Quality Advisor

2027 WHA Excellence in Quality and Patient Safety Award

Shine a Light on Your Team’s Commitment to Quality and Safety

This annual recognition highlights the innovative and impactful work being done at Wisconsin hospitals and health systems to improve quality, enhance patient safety and advance health care delivery. All WHA member hospitals are eligible to apply.

Visit 2027 Excellence in Quality and Patient Safety Awards.

Applications for the 2027 awards are open and will be accepted through December 15, 2026. To apply, submit this application form.

We encourage hospitals and health systems of all sizes to consider sharing their improvement stories and successful practices through the awards program. In addition, applicants and all quality improvement teams are encouraged to showcase their work at the Quality Poster Showcase held in conjunction with Advocacy Day on April 21, 2027. The showcase offers an opportunity to share lessons learned, celebrate successes and inspire improvement efforts across Wisconsin.

Strengthening Care Transitions for People with Substance Use Disorders (SUD)

Stacy Kopp, WHA clinical quality improvement manager and certified addictions registered nurse, presented at the Wisconsin Health Care Association (WHCA)/Wisconsin Center for Assisted Living (WiCAL) Fall Convention & Expo on Oct. 29, Wisconsin's premier educational and networking event for long-term care professionals. The convention brought together hundreds of leaders from across the state's long-term care continuum, including nursing home and assisted living administrators, directors of nursing, quality and compliance leaders, clinicians, executive leaders and industry partners. Attendees gathered to learn about emerging trends, regulatory updates, innovative practices and strategies to improve resident care and organizational performance.

Kopp's session focused on helping long-term care providers build the confidence, partnerships and operational readiness needed to effectively care for residents with substance use disorders. Strengthening these supports can reduce placement barriers and help individuals transition safely from hospitals and other care settings into appropriate post-acute and long-term care services.

WHA is proud to support efforts that strengthen cross-continuum collaboration and expand access to respectful, evidence-informed care for individuals with complex behavioral health and substance use needs.

This educational presentation was supported by the Rural Health and Substance Use Support (RHeSUS) program, a collaboration between WHA and the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, with funding from the Wisconsin Partnership Program.

Maternal Health Feedback Requested - Make Your Voice Heard

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is one of 15 states that was awarded funds from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as part of a 10-year project called Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH). The goal of the TMaH project is to improve maternal health; specifically, to improve experience of care, avoid preventable injury or death during or after pregnancy and increase access to midwifery services.

DHS encourages providers, administrators and quality improvement staff who work in maternal health to take this survey.

Their goal is to ensure critical voices are built into the project plan and implementation to strengthen the maternal health workforce specifically regarding workforce expansion, quality improvement, behavioral health, health-related social needs, remote patient monitoring and reimbursement aspects.

The TMaH survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Responses will be confidential. The aggregate data will be analyzed for trends and summarized with a publicly available report. Find additional information about the survey here.