What's New

Washington providers:
Did your organization make a measurable improvement in 2011?

Submit your applications for Qualis Health's annual Award of Excellence in Healthcare Quality. The deadline to apply for Washington's award is February 24. (The deadline for Idaho's award has already passed.)

• Download the application

Entries should describe how your organization implemented system or process changes, based on collected data that made measurable improvements in care in 2011.

The award recognizes accomplishments that result in long-term and lasting changes for the public good. Learn more about the award and see a list of previous winners.

Qualis Health staffer selected as a CMS Innovation Advisor

Tina Schwien, MN MPH, a Qualis Health Quality Improvement Consultant, is among the 63 healthcare professionals nationwide who have been tapped for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Innovation Advisors Program. (Read the press release.) Funded by the Affordable Care Act, the Innovation Advisors Program is designed to drive improvements to patient care and help reduce healthcare costs.

In her role as an Innovation Advisor, Schwien will partner with a hospital to engage patients and their families toward reducing the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Her project will build upon the work Qualis Health has already begun through our HAI action networks with Idaho and Washington hospitals.

Just released:

• Share this downloadable, one-page flyer—that outlines Qualis Health's current QIO-funded initiatives—to share with others within your organization.
• Learn how one nursing home benefitted from participating in a regional "mini collaborative" sponsored by Qualis Health and the Washington Department of Health.
• Our website now hosts a search tool for finding evidence-based resources to reduce rehospitalizations and make care transitions safer for patients.