SHAMOKIN – VNA Health System joins in celebrating National Healthcare Quality Week, Oct. 20 to 26. The week highlights the work of health care professionals, working in quality care and patient safety, and how they influence improved patient care outcomes throughout all types of health care systems.
VNA Health System is a member of the National Association of Healthcare Quality, in which health care quality professionals are defined by a standard of conduct focusing on commitment, confidentiality and improved patient care.
VNA has obtained gold level status as a participant with the Home Health Quality initiative (HHQI) national campaign for 2011-12, an initiative developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The campaign is designed to help home health agencies and other health care venues work together to improve the quality of care home care patients receive by improving programs and offering education to better serve their patients and community.
“We believe in promoting the highest levels of health care quality, consistently developing new programs and educational material, and focusing on the needs of our patients,” said Kathy Witcoskie, RN, vice president of quality management for VNA.
Over the past two years, several health care quality programs have been developed by VNA Health System, including home telehealth monitoring, transitional care and comprehensive disease management for congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and diabetes. A fall prevention program has also been established. It includes a fall risk assessment on all adult patients upon admission to home health care, and includes a home safety check with educational materials and one-on-one instruction on home safety.
VNA reports that a key component of its quality initiative is in assuring the continuance of education to clinical staff members. This includes a program in which staff may earn advanced care specialist status after receiving points for continuing education and testing. Also, specialized nursing education sessions have been developed, which concentrates on particular diseases and quality care issues.
Also, all members of the VNA health care quality team recently adopted the National Association of Healthcare Quality Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for Healthcare Quality Professionals. VNA has also adopted 2013 National Patient Safety Goals for home health. These goals consist of fall prevention and safety, preventing infections, helping the patient use medication safely and effectively, to name a few.