|
|
SNI’s Seamless Care Center Initiative Shows Early Success with Improvements in Access to Care
SNI’s Seamless Care Center Initiative, the outpatient improvement program focused on improving clinical quality, efficiency and access, is working in five public health systems across the state. San Mateo Medical Center is wrapping up its work with Coleman Associates on Patient-Centered Scheduling, boasting an impressive final average no-show rate of 10.7% and average time to third-next-available appointment of 8.4 days. Alameda County Medical Center is in the midst of the High Impact Management Training Program aimed to enhance their managers’ ability to lead and spread improvement across their clinics. LAC+USC Medical Center and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center are focusing their efforts on enhancing diabetes care, while Riverside County Regional Medical Center clinics are in the process of training their staff on more effective patient communication skills acquired through the Institute for Healthcare Communication.
Contact: Denise Gonzalez, MD, Senior Clinical Program Associate, Outpatient Improvement
Back to Top |
Significant New Study Finds Palliative Care May Extend Life
A significant recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, and highlighted in a New York Times article, found that early palliative care for cancer patients not only improved patients’ quality of life, but also contributed to their longer survival. This is part of a growing body of evidence that supports the positive effects palliative care services have on patients and their families. Through the initiative Spreading Palliative Care in California Public Hospitals, SNI has partnered with California HealthCare Foundation, the Palliative Care Learning Center at UCSF, and 13 California public hospital systems to develop palliative care programs in the safety net. As a result, 68% of California public hospitals now have palliative care programs, which is higher than the national average of 44%.
Contact: Boris Kalanj, Senior Program Associate, Quality and Healthcare Equity
Back to Top |
CalHIPSO and ITAC Leads the Nation in Enrollment of Hospital Providers
SNI is pleased to announce that because of SNI’s ITAC enrollment of 569 public hospital providers, CalHIPSO has become the leading regional extension center in the nation for provider enrollment! CALHIPSO is the statewide regional extension center in California responsible for assisting over 4,000 primary care providers implement and reach meaningful use of ambulatory electronic health records (EHRs). Ultimately, SNI intends to enroll four times this initial number of public hospital primary care providers. Special thanks to Riverside County Regional Medical Center, San Francisco General Hospital and San Mateo Medical Center for enrolling their providers so quickly. ITAC has already started delivering direct technical assistance to public hospital systems towards ambulatory adoption, and will continue to expand this assistance throughout the CAPH membership.
Contact: Seraphin Nicholson, Senior HIT Program Associate
Back to Top |
Registration Now Open for CAPH’s Annual Conference!
The CAPH Annual Conference, called Fulfilling the Promise of Health Care Reform, will be held Dec. 1 – 3 at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. The conference will open on Wednesday the 1st with what promises to be an exciting members-only session on patient experience, titled A Focus on the Human Experience of Health Care: The Key to Improved Outcomes. The session will be led by ExperiaHealth Chief Experience Officer Dr. Bridget Duffy, and patient experience expert Carrie Brady, JD, MA. The opening will be followed by two days of inspiring speakers and presentations. Please see the conference invitation for further details.
Contact: Alysia Nero, CAPH Office Manager
Back to Top |
Newly Designed CAPH Website Debuts Doing a World of Good™
Please check out CAPH’s redesigned website at http://www.caph.org/. The user-friendly site contains details about key policy issues, as well as access to CAPH publications and a directory to member hospitals. With this updated site CAPH is also debuting their new feature, Doing a World of Good™, which highlights the great many ways in which public hospital systems are providing essential care to Californians throughout the state. We encourage you to share your stories about great patient care – you can do so by logging on to www.caph.org/patientstories.
Contact: Amy Weitz, CAPH Director of Communications
Back to Top |
CDPH to Post Hospital-Specific HAI Data in 2011
A major component to achieving health care reform is the ability to measure and improve on key quality care measures. On Jan. 1, 2011, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will begin to publicly post facility-specific health care-associated infections reported to CDPH. This is a requirement by SB 1058 (Chapter 296, Statutes of 2008). SNI has been working with California’s public hospitals to improve quality and data reporting through the Quality First Initiative. Through this work, CAPH-member hospitals are meeting or exceeding national standards on most core measures reported to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Contact: Boris Kalanj, Senior Program Associate or Melanie Schoenberg, CAPH Government Affairs Analyst
Back to Top |
Rancho Los Amigos Among “America’s Best”
Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center has once again made the list of America’s Best Hospitals in rehabilitation care. America’s Best Hospitals is the annual ranking of the nation’s top-notch medical centers by U.S. News & World Report. Rancho is in the “Top 20” list, where it has remained for the past two decades. Now in its 21st year, the ranking looks at how well a hospital handles complex and demanding situations. Only 152 hospitals were ranked in at least one specialty of the nearly 5,000 that were evaluated.
Back to Top |
CHCF's Transforming Health Through the Patient Experience
A growing body of research affirms that patient-centered care saves time and money while improving overall health care quality. However such care requires commitment at all levels of health care organizations, from leadership to frontline staff. To inspire health care professionals to improve the patient experience in their organization, the California HealthCare Foundation will host a two-day conference, titled Transforming Health Through the Patient Experience, to be held Jan. 27-28, 2011,at The Beverly Garland Hotel in Burbank.
Contact: Glenda Pacha, CHCF Program Assistant
Back to Top |
Events
-Nov. 12: KP Diabetes Overview training, Oakland.
-Dec. 1: CAPH members-only session, A Focus on the Human Experience of Health Care: The Key to Improved Outcomes. Contact: Norma Batongbacal, Web & Communications Associate.
Back to Top |
|