Quality Advisor

May is National Stroke Awareness Month

WHA Collaborates with Regional Partners to Strengthen Stroke Care Through Coverdell Learning Collaborative

Approximately 11,000 Wisconsinites suffer a stroke each year. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services' Wisconsin Coverdell Stroke Program offers campaigns to educate people on how to reduce their stroke risk, identify if someone is having a stroke and actions to take in the event of a stroke.

Quick stroke recognition is crucial to ensure timely medical care and BE FAST Bella helps people learn to act quickly recognizing the six most common signs of a stroke through the BE FAST acronym:

Balance – sudden loss of coordination or balance

Eyes – sudden change in vision

Face – sudden weakness on one side of the face or facial droop

Arm – sudden arm or leg weakness or numbness

Speech – sudden slurred speech, trouble speaking, trouble understanding speech

Terrible Headache – sudden onset of a terrible headache

The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) is proud to partner with UW Health Hospitals, UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital, UnityPoint Health – Meriter, Bellin Health Green Bay and Oconto, and other valued collaborators on a statewide effort to improve stroke care through the Coverdell Stroke Collaborative.

This initiative aims to enhance stroke care across the continuum—from pre-hospital response to acute treatment and post-discharge care. It brings together hospitals, EMS providers and community organizations to improve stroke outcomes and reduce disparities. Participants are engaged through two regional learning collaboratives: the South Central Learning Collaborative, serving Dane and Dodge counties, and the Northeastern Learning Collaborative, focused on Brown and Outagamie counties.

If you deliver care in one of the focus counties and are interested in contributing to this important work, we invite you to reach out to learn more and get involved. Contact Jill Lindwall.

WHA and UW PROTEA Host Successful Rural Health Substance Use Disorder Boot Camp

On May 15–16, the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA), in partnership with UW Program for Research, Outreach, Therapeutics, and Education in the Addictions (UW PROTEA), successfully hosted its 11th Rural Health Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Boot Camp in Hayward, WI. The event brought together nearly 60 health care professionals, including physicians (MDs/DOs), nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses and behavioral health providers.

Participants represented a broad range of care settings—from primary care clinics and emergency departments to behavioral health facilities and detention centers. Attendees traveled from across Wisconsin and neighboring Minnesota, representing roughly 10 different health systems, as well as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other treatment organizations.

WHA’s Physician Quality Improvement Advisor, Dr. Bobby Redwood, who was unable to attend in person, presented remotely on Common Opioid-related Presentations in the ED, Opioid Overdose Treatment and Resuscitation in the Fentanyl Era and Management of Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome in the ED. This content—recently added to the agenda in response to past participant interest—was well received and sparked an engaging Q&A discussion among attendees.

Thank you to all who participated! The energy, thoughtful discussion and engaging case presentations created a meaningful experience that clearly resonated with the group. We look forward to continued collaboration in improving rural SUD care across the region.

Save the Date!

The next SUD Boot Camp will be offered as a pre-conference course at the 2025 American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Region VI Conference, hosted by Wisconsin Society of Addiction Medicine (WISAM):

When: September 24, 2025, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (includes lunch)

Pre-conference rate: $20 per person

For more information and to register, visit WISAM - 2025 Regional Conference.

Registration for 2025-2026 Quality Residency is Now Open

The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) and Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC) are excited to announce the next offering of the Wisconsin Quality Residency Program beginning in September.

This 10-month program is designed to engage new or novice quality leaders in health care quality through highly interactive learning sessions facilitated by a team of expert and veteran quality professionals.

The program which is a combination of in-person and virtual meetings kicks off September 10, 2025, and runs through June 10, 2026. Learning modules cover foundational topics, including regulatory and accreditation requirements, quality improvement concepts, state and federal hospital compliance, risk management, data analysis and decision-making and more. For program details and to register, click here.

CMS Updates Star Ratings; Preview Period now through June 13

On May 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made available, the July 2025 Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating Hospital-Specific Reports (HSRs) in the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) system. The July 2025 Overall Star Ratings were calculated using the measure data from the October 2024 refresh. Hospitals have 30 days to review their reports before public reporting. The July 2025 preview period is May 15 through June 13, 2025, and hospitals can preview their Overall Star Ratings data, which will be publicly reported in July 2025. The preview period is not a Review and Corrections period, during which hospitals can resubmit corrected data.

You can access your Overall Star Rating Hospital-Specific Reports directly from the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) system here.

You can find more details and information here.

WHA Foundation Offers Simulation Training Scholarships

The WHA Foundation is once again proud to offer Clinical Simulation Training scholarships to Wisconsin member hospitals. These scholarships allow member hospitals to send interdisciplinary teams to participate in clinical simulation training focused on stroke, severe sepsis/septic shock, or high-risk OB delivery. Over the years, hundreds of hospital members from across the state have taken advantage of this unique opportunity. Please see below for more information, including the 2025 application.

Scholarship Application Deadline: Friday, May 30, 2025.

Application Materials

For complete information on scholarship eligibility and criteria, please click here: 2025 WHA Foundation Simulation Lab Scholarships - Eligibility and Criteria.

To complete the 2025 Clinical Simulation Training application, please click here.

DNV Healthcare Training Event

 DNV Healthcare will host a training opportunity for health care professionals, June 24 – 26 in Atlanta, GA. There will be numerous training classes offered. Find details and registration at DNV’s Healthcare University, June 24 - 26. This is open to all health care professionals, not just DNV members.