Quality

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Who We Are

The WNC Health Network supports its members in delivering health services that are cost-effective, high quality, and safe for the residents of the communities it serves.  The Quality Program shares best practices within WNC hospitals and works with providers throughout the continuum of care to promote population health.

What We Do

The Network strives to improve health care quality and patient safety by coordinating and participating in regional best practice initiatives.  Focus areas include the Institute for Health Improvement (IHI) Triple Aim, and addressing regional quality concerns.

How We Add Value

Coordinate and Share Best Practices

Leaders of regional hospital Emergency Departments, Infection Control, Mental Health and Quality Improvement meet regularly to standardize treatment approaches and coordinate care in our region.  When appropriate, these workgroups make system changes to improve patient care. Models, pilots, and templates produced by these workgroups have been adopted outside our region on a wider scale throughout North Carolina. 

To help improve care for people with mental health or substance abuse issues, the Network coordinates a Mental Health Committee that fosters dialogue between WNC Hospital Providers and Local Managed Entities (LMEs). Timely diagnosis, intervention and placement when a person is seen in the Emergency Department are important group topics.  A WNC Regional Behavioral Health Transfer Plan has been adopted. Other work has included:

• Implementation of a regional transportation plan
• Adoption of a standardized regional assessment form (RARF) for streamlining patient transfers

The Network collaborates with the North Carolina Hospital Association’s Quality Center to inform Members about and sponsor learning opportunities to help improve quality and patient safety. These learning opportunities include information from local and national healthcare experts, collaboratives, best practices, and data collection to benchmark operations.
 

For more information, please contact Carolyn Dorner at 828-418-5031.