News

Over the course of an intensive 12-month effort, 2,950 patient harms were prevented in 48 Arkansas hospitals participating in a national hospital quality improvement effort, with associated cost savings of nearly $27 million. Unity Health was a proud member of the hospital quality improvement team. "The number one priority of our facility is to ensure patient safety while delivering high quality care," Director of Quality, Risk Management and Regulatory Compliance, Debbie Hare said. "Patients and their families depend on our hospitals to deliver outstanding care under the safest possible conditions.

According to results released by the American Hospital Association Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) and the Arkansas Hospital Association HEN, these hospitals are making great progress on the journey to improve patient care. Arkansas was one of 33 states participating in the AHA/HRET HEN which overall has prevented 34,442 harms and resulted in over $288 million in cost savings.

HENs identify best practices proven to reduce hospital-acquired conditions and spread them to other hospitals and health care providers. These networks are a key element of the national Partnership for Patients campaign to improve the quality, safety and affordability of health care. "Patient safety and quality is part of our hospital scorecard, with goals set for excellence," Renee Webb said, director of PI and Case Management said. "These are measured and reported monthly."

CARE IMPROVEMENT

"The commitment and passion we have seen from our hospitals to their patients and their communities contributes to these results" according to Pam Brown, VP of quality and patient safety at the Arkansas Hospital Association. Brown went on further to say, "We still have work to do and as healthcare becomes more complex, we have to create systems which result in the best outcomes."

The Arkansas hospitals have been participating in the second phase of this national quality improvement effort, dubbed HEN 2.0, which closed September 23. HEN 1.0 was in action from December 2011 to December 2014, with 40 Arkansas hospitals participating.

HEN 2.0 targeted care improvements in 11 areas, including prevention of hospital-acquired infections or conditions, falls, early elective infant deliveries and preventable readmissions. Hospitals associated with the Arkansas Hospital Association's HEN received technical assistance, educational opportunities, training, resources and the ability to participate in learning collaborations to make progress in the hospital quality of care arena.

Arkansas hospitals participating in HEN 2.0 include:

Arkansas Methodist Medical Center
Baxter Regional Medical Center
Bradley County Medical Center
CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs
CHI St. Vincent Infirmary
CHI St. Vincent Morrilton
CHI St. Vincent North
Chicot Memorial Medical Center
Community Medical Center of Izard County
Conway Regional Medical Center
CrossRidge Community Hospital
Delta Memorial Hospital
DeWitt Hospital
Drew Memorial Hospital
Eureka Springs Hospital
Forrest City Medical Center
Fulton County Hospital
Helena Regional Medical Center
Howard Memorial Hospital
Jefferson Regional Medical Center
Johnson Regional Medical Center
Lawrence Memorial Hospital
Little River Memorial Hospital
Magnolia Regional Medical Center
Medical Center of South Arkansas
Mena Regional Health System
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith
Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas
National Park Medical Center
North Arkansas Regional Medical Center
North Metro Medical Center
Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville
Northwest Medical Center-Springdale
Ouachita County Medical Center
Ozarks Community Hospital
Piggott Community Hospital
Pinnacle Point Behavioral Health Services
River Valley Medical Center
Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center
Saline Memorial Hospital
Siloam Springs Regional Hospital
Sparks Regional Medical Center
Sparks Medical Center-Van Buren
Stone County Medical Center
UAMS Medical Center
Unity Health-Harris Medical Center
Unity Health-White County Medical Center
Willow Creek Women's Hospital

For more information on the Arkansas HEN and proposed upcoming national quality improvement efforts, please contact Pam Brown, Vice President, Quality and Patient Safety, Arkansas Hospital Association, 501.224.7878, or pbrown@arkhospitals.org. For information on Unity Health's quality improvement efforts, you may contact Debbie Hare, director of quality, risk management and regulatory compliance, at 501.380.1062.