- Register for Upcoming Events
- Leadership Lesson: Advice from the Frontlines
- Resources and Information on:
- COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness
- Opioid Utilization and Misuse
- Patient Safety
- Training
- Chronic Disease
- Care Coordination and Partnerships for Community Health
- Immunization
- BFAC
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to supporting the health care community with decreasing opioid misuse. In partnership with the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network Dissemination Initiative, CMS interviewed staff from hospitals and health systems to share how they provide excellent care for their patients with opioid use disorder. Listen to Podcast
Events
Nursing Home Readmission Affinity Group: Moving Beyond Your QAPI Committee: A Culture for Safe, Reliable and Quality Care
*NAB credits awarded* *CE for physicians and nurses available*
Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. ET/12:20 p.m. CT
In this session, we will assess your culture of safe, reliable, and effective care, complete your self-assessment and identify strategies to improve your quality culture.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the impact of your organization’s culture on performance.
- Complete a self-assessment using the Framework for Safe, Reliable and Effective Care.
- Identify two to four strategies to move your quality culture forward.
Partnership for Community Health and Nursing Home Event: Be Conversation Ready and Centering Care Transitions around Patient-Defined Goals
*NAB credits awarded* *CE for physicians and nurses available*
Thursday, January 25, 2024, at 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. CT
Learn about this year’s National Health Care Decisions Day campaign and how proactive communication of patient goals improves clinical decision-making and the patient transition experience.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss ideas for implementing NHDD into current practice.
- Learn messaging principles to engage patients and families in conversations about end-of-life care wishes.
- Identify areas of alignment and discordance across patients, caregivers and health care providers during care transitions.
- Understand the importance of working within the context of patient-defined goals in the ED to encourage buy-in and engagement.
Were You Able to "Use Tomorrow" What You Heard During the LAN Events?
If Yes, Click Below.
Nursing Homes LAN Attendees: Click here
Partnership for Community Health LAN Attendees:Click here
Thursday, January 18 at 2 p.m. ET | 1 p.m. CT (60 min.)
**CME and NAB credit awarded**
Join the monthly Shop Talk sessions hosted by the Alliant patient safety team. Attendees will receive updates on the NHSN database and CMS requirements.
This month, we will discuss new updates to NHSN reporting and annual influenza vaccination reporting. There will also be a live question-and-answer session to help with your immediate needs. Submitting data accurately into NHSN will help you more confidently plan your risk assessments and quality improvement initiatives.
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Join the Alliant Health Solutions-LTC NHSN Group!
Joining the group and conferring rights to Alliant Health Solutions-LTC to view NHSN data allows for seamless support and technical assistance.
View Step-By-Step Guide
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Leadership
Words of advice from leaders on the front lines.
This month’s leadership lesson is from JoVonn Givens, task order director for Alliant Health Solutions.
Foster a Culture of Quality Improvement
“Small daily improvements over time lead to stunning results.” - Robin Sharma, Author
The health outcomes we aim to improve upon may change over time, but implementing quality improvement processes helps us stay on track. I invite you to participate in Alliant Health Solutions’ QAPI series, which aims to foster and sustain a culture of quality that engages leaders, frontline staff, patients, residents, care partners and the community.
The first session, “Creating Your Roadmap for 2024 QAPI,” was held in December, but you can access the recording in preparation for the January 11 session. During the January session, you will learn about the impact of your organization’s culture on performance improvement, complete a self-assessment using the Framework for Safe, Reliable and Effective Care, and identify two to four strategies to move your quality of culture forward. These sessions are open to everyone, so please share widely.
Being your CMS Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) is a responsibility we take seriously. We are here to assist you, so please don't hesitate to contact me or any of the Alliant team members you are currently collaborating with.
Resources
COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness
Alliant Health Solutions has created a resource to debunk COVID-19 vaccine myths and provide facts. Download and share the resource, available in English and Spanish, with everyone you know. Download English Version | Download Spanish Version
Emergency Preparedness: Winter Weather Safety
The Resolve to be Ready social media toolkit has practical tips for emergency preparedness that individuals and families can use to be ready for unexpected disasters or emergencies. Share these messages on your social media platforms either as they are or customize them to suit your audience. Learn More
Opioid Utliziation and Misuse
SAMHSA’s 20th Prevention Day (SPD)
SPD takes place on Monday, January 29, 2024, in conjunction with CADCA National Leadership Forum. This celebration of the 20th anniversary of SPD includes exploring current innovations, reflecting on past accomplishments, and charting a course for the future of prevention. Learn More
New Resources To Help Clinicians Treat Pain and Manage Opioid Use Disorder
The CDC developed trainings to educate clinicians about the 2022 CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain and assist them and other health care personnel in providing patient care. View Trainings
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs
Prescribing opioids should be a carefully thought-out process by providers. Before prescribing, the CDC recommends that providers review a patient’s opioid prescription history to avoid the risk of overdose. This can be checked with state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) that are used to track opioid prescriptions. The CDC offers a variety of information regarding all aspects of PDMPs before and during the prescribing stage. Visit Website
Prevent Opioid Overdose Deaths With Naloxone
Clinicians play an important role in raising awareness about naloxone, a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose when given in time. Visit the CDC’s naloxone website to learn how to talk with patients about naloxone and reduce their risk of opioid overdose. You can also earn free continuing education credits. Visit Website
Opioid Resources:
Medication Reconciliation Tips for Providers & Staff – Use this resource as a guide to completing med rec. Download Resource
Medication Review Tip Sheet for Patients – Email or print this resource to give to your patients. Download Resource
Medicine Disposal - Use this resource to dispose of unused, unwanted and expired medications safely. Download Resource
Do’s & Don’ts of Pain Medicine - Use this resource to learn how to use pain medicine safely. Download Resource
My Med Bags:
Patient Safety
Dr. Edward Walsh, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Rochester Medical Center, provides insights on RSV in an interview with Infection Control Today. He discusses the disease's impact, available treatments, and best practices for managing illness in health care settings. Read Article
New Resource: How To Protect Yourself and Loved Ones From C. difficile Infections
Did you know that one out of every four C. difficile infections in the United States occurs in a nursing home or a skilled nursing facility? C. difficile is a harmful bacterium that causes severe diarrhea and can even be fatal. To prevent the spread of C. difficile and other germ-related infections, it's crucial that all residents, health care professionals, and family members understand the necessary infection control measures. Check out the latest C. difficile resources from Alliant. Download Resource
Training
Guide To Implement an Infection Prevention Training Plan
Infection Prevention Training Sustainability Plan: Ensuring Knowledge Retention and Adaptability
If your facility has achieved the infection prevention training goal by providing training to at least 75% of frontline and clinical staff, the next step is to maintain this training for both existing and new staff. Alliant created a step-by-step sustainability plan to help your nursing home maintain knowledge and adapt to training needs related to infection prevention and control. The sustainability plan can be viewed on page 12 of the Nursing Home Infection Prevention (NHIP) Training Implementation Guide.
- For information on infection prevention training, visit quality.allianthealth.org
- Complete your updated nursing home IP training assessment
Chronic Disease
A five-minute YouTube video featuring Peg Hudock, a former smoker, retired nurse, and Alliant’s Beneficiary and Family Advisory Council member, is available for use. In the video, Peg shares her journey towards smoking cessation. View Video
Use this video in a variety of ways:
- Patient care for patients and education
- Broadcast it on your patient TV channels and waiting room and lobby TVs
- Add the video link to your patient discharge materials and cardiac rehab webpage, and share it on social media channels: https://bit.ly/AHS_ASmokingCessationStory_2023
Care Coordination & Partnerships for Community Health
Lead the initiative to promote National Health Care Decisions Day (NHDD) at a regional level. Bring together various health care, legal, and religious stakeholders to collaborate and improve outcomes for patients, families, and providers. Download the AHS event planning calendar to start organizing your community NHDD events. Download Resource
Immunization
New Tool To Increase Immunizations for Influenza, COVID-19, and RSV
On December 14, 2023, the CDC issued a health alert network advisory urging health care providers to increase the use of immunizations and therapeutics for influenza, COVID-19, and RSV. To ensure your staff is competent in vaccine administration, download the Skills Checklist for Vaccine Administration tool from Immunize.org. Download Tool
Seasonal Immunization Campaign Calendar – READY SET GO
Happy New Year! This is the time of the year when we begin implementing new strategies to improve the vaccination of our patients and residents. It's time to focus on shifting our campaign to "It's not too late to vaccinate - Get your vaccinations today." Meet with your medical director and team to discuss state and local health department directives for the season. Let's work together to develop new methods to approach our patients, residents and staff who remain unvaccinated.
The Seasonal Immunization Campaign Calendar has resource links for planning and easy reference to meet your goals. In addition, the comprehensive Toolkit for Increasing Influenza Vaccination Rates in Nursing Homes is a great resource.
Beneficiary & Family Advisory Council (BFAC)
Browse resources our council has worked on below:
If you feel down or moody during winter because of colder weather and shorter days, know you are not alone. Many people experience fatigue, sadness, difficulty concentrating, and changes in sleep patterns during this time of year. Some people can manage these feelings by making simple lifestyle changes, while others might develop a more severe form of depression called seasonal affective disorder or SAD. But the good news is that there are ways to overcome the winter blues and feel better. Read More
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