Interdisciplinary Teamwork at Tennessee Hospital Key to Combating Sepsis

Early identification and treatment are critical to preventing sepsis-related mortality in people with Medicare. Convergence Health Consulting (Convergence), a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Quality Improvement Contractor (HQIC), works with regional and state partners across 11 states to improve patient care and safety in hospitals through a variety of initiatives, which includes fighting sepsis.  

A large, 100-bed nursing home in Florida with a resident COVID-19 vaccination rate of zero percent, was referred to Alliant Health Solutions by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for assistance. Alliant, a CMS-designated Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), leveraged its established, trusted partnerships and science-based resources to help the facility achieve a 15.1 percent increase in its resident COVID-19 2023-2024 updated COVID-19 vaccine from January 2024 to the latest report to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)

The end of the public health emergency and the commercialization of COVID-19 vaccines has led to vaccine administration and billing challenges for nursing homes across the country.

What is "exnovation" and where does it fit in with hospitals that are striving to become High Reliability Organizations (HROs)? In this article, we speak to Bruce Spurlock, MD, President, and CEO of Convergence Health, to explore this term and its importance in hospital quality improvement. Also, find out what he likes best about working in quality improvement, what is behind the numbers, and upcoming challenges for hospitals in their HRO journey.

A midsize long-term care facility on the West Coast was referred by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to Comagine Health, a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), for assistance with increasing nursing home resident COVID-19 vaccinations. Despite many facility residents agreeing and consenting to vaccination, the nursing home’s resident immunization rate was lagging several similar facilities in the region.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program is dedicated to improving health care quality at the community level. Hospital Quality Improvement Contractors (HQICs) are strategic partners of the QIO Program dedicated to improving the quality of care delivered to people with Medicare in hospitals.

In January 2023, a large metro-area facility in Texas was referred by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to TMF Quality Innovation Network (TMF QIN), a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), to increase nursing home resident COVID-19 vaccinations. To make improvements, the 90-bed facility needed additional support and resources. By leveraging the expertise of TMF QIN, the facility increased its rate from 33.33 to 100 percent as reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) database in September 2023.

To protect Medicare beneficiaries and the Medicare Trust Fund, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established Beneficiary and Family Centered Care-Quality Improvement Organizations (BFCC-QIOs). BFCC-QIOs help Medicare beneficiaries exercise their right to high-quality health care by providing assistance when beneficiaries have a concern about their care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program is dedicated to improving the quality of health care at the community level. Hospital Quality Improvement Contractors (HQICs) are strategic partners of the QIO Program that help hospitals improve outcomes in several patient-safety-related areas such as hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).

A 200 bed long- and short-term care facility was referred by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to Alliant Health Solutions (Alliant), a CMS Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), for assistance with improving its resident COVID-19 bivalent booster rate.