Rural
Our hospital was an early participant in the Premier Quest Collaborative focused on improving quality, efficiency, safety and transparency. By benchmarking with organizations with results better than our own, we were able to make rapid cycle improvements that resulted in improved outcomes.
For people with diabetes, getting the proper treatment for foot wounds can prevent lingering problems and even amputation. The patient community in the rural area served by Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Ogdensburg, N.Y., has a high incidence of diabetes and obesity, which can cause a high rate of…
Alice Hyde Medical Center's new program is designed to ensure safe medication administration in the inpatient, outpatient, emergency and surgical settings. The fine line between therapeutic and toxic pediatric doses presents potential risk. The hospital uses an evidence-based protocol based on…
As the new operations manager of Delaware Valley Hospital's primary care centers began her assessment of current processes, she identified the following problems in the medication sampling program: compliance with current processes was poor; there was no consistency in accepting samples;…
Evidence-based practice is an essential requirement of professional health care providers. Rural health care organizations must maintain financial viability and regulatory compliance; it is imperative that they not only identify and meet the needs of the communities they serve, but evaluate…
To reduce the incidence and spread of hospitalacquired infections in two critical operational nodes of patient contact, Canton-Potsdam Hospital formed multidisciplinary task forces with oversight from a central 'Safety and Service Excellence' coordinating office. The task forces assessed the…
With unique culture trends and stringent regulatory obligations, patient care units are often challenged to remain viable: developing and growing new services is not generally a goal of inpatient units in countering this threat. Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center successfully matched a need--available…
Brooks Memorial Hospital's radiology department identified a need to improve the transcription of radiology test orders by patient care unit staff into the computerized hospital information system. The primary objective is to assure patient safety by promoting accuracy, accountability, and…
A Medicare Payment Advisory Commission report to Congress highlighted the financial enormity of the readmission crisis in health care. In anticipation of potential readmission penalties, the organization developed a multidisciplinary improvement initiative to reduce avoidable readmissions and…
Medicare policy changes and payment adjustments often have significant and problematic consequences for rural providers. AHA is sensitive to the administrative burden and cost created by rules that fail to consider the unique circumstances of small or rural community hospitals.