at the right time before surgery, stopping the antibiotic within the correct timeframe after surgery, maintaining the patient’s temperature and blood sugar at normal levels and removing catheters used to drain the bladder in a timely manner after surgery.

• Kittitas Valley Community Hospital
• Lourdes Medical Center
• Newport Hospital & Health Services
• North Valley Hospital
• Othello Community Hospital
• Tri-State Memorial Hospital
• Skyline Hospital
• United General Hospital

Best Practice Stars: Patient Safety Projects

Some of the most effective measures to ensure patient safety in hospitals include staff washing or sanitizing their hands every time they enter and exit a patient room and developing processes to ensure safe medication administration. The following hospitals continually use data to monitor and improve both hand hygiene and medication management:

• Cascade Medical Center
• Jefferson Healthcare
• Kittitas Valley Community Hospital
• Ocean Beach Hospital
• Othello Community Hospital
• Skyline Hospital
• Sunnyside Community Hospital
• United General Hospital
• Whidbey General Hospital

Best Practice Stars: Developing a Quality Culture

Hospitals with successful Quality Cultures have staff that are involved in measuring and improving processes to improve their patient’s experience. The following hospitals are leaders in developing Quality Improvement programs where all managers monitor and report on quality measures and share their quality metrics with other rural hospitals.

• Cascade Medical Center
• East Adams Rural Hospital
• Kittitas Valley Community Hospital
• Lake Chelan Community Hospital
• Lincoln Hospital
• Odessa Memorial Healthcare
• Skyline Hospital
• Sunnyside Community Hospital
• United General Hospital
• Whidbey General Hospital

Best Practice Superstars: Recognized leaders helping other hospitals improve

The strength of the Washington State Rural Healthcare Quality Network comes from the collaboration of its member hospitals. Best Practice Sharing award winners are recognized for sharing their experiences and materials during monthly conference calls, in newsletters and through the RHQN website. Hospitals, and the topic for which they have developed best practices, are listed below.

• Garfield County Public Hospital District: Best Practices in using Lean Process Improvement Methods to Improve Patient Care
• Jefferson Healthcare: Best Practices for Obstetrical Care
• Providence Mount Carmel Hospital: Best Practices for Obstetrical Care
• Pullman Regional Hospital: Best Practices for Customer Satisfaction
• Snoqualmie Valley Hospital: Best Practices for Quality Improvement and Swing Bed Programs
• Whitman Hospital and Medical Center: Best Practices for Clinical Care

Upcoming Member Conference Calls

If you have a topic suggestion, please call or e-mail Randy Benson (RHQN Executive Director) at randyb@wsha.org or at (206) 577-1821.

• October 11, 10:30 a.m. - Clinical Best Practices and Lessons Learned, facilitated by Bev McCullough, RHQN Quality Improvement Manager
• November 8, 10:30 a.m. - Fire Safety Issues for Critical Access Hospitals; When is a Drill not a drill?, presented by Randy Benson, RHQN Executive Director
• December 13, 10:30 a.m. - Clinical Best Practices and Lessons Learned, facilitated by Bev McCullough, RHQN Quality Improvement Manager

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