Winter 2012

Save the date: Fourth Annual Summit on Quality

The Kansas Healthcare Collaborative is pleased to announce the fourth annual Summit on Quality, scheduled for October 19, 2012 at the Marriott in Wichita, Kansas.

This year we are pleased to have, David Nash, MD, founding Dean of the Jefferson School of Population Health on the campus of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and David Maxfield, Vice-President of research at VitalSmarts. At VitalSmarts, David has led research endeavors on a variety of subjects including the role crucial conversations play in the health care industry.

As in the past, we welcome a variety of participants to the Summit on Quality: physicians, hospital administrators, nurses, quality and risk managers and others who are interested in facilitating a dialogue about clinical quality improvement and patient safety.

For more information, please contact Olga Gay at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or call (785) 235-0763.

Kansas Hospital Engagement Network project begins

The Kansas Healthcare Collaborative and its founding partners, the Kansas Hospital Association and the Kansas Medical Society are pleased to announce the Kansas Hospital Engagement Network. Through the Kansas Hospital Engagement Network--a part of the CMS "Partnership for Patients," KHC and KHA will provide education and training to help hospitals make health care safer and less costly by reducing health care acquired conditions and preventable readmissions.

Beginning this spring, the Kansas Hospital Engagement Network will offer education on a variety of topics, including leadership development, culture of safety, teamwork, communication and LEAN training. Hospitals will also have access to content and learning opportunities in ten areas of focus:

• Adverse drug events (ADE)
• Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI)
• Central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI)
• Injuries from falls and immobility
• Obstetrical adverse events
• Pressure ulcers
• Surgical site infections
• Venous thromboembolism (VTE)
• Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)
• Preventable readmissions

The Kansas Hospital Engagement Network is available to all hospitals in Kansas; there is no fee for participation in the two-year educational program. The bold aims of this program are to reduce preventable hospital acquired conditions by 40 percent and reduce hospital readmissions by 20 percent, in turn, significantly reducing costs.

For more information please contact Tonya Crawford, KHC Program Manager at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (785) 235-0763.

Kansas CUSP teams meet in Topeka

Close to 200 participants attended CUSP meetings held in Topeka last November and December. The Kansas On the CUSP: Stop CAUTI collaborative kicked off on November 14, at the KMS/KaMMCO Conference Center in Topeka, Kansas. Participants representing 58 hospitals heard from national experts on preventing catheter associated urinary tract Infections (CAUTIs) using the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program.

On December 6, CUSP team members met for the Kansas On the CUSP: Stop BSI project mid-course meeting. Attendees from 44 participating hospitals heard from Dr. Brad Winters, a Johns Hopkins Hospital ICU physician and Pat Posa, a System Performance Improvement leader at St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Thirty-two units were recognized for achieving six consecutive months or more of zero central line associated blood stream infections.

CUSP is a multipronged program that promotes a culture of patient safety and improved communication and teamwork among unit staff members. On the CUSP: Stop BSI and Stop CAUTI are national initiatives funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Hospitals progress toward improved immunization rates

2010 marked the beginning of a four-year campaign by the Kansas Healthcare Collaborative to increase the number of hospital health care workers receiving yearly influenza vaccinations as part of the effort to decrease health care associated infections.

This effort to reduce the spread of influenza and to protect the health of both patients and health care workers recommends that all hospital health care workers, including medical staff, receive the seasonal influenza vaccine. KHC established a statewide goal to increase the Kansas hospital health care worker seasonal influenza immunization rate to 100 percent by 2014.

Kansas hospitals continue to make progress toward this goal. In a survey conducted in 2011, results indicated that 78 percent of hospital health care workers, including medical staff, were vaccinated against seasonal influenza for the 2010-2011 flu season.

2010-2011: 78 percent (124 hospitals reporting)

2009-2010: 76 percent (125 hospitals reporting)

2008-2009: 64 percent (92 hospitals reporting)

Influenza vaccination of health care professionals is critical to eliminating transmission and outbreaks of the virus. The CDC suggests health care workers have a specific role in the fight against influenza with vaccination of workers linked to improved patient outcomes and reduced influenza infection.