Chair File: Recognizing Champions of Health Care Quality

Today’s health care workforce uses an amazing array of creative approaches, strategies and technology tools to ensure every patient receives quality care.

At the AHA Leadership Summit in July, I had the honor of presenting the 2024 AHA Quest for Quality Prize to WellSpan Health and also recognizing Carilion Clinic, Jefferson Health and MUSC Health as finalists.

The AHA celebrates these health care organizations for their exceptional leadership in health care innovation, improving quality and advancing health in their communities. Their accomplishments make them true champions of quality.

WellSpan Health, based in York, Pa., is dedicated to “building the capabilities for high reliability for each other and our patients” as it continuously works to deliver quality care, says Roxanna Gapstur, president and CEO. The health system’s health equity strategic plan focuses on three pillars — preventing premature death, promoting longevity and improving quality of life. WellSpan uses outcomes measures to track progress. Here’s an example: When data showed that Hispanic patients requiring an interpreter had breast cancer screening rates that lagged those of other patients, WellSpan hosted listening sessions to identify the cause of the barriers for those patients. The health system tailored community outreach and, through its mobile mammography program, offered private and discreet on-site screenings at community events. The results dramatically increased screening rates for this patient population, and overall screening rates increased as well.

Other quality improvement initiatives include a six-tier daily huddle system to cascade information about safety issues up the ladder and back to front-line team members. For nearly 30 years, WellSpan has hosted an annual Quality Forum, a daylong event for team members, patients and families to share learnings and highlight team-focused improvement goals.

Carilion Clinic, based in Roanoke, Va., has embedded quality initiatives into daily operations, emphasizing collaboration and a systematic approach for driving improvements. That approach has improved situational awareness and the sharing of trends and outcomes with marked quality improvements in reducing health care-acquired infections. Carilion also implemented a systemwide mortality program and improvements to sepsis response and aspiration prevention, resulting in a 50% improvement in mortality.

Jefferson Health, based in Philadelphia, designed and deployed OnPoint, a comprehensive, unifying management system for improvement efforts in quality, safety, patient experience and health equity. As a result, in the last two fiscal years, sepsis mortality decreased 25% annually, saving nearly 700 lives, and central line-associated bloodstream infections decreased 15%, with 37 fewer infections in a two-year span. The OnPoint clinical improvement team was key to a March 2023 rollout of a new systemwide approach to screen patients for health-related social needs, including food, transportation and violence/safety. Patients who screen positive are referred to community-based resources and, if needed, to Jefferson’s community health workers.

MUSC Health embraces telehealth as a key component in delivering quality care, particularly since it is South Carolina’s only comprehensive academic medical center. It has adopted a “virtual-first” strategy for some specialties, including neurology, pulmonology and primary care. The health system’s school-based telehealth program serves more than 100 schools and supports the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance, a statewide coalition serving more than 180 schools. This program provides physical and mental health care for children, including on-demand medical visits for common illnesses and trauma therapy.

Visit AHA.org to view a video and read more about the outstanding work of these health care organizations. If your hospital or health system is developing new and innovative models of care to continuously improve quality, I encourage you to apply for the 2025 AHA Quest for Quality Prize. Applications are due Sept. 13.

Congratulations to WellSpan Health and the three finalists for providing exceptional quality, safe and person-centered care in their communities.