Right Now in Quality Health
October 2021 – Issue 5
Newsletter Content Menu (click to jump to any section)
- A Message from the CEO: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- Building Opioid-Prepared, Resilient Communities: Change Package
- Patient Safety Component Modules
- New Million Hearts® Campaign Focuses on Heart Health during the Pandemic
- An Equity Agenda for the Field of Health Care Quality Improvement
- Behavioral Health Programs for Older Adults
- Saturday, October 23, Is Drug Take Back Day
- October Is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- Sign Up for the Immunization Email Series: What’s the point?
- New 3D ECHO Clinic: Dementia Learning
- Learning and Action Network (LAN) from the Regional Chronic Disease Collaborative
- Awards and Achievements Announced for Montana and Wyoming Nursing Homes
- Montana and Wyoming Coalition Summit Recaps
A Message from the CEO: Breast Cancer Awareness Awareness Month
Greetings!
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we recently shared a video on Mountain-Pacific Quality Health social media showcasing breast cancer survivor stories. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to watch this impactful video created by the Mayo Clinic: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8j_vZRZKx0.
While nobody can tell you exactly what your personal risk is for breast cancer, assessments can help inform you and provide talking points for discussions with your doctor about your personal history and your risks. Learn more.
Lastly, Ladies First, an Alaska-based organization, put together resources that provide education and encouragement for early screening and preventative health. I encourage you to look at this material and see if there is a use for it within your health care setting, organization or community. These resources can be viewed on the Alaska Virtual Healthfair website.
Stay safe and well and don’t forget to get routine mammography screenings!
Sara Medley
Mountain-Pacific Quality Health CEO
100 Million Lives – Building Opioid-Prepared, Resilient Communities
Using a unique approach to cross-sector collaboration, 100 Million Lives addressed the social determinants of health and well-being through the creation of a change package. Health care providers and practices can use the change package to implement, test and measure progress on an evidence-based set of changes so it is scalable in diverse communities affected by the opioid epidemic. Learn more.
Patient Safety Component Modules
Access modules that focus on process measures and events associated with medical devices, surgical procedures, antimicrobial agents and multidrug-resistant organisms. Health care providers will be able to use relevant training, protocols, data collection forms and supporting materials for each module. Some training videos are eligible for continuing education credit. The Patient Safety Component was created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Learn more.
New Million Hearts® Campaign Focuses on Heart Health during the Pandemic
Help patients 55 and older stay on track with healthy habits during the pandemic with the Start Small. Live Big. campaign from the CDC Foundation’s Alliance and Million Hearts®. This effort will feature video public service announcements, social media ads, influencer promotions and collaboration with community partners to remind patients to make a care plan with a doctor, get active, eat healthy and be a role model. New data shows 66% of U.S. adults are concerned that the pandemic is getting in the way of their healthy habits, increasing risk for heart disease and other health conditions. This campaign encourages adults to take small steps to get back to living big. Learn more.
An Equity Agenda for the Field of Health Care Quality Improvement
A new National Academy of Medicine study identified health equity as an immediate strategic priority for the health care quality movement in the next 20 years. Quality discussions about racial equity could be resolved by
- revisiting existing recommendations,
- ensuring diversity in leadership,
- improving data collection and reporting on demographics and patient experiences,
- engaging and partnering with communities,
- re-evaluating current care delivery and payment infrastructures.
To achieve the best outcomes, equity must be embedded at the core of health care and even other social sectors, according to the team of authors, including Paul McGann, MD, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Chief Medical Officer for Quality Improvement, and Paul Rosen, MD, MPH, MMM, CMS Medical Officer for the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative.
Behavioral Health Programs for Older Adults
The National Council on Aging compiled a list of community-based programs approved by the Administration for Community Living. The programs address behavioral health among older adults, which includes addressing symptoms of depression and substance abuse. Learn more.
Saturday, October 23, 2021, Is Drug Take Back Day
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives in 2019. The survey also showed that most misused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.
Find resources to help you prepare for Take Back Day:
- Drug Take Back event directory
- Search for year-round pharmaceutical disposal locations
- List of medicines that are safe to dispose by flushing
- Video: Where and How to Dispose of Unused Medicines
- Drug Disposal: Questions and Answers
Alaska readers: The Alaska Pharmacist Association members helped assemble Narcan kits at the recent fall conference to support Project Hope. Here is a list of providers who offer the kits statewide.
October Is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
CMS is asking the provider community to keep their patients with Medicare healthy by encouraging
them to take advantage of Medicare-covered screening mammograms. Medicare provides coverage for an annual screening mammogram for all female beneficiaries aged 40 or older. Medicare also provides coverage for one baseline mammogram for female beneficiaries between the ages of 35 and 39.
Medicare covers breast cancer screening. Your patients pay nothing for the following services if you accept assignment:
- Mammography screening
- Clinical breast exam during a screening pelvic exam
During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, talk to your patients about the best screening options for them.
For more information:
- Preventive Services webpage
- Screening Pap Tests & Pelvic Exams (PDF) booklet
- CDC Breast Cancer Awareness webpage
- Breast Cancer Screening Disparities (PDF) data snapshot
- Information for your patients on mammograms and cervical and vaginal cancer screenings
Visit the official website at www.nationalbreastcancer.org.
Sign Up for the Immunization Email Series: What’s the point?
As we head into flu season, we are offering an educational email series that will focus on influenza, pneumonia and COVID-19 vaccines. The series will include on-demand resources and videos you can share within your health care setting. Sign up to receive the email series.
New 3D ECHO Clinic: Dementia Learning
This clinic kicked off on Wednesday, October 13, and offers participants education on the diseases causing dementia from identifying severity of dementia, different clinical syndromes and possible underlying biology. It also helps participants understand the workup and diagnosis for cognitive impairment, regardless of patient location. This clinic is open to primary care clinicians, care managers and nursing homes. Learn more.
Learning and Action Network (LAN) from the Regional Chronic Disease Collaborative
Mountain-Pacific and partners established a Regional Chronic Disease Collaborative to create a cooperative approach, leveraging the combined resources and expertise of participating members to prevent the development and progression of chronic disease.
The regional collaborative uses a LAN to deliver education and best practices to health care systems and communities throughout our region. Find information on upcoming educational events and links to past educational events.
Congratulations to these Montana and Wyoming nursing homes!
Excellence Awards in Quality Measures:
Data from four measures were considered due to the areas of care our team felt was most likely to be impacted by the pandemic:
- Activities of daily living
- Reduction of antipsychotic medication
- Depressive management
- Preventing excessive weight loss
During the data analysis, our team considered Minimum Data Set (MDS) data entries measuring improvement from Quarter 1 2020 to Quarter 1 2021.
Achievement of Staff and Resident COVID-19 Vaccination of 85% or More:
The COVID-19 Vaccination Achievement Certificates represent the average vaccination rates for residents and staff of 85% or more from National Healthcare Safety Network data for time period July 11, 2021, through August 15, 2021.
View all Montana recipients.
View all Wyoming recipients.
Montana and Wyoming Coalition Summit Recaps
Coalition members, health care workers, family members, care givers and more were invited to attend the Wyoming Coalition Summit on September 9, 2021, and the Montana Coalition Summit on September 21, 2021. Community feedback and local perspectives from community and coalition members were shared during the townhall discussion.
View the Montana key takeaways and recording.
View the Wyoming key takeaways and recording.