Health Care Improvement Foundation

Final CT Radiation Dose Safety Report

2013-03-01T17:45:00+00:00

This special report on CT Radiation Dose Safety synthesizes the results and benefits of the Partnership for Patient Care’s (PPC) regional one-year collaborative on CT radiation safety. This topic was chosen based on its broad application among hospitals; regional advisory group input; synergy with national patient safety initiatives; and the evidence base related to radiation safety. There were 17 facilities that actively participated in this regional initiative. To see the report, click here.

Palliative Care Campaign Educational Webinar #4: Pain and Symptom Management

2013-01-29T23:15:00+00:00

HCIF is pleased to announce the fourth in a series of educational webinars to be held on Tuesday, February 19th, 2013, featuring Mary Kraemer, MD, of Temple University Hospital, and Stanley Savinese, DO, from the VNA Hospice of Philadelphia, who will discuss pain and symptom management issues in palliative care. Click here for more information.

Video of 2012 Delaware Valley Patient Safety and Quality Award

2013-01-11T01:15:00+00:00

At the December 3, 2012 Delaware Valley Healthcare Council's Annual Meeting, the projects that placed first, second and third were revealed in a video that includes short interviews with each project's team leaders or designated spokesperson(s).

Palliative Care Campaign Educational Webinar #3 – Spirituality in Palliative Care

2013-01-03T21:00:00+00:00

HCIF is pleased to announce the third in a series of educational webinars to be held on Friday, January 25th featuring Christina Puchalski, MD, MS from the George Washington School of Medicine and the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, who will discuss spirituality issues in palliative care.

Awards Presented for Outstanding 2012 Patient Safety and Quality Projects

2012-12-04T00:45:00+00:00

Outstanding patient safety improvements that were achieved by one healthsystems and two hospitals were recognized at the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council’s Annual Meeting on December 3rd at the Loew’s Hotel. The University of Pennsylvania Health System was selected as the winner of the 2012 Patient Safety and Quality Award for its entry "Leveraging Information Technology to Translate Evidence into Practice: Reducing Catheter-associated UTIs with Actionable Alerts”. HCIF awarded the University of Pennsylvania Health System a $5,000.00 grant to support future efforts to improve patient safety and quality. Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals achieved second place for its submission "Attacking Patient Flow from All Angles: Combining Multiple Strategies in a Single Implementation” and received a $2,500.00 grant to support patient safety initiatives.

December 13th Regional Antimicrobial Stewardship Collaborative Workshop Featuring Brian Koll, MD

2012-11-27T21:45:00+00:00

Organizations that are participating in the Regional Antimicrobial Stewardship Collaborative are invited to a half-day workshop on December 13, 2012 to learn about effective and innovative antimicrobial stewardship strategies implemented by other organizations in the collaborative.

December 6th PA OB Adverse Events Collaborative Webinar Featuring Fran Miranda

2012-11-20T02:15:00+00:00

We are pleased to announce the third in a series of webinars for participants of the PA OB Adverse Events Collaborative. This webinar will be held at 12:00PM on Thursday, December 6, 2012 and will feature guest speaker Fran Miranda, Director of OB/GYN, QA and PI from Lehigh Valley Hospital.

December 4th Antimicrobial Stewardship Webinar Featuring Arjun Srinivasan, MD

2012-11-20T00:30:00+00:00

We are pleased to announce the third in a series of webinars for members of the Regional Antimicrobial Stewardship Collaborative, which will be held on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 12:00PM.

Independence Blue Cross Extends its Support for the Partnership for Patient Care

2012-11-02T19:30:00+00:00

Independence Blue Cross announced on November 1, 2012 that it will extend its support for the Partnership for Patient Care, a quality and patient safety collaborative led by Southeastern Pennsylvania hospitals, with funding up to $1.1 million through 2013 being provided to the Health Care Improvement Foundation to oversee the Partnership’s projects. Matching funds will be raised from the hospital community, reflecting their commitment to accelerating the implementation of evidence-based clinical practices. Earlier this year, IBC contributed $500,000 to support the Partnership in 2012. Click here to see the press release.

HCIF Welcomes New Director of Quality Partnerships & Initiatives

2012-10-09T01:00:00+00:00

HCIF is pleased to announce that Yoon Susan Choi, Ph.D., will join the Health Care Improvement Foundation as Director of Quality Partnerships & Initiatives. Susan previously worked as a Consultant and Research Associate with the Institute for Community Health, an organization dedicated to community health improvement founded by three Boston-area health systems, and the Cambridge Health Alliance, a multi-campus academic medical center based in Cambridge, MA. Her experience includes directing projects in health disparities reduction, quality improvement in HIV treatment programs, and evaluation of language access and literacy services. Susan's impressive credentials include a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University.

Susan, who joins our staff on October 15^th, will provide leadership for the CARE 4 Us Palliative Care campaign, the SEPA-READS health literacy project, and other quality improvement initiatives currently in development. Please join me in welcoming her to Philadelphia and to the HCIF team.

HCIF Hosts Regional Symposium on Palliative Care

2012-09-27T17:15:00+00:00

The Down Town Club in Philadelphia was the site of a regional symposium on palliative care that formally introduced the CARE 4 Us campaign, which HCIF hosted on Tuesday, September 25, 2012, with over 100 individuals representing 35 organizations in attendance. Speakers included Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and editor Amanda Bennett; Diane Meier, MD, Director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care; R. Sean Morrison, MD, Director of the National Palliative Care Research Center; David Casarett, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Hospice and Palliative Care at the University of Pennsylvania; and Susan Kristiniak, Clinical Director of Oncology Service Line, Palliative and Pastoral Care at Abington Memorial Hospital. To see the agenda, speakers' presentations, and other materials, click here.

Regional Antimicrobial Stewardship Collaborative

2012-08-22T00:30:00+00:00

HCIF conducted a Regional Antimicrobial Stewardship Conference on July 26th which served as the launch of a one-year collaborative aimed at the reduction of inappropriate antimicrobial use and the reduction of healthcare-acquired Clostridium difficile infections. Over 120 people were in attendance from 40 organizations across Southeastern and South Central PA.

2012 Delaware Valley Patient Safety and Quality Award Submissions

2012-08-14T23:30:00+00:00

HCIF thanks the hospitals and healthsystems that submitted entries for this year's Delaware Valley Patient Safety and Quality Award; a total of 36 entries from 14 hospitals and healthsystems were submitted online. A Review Panel of 33 individuals from 22 hospitals and health systems is currently evaluating the entries. The top ten entries will then be reviewed and scored by a Selection Committee consisting of patient safety and quality leaders in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The annual Delaware Valley Patient Safety Award program is one of the ways that HCIF promotes best practices in patient safety throughout the region and advances the goal of making Southeastern Pennsylvania the safest place to receive care.

May 2012 Regional Conferences on OB Adverse Events

2012-06-01T20:30:00+00:00

HCIF conducted two regional conferences in May 2012 to kick off its OB Adverse Events collaborative. Click here for more information on the collaborative and the conferences.

March 14, 2012 Partnership for Patient Care Leadership Summit

2012-03-22T00:15:00+00:00

Representatives from 25 hospitals and healthsystems attended the annual Partnership for Patient Care Leadership Summit on March 14th, 2012 at The Down Town Club. This year’s summit included final results of the PAVE Project; updates on current initiatives; and an overview of the CMS Partnership for Patients initiative. Click here to see the full agenda and links to the presentations.