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Qualis Health Honors Idaho Healthcare Providers for Excellence in Quality Improvement

April 14, 2011

Boise, ID - Qualis Health presented the 2010 Awards of Excellence in Healthcare Quality today, recognizing five Idaho healthcare organizations. Since 2002, the Awards of Excellence in Healthcare Quality have recognized organizations in Idaho that have made significant contributions to healthcare through innovative, measurable improvements in care.

The awards were presented during a luncheon ceremony at the 2011 Annual Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Conference, which included 250 attendees. Jonathan Sugarman, MD, MPH, President and CEO of Qualis Health; Sharon Wilson, RN, BSN, PMP, Director of Qualis Health's Idaho Medicare Operations; and Karl B. Kurtz, Secretary/Treasurer of the Qualis Health Board of Directors, presented the awards to the five healthcare organizations that were selected from this year's submissions.

This year's annual awards ceremony also included the presentation of The Idaho Consortium for Healthcare Performance Improvement Awards, recognizing improvements of pneumococcal immunization rates. Patrice Burgess, MD, Chairwoman of The Idaho Consortium for Healthcare Performance Improvement, presented the awards to the recipients.

"Healthcare providers across the nation are simultaneously pursuing three important aims: improved care of individual patients, better health of populations and reduced per capita costs" stated Jonathan Sugarman, MD, MPH, President and CEO of Qualis Health. "These goals are closely linked, and we believe that the work of the awardees is likely to have an impact in all three areas."

The 2010 Quality Awards of Excellence in Healthcare Quality were bestowed upon the following organizations:

MADISON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL - Rexburg, Idaho
The team at Madison Memorial Hospital improved its compliance rate for bedside medication verification from 72% to 92-94% by creating a process for capturing the types and severity of medication errors and then implementing steps to reduce and eliminate the mistakes.

SAINT ALPHONSUS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - Boise, Idaho
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center developed a mandatory hand hygiene educational program which improved hand hygiene compliance by 35.6%.

SAINT ALPHONSUS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - Boise, Idaho
By implementing strategies to reduce patient falls that cause injury among patients, Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center reduced falls with injury by 80% from 2009 to 2010.

SAINT LUKE'S WOOD RIVER MEDICAL CENTER - Ketchum, Idaho
After studying the effects of healing touch, staff members at Saint Luke's Wood River Medical Center began ordering the therapy for their patients. As a result, patients reported a 51% improvement in pain level and a 69% improvement in tension level from August 2009 to December 2010.

TETON VALLEY HEALTH CARE - Driggs, Idaho
By improving its medication reconciliation process, Teton Valley Health Care estimated that 25% of patient admissions prior to the medication reconciliation process would have had an unresolved medication discrepancy.

This year's Idaho Consortium for Healthcare Performance Improvement Awards were presented to the following organizations:

WINNER, SAINT LUKE'S INTERNAL MEDICINE
St. Luke's Internal Medicine used Lean methodology to initiate a change in process to improve its pneumococcal immunization measure as one of its improvement goals in 2010. Through education efforts, staff members at all locations yielded positive results in their pneumococcal immunization rate.

HONORABLE MENTION, KANIKSU HEALTH SERVICES
Through its electronic health record system, Kaniksu Health Services was able to significantly improve its pneumococcal immunization measure.

Qualis Health applauds the 2010 Awards of Excellence in Healthcare Quality and Idaho Consortium for Healthcare Performance Improvement recipients.

About Qualis Health
Qualis Health is dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare delivery and health outcomes for individuals and populations across the nation. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the nonprofit healthcare quality improvement and consulting organization strives to achieve performance excellence for our clients by focusing on best practices and providing a range of services that lead to better quality care, high patient and provider satisfaction and greater efficiency. Qualis Health holds the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) contract for Idaho, in addition to providing care management services for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Medicaid Division. Qualis Health's care management, quality assessment and improvement and health information technology consulting services directly influence care delivered to over 10 million people across the country.