Health Center Recognized by Nebraska Hospital Association
By: Boone County Health Center
Boone County Health Center (BCHC) has been recognized by the Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) for their work to improve quality of care for patients as part of the Hospital Improvement Innovation Network (HIIN) initiative in the U.S.
Throughout the U.S., the goal of HIIN is to see a 20 percent decrease in patient harm and a 12 percent reduction in 30-day hospital readmissions per 1,000 people as compared to the 2014/2015 year.
“BCHC was basically meeting these national goals even before we participated in HIIN, but we are always open to potential opportunities for improvement, so we chose to participate,” said Quality Improvement Director Jeanne Temme, RN. “We did gain value and lessons from HIIN, but for the most part our numbers were good even before we started.”
Across Nebraska, efforts to meet HIIN goals were focused at a community level with the goal being to supply high quality care in the towns where patients live. In 2016/2017, the 69 Nebraska hospitals who participated in HIIN showed an overall improvement in reducing patient harm with an estimated:
- 3,672 patient harms prevented
- 310 lives saved
- $27.3 million in cost avoidance
Boone County Health Center contributed to these improvements through ongoing education, awareness, utilization of best practice care guidelines, and a focus on preventative care, health maintenance, and reorganization for better teamwork.
Most hospitals across the U.S. have also delivered results through the HIIN initiative in collaboration with many other stakeholders. This is evident in the unprecedented reductions in harm to patients across the country.