Qualis Health Wins Medicare Contract to Reduce Life-Threatening Infections in Nursing Homes
June 1, 2016
Initiative Will Report and Reduce C. Difficile Incidence in Facilities in Idaho and Washington
Seattle, WA - Qualis Health has been awarded a contract by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help Idaho and Washington nursing homes report and reduce Clostridium difficile infections (CDI). More than 100,000 CDIs develop among residents of U.S. nursing homes each year, causing significant colon inflammation and deadly diarrhea.
“Nursing home residents are among our most vulnerable populations, and we’ve demonstrated that facilities receiving our support make measureable improvements in the care they provide,” says Jonathan Sugarman, MD, MPH, Qualis Health President & CEO. “We’re confident that our experience will make a real difference to help long-term care facilities meet the increasing expectation to actively monitor, prevent and control infections.”
Long-term care residents are at increased risk for CDI, particularly associated with hospital transfers. The lack of consistent, standardized data from nursing homes makes it difficult to identify opportunities within nursing homes and communities to prevent CDI. CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have created an initiative to establish a long-term care CDI baseline, and demonstrate a reduction in CDI rates in the post-baseline period.
Qualis Health will assist 12 nursing homes in Idaho and 33 nursing homes in Washington by providing no-cost training and consultation to determine baseline rates, submit data to a national CDC reporting system, and implement best practices for infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship to protect staff and residents.
This material was prepared by Qualis Health, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network - Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for Idaho and Washington, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. ID/WA-A1-QH-2124-02-16
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