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

Support Triple Aim

The Network is one of only a few organizations in the U.S. taking a regional approach in Triple Aim.  This initiative from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is designed to optimize the health care system by focusing on the individual experience of care, the health of a defined population, and the per capita cost of care.  The Triple Aim initiative began in 2007 and now includes partners from 46 organizations in the US, Canada, England, Scotland, and Sweden.

The Network is supporting teams to implement measureable actions to improve health outcomes in Western North Carolina.  Teams have been developed to engage regional partners in several focus areas:

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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.

WNC Health Network is committed to helping its Member organizations achieve a high level of compliance in CMS core measures. Hospitals with high scores are sharing best practices with other Member hospitals. Checklists, protocols, and health education resources are used to improve results.  Updates on federal requirements such as ‘meaningful use’ and ‘value-based purchasing’ are discussed.

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.