Exceptional care looks different through the lens of each Blessing Health System affiliate. At Illini Community Hospital, exceptional care is being in the top 10% of critical access hospitals (CAHs) in the country for exceptional care transitions for all emergency department transfer patients, as recognized by the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Program (MBQIP).
“We are very proud of our team for achieving this level of excellence in health quality,” said Kathy Hull, chief of small rural hospitals, Blessing Health System. “This is truly a team effort that recognizes our dedication to delivering a health care experience of which our patients and staff can be proud.”
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy requires CAHs to participate in the MBQIP and measure at least one of four domains to be eligible to apply for a benefit called Flex funding. The four domains are Patient Safety/Inpatient, Patient Engagement, Care Transitions and Outpatient Measures. While Illini was recognized for its outcomes in care transitions, the hospital goes above and beyond, reporting its outcomes in all four domains.
“We like to know where we are at with all of our data, and we want to have that national comparison,” said Jennifer Mowen, administrative director, performance improvement and management services.
Strong emergency patient care transitions are important to Illini. As a CAH, it is not uncommon for Illini’s emergency patients to require transfer to the next level of care.
“We’ve done a lot of work to make sure we are prepared whenever a patient is transferred,” said Lexy Damon, RN, nurse manager, Illini emergency department. “To get to the level of compliance we are at today, we’ve made sure thorough documentation and clear communication with the receiving provider are priorities to the Illini emergency center staff. Every staff member plays a role in our process and our success.”
Kerensta Graham, RN, clinic quality specialist, quality management, works very closely with the Illini emergency team to report outcomes and identify opportunities for improvement. She audits 15 charts per month and reports those findings to the federal improvement program.
“The team does a good job in documentation,” she said. “Not only is everything signed and documented by the doctors, the nurses are also documenting consistently, and all the essentials are sent to the next provider with the help of the techs on staff.”
“I am very appreciative of the quality team we have here at Illini,” Lexy added. “We would never be able to be where we are if they were not doing the legwork for us to look at the process improvements that need to be made.”
“I know where we used to be,” Jennifer said of Illini’s emergency patient care transitions outcomes. “I congratulate the emergency department team and Kerensta for the improvements made in the emergency department care transition process.”
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