Valued Voice

Senior quality leaders from the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) and Superior Health Quality Alliance (Superior Health) jointly represented the Great Lakes Region at the 2026 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Conference. WHA Chief Quality Officer and Superior Health Board Vice Chair Nadine Allen and WHA Clinical Quality Improvement Manager and Superior Health System Leader for Region 4 under the 13th Scope of Work Jenny Pritchett participated in this national forum focused on CMS’ evolving quality priorities.

Superior Health CMS Conference attendees

As a member organization of Superior Health, WHA plays a key leadership role in ensuring regional and state perspectives inform national quality discussions. Allen and Pritchett attended the conference to hear directly from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS leadership on the agency’s current and future focus areas, including quality measurement, patient safety, value-based care and care delivery transformation. Engaging directly with federal leaders provides WHA early insight into implementation expectations and emerging shifts in CMS quality strategy. WHA’s quality team leverages these insights to interpret and translate federal priorities into timely, actionable guidance for Wisconsin hospitals. 

Throughout the conference, conversations centered on collaboration across the health care continuum, system-level quality improvement and scalable approaches to improving outcomes for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. These discussions reinforced the importance of aligning CMS goals with the operational realities facing hospitals and health systems across the region.

Superior Health serves as a critical connector as the Quality Innovation Network–Quality Improvement Organization (QINQIO) for Region 4 under the 13th Scope of Work. The organization delivers no-cost, CMS-aligned technical assistance to providers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Superior Health’s areas of focus include patient safety, chronic disease management, behavioral health integration, care coordination and overall quality performance improvement.

Through WHA’s leadership and active participation within Superior Health, Wisconsin providers benefit from early awareness of CMS priorities and regionally informed improvement strategies designed to be both evidence-based and operationally practical. This partnership strengthens WHA’s ability to support member readiness while advocating for approaches that meaningfully improve quality, safety and patient outcomes.

Enrollment is currently underway for Wisconsin hospitals, clinics and nursing homes interested in partnering with Superior Health. Participation provides access to improvement resources, data-driven tools and customized technical assistance.

For additional information or to begin the enrollment process, please contact Nadine Allen or Jenny Pritchett.