On April 5 in the Illinois State Capitol, leaders from Fairfield Memorial Hospital displayed a quality improvement initiative poster to improve stroke therapy treatment and outcomes, along with shared with legislators how this initiative has benefited patients, families and communities while reducing healthcare costs.
Luke McDaniel, FMH Quality Analyst, with Illinois State Representative David Reis at the 2nd Annual IHA Quality Advocacy Showcase that Highlighted Hospital Efforts Statewide
Fairfield Memorial Hospital leaders were among more than 100 hospital and health system leaders from across Illinois who discussed with legislators their innovative, practical and collaborative approaches to improve care during the Illinois Health and Hospital Association’s (IHA) Quality Advocacy Showcase.
“The IHA Quality Advocacy Showcase was an exceptional opportunity to network with the state’s policymakers, since the most successful advocacy is done at the local level. We were able to demonstrate to legislators our hospitals’ collective commitment to advancing quality and patient safety across Illinois. We wanted our legislators fully aware of what we are doing to improve quality,” said Luke McDaniel, Quality Analyst.
McDaniel met with Rep. David Reis during the event. McDaniel said, “It was great to spend time showing our legislators how Fairfield Memorial Hospital’s programs and services are essential to improving the healthcare of our community. It was nice providing them the reminder that employees, physicians and volunteers live and work in our community and are fully invested and support our hospital.”
With a focus on Care Coordination, Fairfield Memorial Hospital’s project to improve stroke therapy treatment and outcomes was addressed through implementing new processes to streamline stroke protocol activation for Emergency Medical Services, our Emergency Department, Diagnostic Imaging, and Lab. Fairfield Memorial Hospital also installed enhanced software to highlight the urgency for interpretation of head CT and MRI results. The hospital invested $4,800 monthly fee for equipment and saw a return on investment of $25,000 lifetime savings per patient. For the patients, families and communities, Fairfield Memorial Hospital serves, the project:
- Improved treatment options to reduce disabilities associated with strokes
- Reduced likelihood of long-term care
- Improved rehabilitation outcomes
IHA’s Quality Advocacy Showcase, in its second year, is designed to visually demonstrate the often-overlooked and underreported work of physicians, nurses, quality improvement leaders and hospital administrators to develop solutions to improve care. IHA produced one 30-by-42-inch poster per hospital or health system project for the event.
“The Illinois Health and Hospital Association Quality Advocacy Showcase provides a timely reminder of the life-saving work Illinois hospitals do daily and the critical role state government plays in ensuring that hospitals have the resources to continue to provide high-quality care to all Illinoisans,” said IHA President and CEO A.J. Wilhelmi.
“Fairfield Memorial Hospital is appreciative of the many opportunities to partner with the Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) on multiple projects to improve quality including the Hospital Engagement Network initiatives, along with advocacy efforts. As the voice of our Hospital, I take an active role in the IHA by serving on the IHA Small and Rural Constituency Steering Committee as Immediate Past Chair, along with serving on the Small and Rural Hospital Education Committee, of which I am also Past Chair. By being around the decision making table and partnering closely with the IHA it ensures our voices remain heard at a State and even National level. What we do at our hospital is beyond amazing and we were excited to share all wonderful initiatives we have implemented with legislators,” stated Katherine Bunting-Williams, Ph.D., FMH CEO.
