August 13, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

Nebraska Hospital Association recognizes member hospitals for their hard work and dedication to improving patient care.

 

LINCOLN, NEB. – Gothenburg Health  was recently recognized by the Nebraska Hospital Association for their work to improve quality of care as part of national Partnership for Patients’ Hospital Improvement Innovation (HIIN) Network initiative.  The Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) and 69 Nebraska hospitals partner with The Health Research and Educational Trust of the American Hospital Association (HRET) in this important work.  The AHA is one of 16 national, regional, or state hospital associations, Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO), and health system organizations selected by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to work on the Partnership for Patients initiative, reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions. The HIIN’s goal is to achieve a 20 percent decrease in overall patient harm and a 12 percent reduction in 30-day hospital readmissions as a population-based measure (readmissions per 1,000 people) from the 2014/2015 baseline. Efforts focus on consistently providing high quality care to the individuals in each community in Nebraska. 

 

During the first year of the HIIN, October 2016-October 2017, Nebraska’s 69 hospitals demonstrated improvement in reducing patient harm including an estimated:

 

Gothenburg Health implemented a number of new initiatives to reduce patient harm including the CAPTURE (Collaboration And Proactive Teamwork Used to Reduce) falls initiative. A UNMC partnership, this project involved the implementation of hourly rounding on patients, motion detection system monitoring, post fall interdisciplinary huddles, pharmacy mediation reviews to monitor medications with significant side effects, as well as comprehensive staff education and training on patient fall reduction.

 

Additional innitiatives at Gothenburg Health included reduction of the following: early elective deliveries, readmissions within 30 days, and catheter associated infections. Jena Ziemba, Quality Coordinator at Gothenburg Health, stated, “Improving patient care is a top priority at Gothenburg Health, the HIIN initiative provided resources so we could really focus on and achieve our quality improvement objectives.”

 

The Partnership for Patients model was one of the first models established in 2011 to be tested under the authority of section 1115A of the Social Security Act with the goal of reducing program expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care. Since the launch of Partnership for Patients and the work of Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks in collaboration with many other stakeholders, the vast majority of U.S. hospitals have delivered results as demonstrated by the achievement of unprecedented national reductions in harm.

 

For more information on the Partnership for Patients and the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks, please visit partnershipforpatients.cms.gov.

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ABOUT NHA

The Nebraska Hospital Association is the unified voice for Nebraska’s hospitals and health systems. The association offers collaborative leadership, assisting its members to provide comprehensive care to their communities, improving the health status of those communities. For more information, visit the NHA website at www.NebraskaHospitals.org.

 

PR Contact:

 

For information, contact Brian Noonan, senior director of communications and education at 402-742-8151 or bnoonan@nebraskahospitals.org.

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ABOUT GOTHENBURG HEALTH

Gothenburg Health is a premier healthcare facility serving the community of Gothenburg and surrounding areas with state of the art facilities and highly skilled employees. We are a place of help and healing, and a place of education, prevention, and wellness. Since 1969, our passion for caring has come with a dedication to growing and investing in services and capabilities for your best care. We strive to be your continued Partners in healthier living. Gothenburg Health – Well Ahead.

 

PR Contact:

 

Becky Jobman

Director of Planning & Development

Gothenburg Health

910 20th Street, Gothenburg, NE 69138

Direct: 308.537.4094

bjobman@gothenburghealth.org