Quality Advisor

Happy New Year from the WHA Quality Improvement team!

As we step into 2025, we remain committed to supporting you in advancing healthcare excellence. This year holds exciting opportunities for growth and collaboration as we continue to navigate the evolving landscape of healthcare together.

We look forward to working alongside you in achieving our shared goals and making a positive impact in our communities. Here's to a successful and impactful year ahead!

Reminder: Request for Feedback on Substance Use Disorder Treatment & Opioid Overdose Response Surveys

Last month, we reached out to invite your participation in two surveys designed to help us better understand the substance use and opioid treatment options available across the state. This is a friendly reminder to review and have you or a delegate complete the two surveys aimed at enhancing substance use disorder treatment and opioid overdose response programs in Wisconsin.

Naloxone Distribution Survey: Focused on the distribution of Naloxone in Emergency Departments. Your input will help assess current practices and identify improvement areas.

Hospital Peer Support Utilization Survey: A brief, anonymous survey (5-7 minutes) gathering feedback on peer recovery support services for patients with substance use disorders. This survey is ideal for clinicians and staff working in relevant healthcare settings.

We greatly appreciate your time and input. If you're not the right contact, please forward this to someone who can provide feedback. Thank you for helping us improve these critical programs!

Integrity for Data Equity and Accuracy (IDEA) Initiative

We are excited to announce that we have been selected as a recipient of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin (AHW) Community-Led Seed Grant, along with funding from the Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation to support this initiative.

IDEA aims to improve demographic data accuracy in health care settings by providing training and IT infrastructure support for the detailed collection of race, ethnicity and language data. Through these efforts, we will establish a solid foundation for accurate, comprehensive demographic data collection, that will help identify disparities, design targeted interventions, track outcomes and enhance our understanding of patient needs, ensuring tailored health care solutions that address disparities and improve patient care delivery. This initiative will be carried out at this time in collaboration with Fort HealthCare, Marshfield Medical Center – Beaver Dam, and Watertown Regional Medical Center.

Enhancing Race and Ethnicity Data Collection in Wisconsin

We are also pleased to share that the Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Center (WHAIC) and WHA are collaborating with the Wisconsin Division of Public Health (DPH) on a project focused on updating and standardizing guidelines for the collection of race and ethnicity data. Key objectives include developing training tools for hospitals based on the newly updated federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines, as well as incorporating a more inclusive set of identities to support self-identification. This initiative will improve the accuracy, completeness and comparability of data across systems, ensuring legal compliance, enhancing interoperability and empowering hospitals and health systems to design more targeted interventions to address health disparities across the state.

Empower Your Organization with Just Culture Training & Tools

Health care transformation starts with a Just Culture! Shift the focus from blame to accountability and system improvement. The Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI) and The Just Culture Company are here to help your organization create a safer, more equitable workplace!

As part of their shared mission to improve patient safety, they are offering a 20% discount on online Just Culture training programs from December 9, 2024, to February 8, 2025. Simply use the code ECRI+TJCC20 at checkout to take advantage of this offer.

Training programs include:

• Just Culture Master Certification Course
• Just Culture Certification Course
• Just Culture for Managers and Influencers
• The Just Culture Conduct Course for Healthcare Managers and Influencers

Build trust, foster accountability, and transform your organizational culture. Learn more and enroll here.

To review the most up-to-date quality and patient safety data for Wisconsin hospitals, visit CheckPoint.