March 2016
brought to you by the Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) National Campaign

 

  CAMPAIGN NEWS
  
In This Issue
This month, HHQI recognizes St. Mary's Home Care in Reno, Nevada for their dedication to improving home health care quality. 

Home health agencies that are active in the HHQI National Campaign and closest to the national, risk-adjusted ACH 20th percentile and/or the national, risk-adjusted Oral Medication Improvement 80th percentile (or higher) are eligible for random selection as HHQI Agency of the Month. 

Be in the spotlight.
 Nominate your agency today, and if you are selected, your organization will be prominently featured here in HHQI Inside Edition - which reaches more than 16,000 subscribers - and on the HHQI website. Your achievement will also be shared via HHQI's social media channels.
First HHAs Achieve HHQI Cardio Milestone 4 Designation

HHQI is excited to recognize three home health agencies for their outstanding achievements in working to improve cardiovascular health in their patient populations:
These agencies are the first to reach Milestone 4 of HHQI's 5 Cardio Milestones. In addition to meeting the requirements of prior milestones, these agencies entered and closed six months of required patients' data in the Home Health Cardiovascular Data Registry (HHCDR) and passed the HHCDR Assessment of Data Reliability. HHQI recognizes the effort these agencies put forth to meet Milestone 4, and offers a hearty congratulations!

Currently, more than 1,500 home health agencies are on the road to cardiovascular health improvement by participating in HHQI's Cardio Milestones program. Is your agency one of them? Visit the HHQI website to find out. 

If you don't see your agency's name, you can join HHQI's Cardiovascular Learning & Action Network (CardioLAN) now to achieve Cardio Milestone 1 and start the journey! 

Please note: You must be registered on the HHQI Campaign website before being able to join the CardioLAN. Registering will also give you instant access to free information & resources in our Best Practice Intervention Packages (BPIPs).

 

  CAMPAIGN RESOURCES
  
Recording & Slides Now Available
One Giant Leap for Preventive Cardiovascular Care

Hypertension is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. and worldwide that is both preventable and treatable. The clinical management of hypertension depends on accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement, appropriate recognition of BP phenotypes, sound therapeutic decision-making, and patient activation. 

On February 29, HHQI hosted a free webinar featuring renowned hypertension specialist John Flack, MD, MPH. Dr. Flack discussed the key aspects of hypertension treatment mentioned above, myths about the disease, and therapeutic strategies to control blood pressure. The presentation slides and webinar recording are now available for download via the HHQI website.

Dr. Flack is a professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. He has been named a "Top Doctor" from the Who's Who Global Directory, was named one of Detroit's "Super Doctors" and was Academic Physician of the Year from Oklahoma University School of Medicine. In 2009 the Detroit News named him Michiganian of the Year.

  

  CAMPAIGN EVENTS

  
Save the Dates
New "Third Thursdays" Event Schedule
 
Home health professionals are busy. Now, there's an understatement. In order to make the most of your limited time, HHQI's three primary online Networking events -- LiveChat, Cardiovascular Learning & Action Network (CardioLAN) webinars, and Underserved Populations (UP) webinars -- will each be held quarterly. 

Events will rotate to always occur from 2-3pm (ET) on the third Thursday of the month.

JANUARYAPRILJULYOCTOBER
LiveChats
FEBRUARYMAYAUGUSTNOVEMBER
CardioLAN WebinarsMARCHJUNESEPTEMBERDECEMBER

Click on the Networking Event type above for specific dates and available registration or reminder links. You can also browse our online event calendar.
CardioLAN Webinar | March 17, 2016 | 2-4pm ET
Exercise Prescription for Heart Failure Patients
HHQI is excited to present this free webinar featuring national physical therapy experts Dee Kornetti, PT, MA and Cindy Krafft, PT, MS from Kornetti & Krafft Health Care Solutions. During this special 2-hour Cardiovascular Learning & Action Network (CardioLAN) event, attendees will receive detailed interdisciplinary information and resources to facilitate accurate exercise prescription and dosing in the home health setting for the patient with heart failure. A clinical decision-making guide will assist in the determination of course of care (i.e., restorative or maintenance) for the home care patient with cardiomyopathy. Registration is now open.

This free webinar is appropriate for Clinical Supervisors, Nurses, Physical and Occupational Therapists and assistants, and Speech-Language Pathologists and has been submitted to Alabama State Nurses Association for approval to award contact hours. Alabama State Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Additionally, HHQI has submitted for physical therapy continuing competence units (CCUs) from the Federation of State Board of Physical Therapy through ProCert (view list of accepted states).

  QIN-QIO CORNER
 
Patient Safety Q&A with Arjun Srinivasan

Dr. Arjun Srinivasan of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, discusses achievements and areas for improvement in health care-associated infection reduction. 

Read the full article in the March 2016 issue of QIO News.
Cardiac Health Q&A with Janet Wright

Janet Wright of Million HeartsŪ shares an update on the national initiative's goal to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. In the article, Dr. Wright mentions "doubling down on our work in the areas of sodium reduction, smoking cessation and blood pressure control." Many HHQI resources support these efforts.

Read the full article in the February 2016 issue of QIO News.

 

  INDUSTRY NEWS & RESOURCES
  
Current & Upcoming Health-Related Observances

Each month, the healthcare industry puts the spotlight on a variety of health & wellness issues that impact home health patients and professionals. Follow the links below for more information and resources to get involved and help spread awareness. You can also follow HHQI on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for ongoing related content. Share your favorite photos and free resources & events with our followers too!

Upcoming Webinars

DATE
TIME
TOPIC / MORE INFO LINK
ORGANIZER
March 171-2pm ETPatient Safety is a Public Health Issue
National Patient Safety Foundation
March 173-4pm ETFundamentals of the National CLAS Standards
HHS Office of Minority Health
Key Dates: Home Health Compare & Star Ratings Reports

The Quality of Patient Care Star Ratings Preview Reports are now available in the CASPER folders. These reports contain data that will be publicly reported on the Home Health Compare website in April 2016. Below is calendar of key dates for the next three quarters of Home Health Compare updates:


APR 2016
JUL 2016
OCT 2016
Preview reports available in CASPER1/7/16
4/7/16
(or before)
6/30/16
(or before)
Quality of Patient Care Star Rating suppression request deadline1/25/164/25/167/18/16
Deadline for submitting missing or corrected data2/19/165/20/168/19/16
Home Health Compare updated
4/13/16
7/13/16
10/5/16

Chartbook on Health Care for Blacks Now Available
 
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released the Black Health Care Chartbook as part of a family of documents and tools that support the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (QDR). The chartbook includes a summary of trends across measures of black/African American health care from the QDR. A PowerPoint version is also available that users can download for presentations. Download the chartbook.
Geriatric Home Health Resources from CHAMP

Champ logo 

The Collaboration for Homecare Advances in Management and Practice (CHAMP) Program was the first national initiative to advance geriatric home care excellence. CHAMP's valuable resources and e-presentations are still available online.

This material was prepared by Quality Insights, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality 

Improvement Organization supporting the Home Health Quality Improvement National Campaign, 

under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services. The views presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 

Publication number 11SOW-WV-HH-MMD-030416