Published on -6/14/2012
Hays Daily News

Nearly 90 Kansas hospitals have joined the Kansas Hospital Association and the Kansas Healthcare Collaborative in an effort to improve patient care and reduce health care costs throughout the state. Representatives will be in Topeka today to attend the project's kick-off meeting.

"KHA is pleased that more than 70 percent of the state's hospitals are participating in the Kansas HEN," said Tom Bell, KHA president. "There are more than 1,600 hospitals in 34 states participating nationwide, working with their state hospital associations in partnership with the Health Research and Educational Trust, which makes this an unprecedented patient safety effort."

KHC is coordinating the Hospital Engagement Network in Kansas as part of the federal Partnership for Patients Campaign, which seeks to reduce inpatient harm by 40 percent and cut readmissions by 20 percent at participating hospitals by the end of 2013. The campaign also highlights best practices and improvements in the areas of leadership, teamwork, patient safety culture and patient harm reduction. To support the campaign, KHC has been awarded a two-year contract in partnership with HRET, an affiliate of the American Hospital Association.

The campaign is a public-private partnership launched earlier this year. It seeks to improve the quality, safety and affordability of health care for all Americans. Participating hospitals will develop, test and share best practices, learning networks and other resources as part of an effort to improve patient safety and reduce the incidence of harm related to 10 specific hospital acquired conditions.

The 10 conditions are:

* Adverse drug events

* Catheter-associated urinary tract infections

* Central line-associated blood stream infections

* Injuries from falls and immobility

* Obstetrical adverse events

* Pressure ulcers

* Surgical site infections

* Venous thromboembolism

* Ventilator-associated pneumonia

* Preventable readmissions

"Of the hospital associations involved, Kansas has one of the highest participation rates with 88 of the state's 127 hospitals signed up," Bell said. "This is yet another example of the priority we assign to safer care for our patients."

Participating hospitals include:

* Cheyenne County Hospital, St. Francis

* Citizens Medical Center, Colby

* Decatur Health Systems Inc., Oberlin

* Goodland Regional Medical Center, Goodland

* Gove County Medical Center, Quinter

* Grisell Memorial Hospital, Ransom

* Hays Medical Center, Hays

* Ness County District No. 2 Hospital, Ness City

* Norton County Hospital, Norton

* Osborne County Memorial Hospital, Osborne

* Phillips County Hospital, Phillipsburg

* Rawlins County Health Center, Atwood

* Rooks County Health Center, Plainville

* Russell Regional Hospital, Russell

* Sheridan County Health Complex, Hoxie

* Smith County Memorial Hospital, Smith Center

* Trego County Lemke-Memorial Hospital, WaKeeney