Working Together, They Aim to Make Illinois a National Leader on Quality and Patient Safety

NAPERVILLE, Ill., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 200 hospitals across Illinois have joined the Illinois Hospital Association's (IHA) "Raising the Bar" initiative to raise the level of health care quality and make Illinois a national leader in quality care and patient safety. Working through IHA's new Quality Care Institute, hospital leaders have pledged to share best practices and implement new methods to prevent and reduce infections and other complications and unnecessary hospital readmissions.

"Quality care is a core priority for our hospitals, and by pledging to 'Raise the Bar' on health care quality and safety, our hospitals have reaffirmed their commitment to ensure that every patient gets the right care, at the right time, in the right setting," said IHA President Maryjane Wurth. "Through IHA's Quality Care Institute, we will transform health care and prepare for changes in the health care delivery system while continuing to provide the best care to our patients and communities."

Leaders of hospitals from throughout Illinois have signed the Raising the Bar: A Call to Action pledge, which calls for the hospitals to engage in specific interventions over the next three years to reduce hospital readmissions and hospital-acquired infections and other complications. The hospitals pledged to work to develop and collaborate on initiatives and programs that will:

• Reduce 30-day hospital readmission rates for congestive heart failure, heart attack, and pneumonia, and
• Reduce hospital-acquired conditions and infections such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), C. difficile, central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), surgical-site infections, and deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism following certain orthopedic procedures.

Through the Quality Care Institute, hospitals can access data, tools and best practices from across the state and from state and national experts on quality improvement and patient safety. The Institute will also provide Illinois hospitals with practical approaches for performance improvement and will actively advocate for the removal of barriers to the coordination of patient care.

The Quality Care Institute is also providing members and the public a wide range of data on the services provided at nearly 200 Illinois hospitals and how they measure up in quality and safety of care through the Illinois Hospitals Caring for You web site, www.illinoishospitals.org. The site is being updated with new information later this week.

The list of Illinois hospitals participating in the Raising the Bar initiative is available at: www.ihatoday.org/qci/participatinghospitals.pdf. More information about IHA's Quality Care Institute is available at www.ihaqualitycare.org.

The Illinois Hospital Association, with offices in Naperville, Springfield, and Washington, D.C., is an advocate for 200 Illinois hospitals and the patients and communities they serve. For more information about IHA, see the web site, www.ihatoday.org.

SOURCE Illinois Hospital Association

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