Valued Voice

In collaboration with the WHA quality team, the WHA Information Center (WHAIC) presented the fourth and final webinar in “The Journey to a Healthier Wisconsin” series on Oct. 26, 2022. The series provided hospitals and health systems valuable information to help improve health outcomes in their communities.
 
One of the featured presentations came from Chris Barron, executive director of population health and clinical services at Fort HealthCare (an independent hospital and health system in rural south-central Wisconsin), to provide a real-world example of how rural facilities are working on social determinants of health (SDOH). Barron set the scene for how their organization started this work about a decade ago with a great foundation surrounding their patient population. A few of those projects included creating the use of common language; understanding differences between health equity, compliance, diversity and equity; and finding community resources for patients. He placed an emphasis on how Fort HealthCare created a foundation and framework through the projects listed above to base their health equity work on. Their work with SDOH screening began in 2019 when they piloted a screening assessment using the PRAPARE (Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients’ Assets, Risks and Experiences) screening tool with diabetic patients. Barron provided great insight on Fort HealthCare’s lessons learned.
 
The second presentation came from Tim Coughlin and Brian Chmura of UniteUs. UniteUs provides a technology solution and community engagement process that bridges the communication gap between health, government, and social care organizations. Their unique network model places local community managers in each network to socialize, train and assist participants in using their software. They highlighted the importance of having resources for patients to utilize once they leave the health care facility and close the loop with patient care.
 
To finish off the webinar, WHA Chief Quality Officer Nadine Allen covered upcoming health equity regulations brought forward by both CMS and The Joint Commission effective Jan. 1, 2023.
 
In total for the webinar series, there were 232 attendees from over 115 facilities around Wisconsin.
 
To watch any of these webinars, click here. For additional information or questions, contact WHA Chief Quality Officer Nadine Allen.