2026 Spring Newsletter

Click Image Below to Register for our Upcoming Spring Conference!

From the President’s Desk

Submitted by: Erin Bolton, RN, BSN, CPHQ

It is my honor to serve you as the 2026 President of the AAHQ Board. I really hope this will be a great year for AAHQ. I am excited about all that we have planned and am looking forward to working with you to address the quality needs that we have across the state and across the different healthcare venues.

I hope you have registered for our Spring Conference—Healthcare-Associated Conditions & Whole-Person Health Across Care Settings–to be held Thursday, May 14 in Little Rock. We are excited about the speakers that our External Relations team have lined up and believe that we are offering something for everyone. I hope you will consider joining us. Don’t forget, you get a reduced rate if you register by May 1, 2026.

I am also excited that AAHQ is going to offer a CPHQ review course in June for our members and other quality professionals throughout the state. If you have not signed up, please reach out to me and we can determine if there are any seats left. If the demand is great, then we might offer another course in the fall.

We are excited to partner with ArONL to present our fall conference. More details will be coming but please mark your calendar for Friday, September 25. I promise this will be a conference that you do NOT want to miss. We have two excellent keynote speakers, and we can’t wait to share them with you. If you have a poster that you would like to present, please let me know. We are doing something a little different this year at our fall conference and would love to have some AAHQ members do presentations!

We have added two new positions to our board this year to help address the growing quality needs that we see. We have added a Rural Health liaison and a Patient Experience Liaison. You will hear more about these positions in upcoming newsletters. We are also hoping to offer a 1-hour virtual conference in October that will be about Patient Experience. Stay tuned for more details!

I would love to hear from you! My goal is to keep you updated about what the board is working on and what direction we are moving. I value your input. Please let me know if we are on the right track or if there are other things that we could offer that would benefit you more. I have the pleasure of serving with some of the greatest quality folks in the state, and we would all love to be of assistance to you. If you are new to quality or just need some fresh input as we navigate this ever-changing regulatory world, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

I hope you are getting to soak up some wonderful springtime sunshine! I look forward to serving you this year!

Erin Bolton

AAHQ Board President

boltone@jrmc.org

From the Past President’s Desk

Submitted by: Devin Terry, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CPHQ

As I write this, the warmer temperatures, blooming flowers, and longer days remind us that one of the most enjoyable times of the year has arrived. For me, spring means soccer matches and exploring hiking trails whenever possible.

While this season brings plenty of opportunities for fun and time outdoors, it can also become a busy time for many of us. As healthcare professionals, we often spend so much time caring for others that we forget to take care of ourselves. I would like to encourage you to grow professionally and stay engaged in healthcare quality initiatives. I encourage you to keep an eye out for upcoming AAHQ educational events. These events provide valuable opportunities to learn, share ideas, and connect with fellow healthcare professionals who are passionate about improving patient care.

I would also like to encourage you to get involved with the AAHQ Board. The board members are a dedicated group of professionals who are deeply committed to advancing healthcare quality for our patients today—and, as some of us have experienced, for ourselves tomorrow.

This year’s AAHQ Board President is Erin Bolton. Erin is no stranger to the organization or to healthcare quality. She has been an AAHQ member for many years and has served on the Board for many years. Her experience and leadership will be a tremendous asset as the Board continues its important work.

I am confident the AAHQ Board will accomplish many wonderful things this year, and I look forward to seeing all that 2026 will bring.

AAHQ is proud to sponsor a CPHQ prep course on Friday, June 26, 2026. This will be a virtual class and is open to the first 25 people to register and pay for the class. We have about 10 spots left! Let us hear from you! If there is enough interest, we might offer another class in the fall.

Click link below to complete online registration!

CPHQ Prep Course

NAHQ Next Scholarship Article

Submitted by: Shannon Finley, MSN, RN, CPHQ

AAHQ Membership Offers Avenues for Professional Development and Industry Insights

It is widely known that membership in the Arkansas Association for Healthcare Quality (AAHQ) offers many benefits, including networking opportunities, professional development, reduced rates on educational offerings, and partnerships with others across all disciplines focused on improving outcomes. Clearly, AAHQ is dedicated to developing Arkansas healthcare quality professionals, but what’s in it for you?

AAHQ encourages members to become active partners and engage with other healthcare quality professionals at state and national forums. Here are some tangible benefits of belonging to AAHQ and ways that membership can specifically help you achieve your professional goals.

AAHQ honors commitment to healthcare quality and encourages individuals to obtain national certification as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ). If you have not yet obtained CPHQ, network with professionals who are already certified! The AAHQ Board of Directors has access to a list of CPHQ-certified individuals eager to offer study tips and encouragement.
AAHQ generally hosts two (2) educational conferences annually, with opportunities for Nursing and Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) continuing education credits. Take every opportunity to network with colleagues and explore industry trends.
When feasible, AAHQ seeks to invest in its members directly! For example, the Summer 2025 AAHQ Newsletter announced that seven (7) scholarship opportunities were available for members to attend the 2025 National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) Next conference. NAHQ Next was a virtual event held in September 2025 that offered more than 50 CPHQ CE and Nursing Contact Hours. It was packed with sessions on using data more effectively, emphasizing professional accountability, stressing patient safety, offering tools for performance improvement, and providing leadership strategies.

I had the honor of receiving one of the 2025 AAHQ scholarships for the NAHQ Next conference, and I wanted to share key takeaways from one of my favorite sessions. Paul Keckley, PhD, a nationally known healthcare policy analyst, presented Navigating Mega Issues & Emerging Trends, in which he characterized the current healthcare system as data-rich but information-lacking. Since reliable data is the foundation of quality initiatives and performance improvement, this session underscored the need for quality professionals to work with leadership to build clear business cases for investing in quality. Dr. Keckley argued that the landscape of healthcare will become increasingly complex, with changes in service affordability, staffing, workforce modernization, and the use of artificial intelligence. He cautioned that this shifting landscape would change how care is provided and how processes are defined, forcing healthcare professionals to quantify the cost-effectiveness of measures to demonstrate the quality return on investment. Finally, Dr. Keckley stressed that quality and delivery of care are co-dependent, so to improve one, healthcare systems must invest in the other.

I found Dr. Keckley’s session to be informative, impactful, and enlightening. It left me energized to learn more about industry insights and become more involved! This session made it evident that quality professionals who keep abreast of trends shaping healthcare landscapes, ensuring quality remains at the forefront, will ensure safer, equitable, and more efficient care. AAHQ’s investment in its members’ professional development undergirds the organization’s commitment to improving outcomes across all disciplines and all healthcare arenas in Arkansas.

NAHQ Next Scholarship Article

Submitted by: Amanda Wyatt Hutto, B.S.Ed., PCMH CCE,

Prosci Certified Change Practitioner

Hi, my name is Amanda Wyatt Hutto. I serve as Healthcare Quality Improvement Education Specialist with TMF Health Quality Institute. I have previously had the privilege of serving on the AAHQ board for six years in roles such as Communications Lead and Member-at-Large and am currently entering my ninth year of membership. During my time in AAHQ, I have learned many valuable things including a better understanding of healthcare quality across the Arkansas region, available resources, and contact/networking opportunities.

I am very thankful for the opportunity to attend the National Association of Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) Next virtual event, as a scholarship recipient from AAHQ, with sessions featuring visionary healthcare leaders who offered innovative, real-world solutions for how quality and safety can be activated to solve healthcare’s greatest challenges. These sessions provided actionable, evidence-based tools that combine technical improvement skills with psychological resilience needed to sustain them. While most sessions provided valuable key takeaways, one still has me in awe today with significant impact on my life both personally and professionally. “Locked In, But Not Locked Out: The Power of Gratitude in Everything” by Victoria Arlen, a Paralympic gold medalist and ESPN host. She shared her personal story of overcoming adversity, walking through personal strategies on resilience, with a challenge for healthcare quality professionals to do the same by overcoming adversity and remain resilient during challenging high-stress times. Her focus was staying dedicated and “locked in” to the mission of quality improvement without becoming emotionally or mentally “locked out” or burned out.

I feel confident this message resonates with most of us, due to the hustle and bustle day in and day out that we experience both personally and professionally. Gratitude serves as a powerful, often overlooked, driver of performance and process improvement, acting as a “secret accelerator” that boosts productivity, enhances employee retention, strengthens team cohesion, and honor the discipline in quality. Practicing gratitude allows positive chemical shifts in the brain, enabling better focus and decision-making during high-pressure, complex tasks. By reinforcing a sense of purpose and reducing stress, gratitude can lead to greater perseverance and improved performance. When integrated into organizational and personal routines, it fosters a “growth mindset” that turns challenges into opportunities, rather than focusing on deficits. Through gratitude driven improvement one can better maintain composure and resilience, focuses on identifying and appreciating what is working, which encourages repetition of desired, productive behaviors and overall increased output. Gratitude can serve as an “insurance policy” during difficult times, reducing burnout and maintain productivity even during challenging times.

Having looked at the key aspects of gratitude, let’s now consider how to implement “locked in” gratitude:

Effective gratitude identifies the exact action and its positive impact, be specific and timely.
Experience “grateful seeing” by intentionally focusing on what is working in your life or business without ignoring current challenges.
Incorporate gratitude into daily routines, making growth and improvement a habit.
Use tailored recognition that acknowledges individual, unique contributions rather than generic, one-size-fits-all praise.

Gratitude is particularly effective, helping to transition individuals and teams from a blame mindset to a “what did I/we learn” mindset, ensuring that improvement is sustainable and not derailed by setbacks. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels, use the “Glad to Be Here” debriefing method, which transforms the process of growth and self-improvement into a consistent, habitual, enjoyable practice, adapting a mindset that focuses on appreciation for the opportunity to learn and perform, fostering resilience and continuous improvement. After every flight, regardless of whether a maneuver was executed perfectly or mistakes were made, pilots and team members say, “Glad to be here.” This phrase acts as a grounding, intentional reminder that being part of the team is a privilege, fostering a positive, non-confrontational, and productive environment. This combined with rigorous, honest feedback, the team turns daily work into a continuous cycle of growth. I want to challenge each of us to remain “locked in” and “not locked out” as we continue the path to rebrand quality and drive the industry beyond minimum compliance.

Again, I am very thankful for the support and many opportunities provided to me through AAHQ membership, which has allowed me to earn required continuing education (CEs) credits for various certifications I hold. I want to invite you to join me not only as a member of AAHQ, but also to live daily being intentional and grounded in gratitude, making a difference.

NAHQ Next Scholarship Article

Submitted by: Devin Terry, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CPHQ

The 2025 NAHQ Next Session, Resilient Leadership in Challenging Times, featuring Mike Bowers, Michelle Watson, Kristine Groves, and Laurie McGraw, is both timely and highly relevant in today’s healthcare environment. This session reinforced that resilience in leadership is not an abstract concept, but a set of intentional practices grounded in clarity of purpose, adaptability, and authentic connection. The presenters emphasized that effective quality leaders must balance department demands with the concept that quality is a ‘team sport’ and is everyone’s responsibility, whether it is in their job description or not. It is easy to recognize everyone’s role when you are only looking at the Quality department or the clinical team, but it is just as important to recognize how our non-clinical team members play on this team. Quality departments should build transparent and trusting relationships with the whole team.

What resonated most with me was the importance of leading with presence and transparency—especially when answers are not always clear. I learned that resilience is strengthened when leaders openly acknowledge challenges, engage teams in problem-solving, and model behaviors that support well-being and trust. This is especially important as healthcare quality leaders realize there are six generations in the workforce. Clear communication and a culture of transparent and safe communication are as important as it has ever been in today’s work environment. Quality leaders will serve as mentors to more novice employees than ever before. However, it is important to continually learn from different generations and keep all communication solution oriented. These insights will continue to shape how I approach leadership conversations, decision-making, and team engagement as my new teams move forward together.

Finance Update

Submitted by: Pam Blake, MHA, BSN, RN, CPHQ

Hello, I am Pam Blake, MHA, BSN, RN, CPHQ, the Director of Utilization Management at Jefferson Regional and I am thrilled to be returning to the AAHQ Board. I took a break to help with my four grandchildren, all under the age of six. It is an honor and privilege to serve under Erin Bolton’s Presidency and to work with all the talented and knowledgeable board members. I am assisting Trey McCorkindale with the Finance Team this year. I am looking forward to my new role, learning as much as I can as I take over the Finance Lead when Trey transitions to Board President in 2027. I have been a member of AAHQ for many years and served on the board in the previous roles: President, Team Lead of the Protocol Team, and Member at Large. There are so many opportunities available to AAHQ members such as scholarships, NAHQ NEXT, CPHQ Training, Nursing & CPHQ CEUs, fall and spring conferences, etc. Please pay your dues to Cindy Harris so you can reap all the rewards and benefits of AAHQ!

Article Submission

Federal Program Helps Hospitals Reduce 30-Day Readmissions

For more than 40 years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has led the Quality Improvement Organization Program, which is one of the largest federal programs focused on improving health care quality for people who receive Medicare.

This year, CMS awarded TMF Health Quality Institute a new, five-year Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) contract as part of this program. With this latest contract award, CMS has designated TMF to work with health care organizations and providers in Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. CMS has named this region the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5).

The Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, Inc. (AFMC) is part of the TMF team to provide local quality improvement expertise to health care providers across all care settings and community stakeholders in Arkansas.

Which hospitals will benefit?

CMS has identified 62 acute care hospitals in Arkansas, including five rural emergency hospitals and 25 critical access hospitals, as being eligible to participate in this initiative. Health care quality improvement consultants with the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) are in the process of contacting these eligible hospitals to engage and provide free, expert technical assistance to strengthen the quality of health care for Medicare beneficiaries in Arkansas. In addition to hospitals, the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) supports several nursing homes and primary care outpatient clinical practices in the state.

What can hospitals that participate in the QIN-QIO contract expect?

Hospitals and other CMS-identified health care providers who agree to participate and work with the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) receive free technical assistance. Since hospitals risk losing reimbursement for failure to achieve quality goals, such as reduced readmissions, harm prevention and adherence to evidence-based best practices, this contract is designed to help hospitals develop processes, improve performance on designated measures and collaborate with peer facilities to share and receive knowledge that can help them avoid costly penalties.

How will the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) determine my hospital’s needs?

Our health care quality improvement consultants will work with you to review your hospital’s data to help guide your improvement efforts over the course of this five-year program. Our team consists of clinicians, quality improvement experts and industry leaders who can guide and facilitate discussions, assessments, evaluations and implementations of quality improvement interventions.

Hospitals that work with the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) will work toward achieving measurable change in CMS-identified priority focus areas, as illustrated in Figure 1 below.

To this end, the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) team in Arkansas will offer the following services to the eligible hospitals who participate in the QIN-QIO contract:

One-on-one technical assistance
Interventions tailored to care settings and providers, along with tools and resources
CMS data dashboards and customized reports
Free quality improvement webinars and online training

In addition to AFMC, the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO has partnered with other organizations to offer specialized quality improvement assistance for health care providers. One such partner is the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Health care providers that participate in the QIN-QIO contract will have access to the IHI Open School courses on basic quality improvement skills, management and leadership development topics, including access to a course for the Certified Professional in Patient Safety exam.

The Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) has more than 40 years of experience supporting hospitals in large-scale quality improvement efforts, particularly in rural communities. Our consultants have worked with hundreds of hospitals to achieve and sustain each of the goals associated with different federal and state initiatives and have many years of experience with CMS quality and safety initiatives.

The Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO is in the process of identifying additional hospitals in the state that could be recommended to CMS for eligibility approval. You may visit the program website https://southcentralqinqio.org for more information and to download free resources. If you are interested to know more about your hospital’s eligibility to participate in the program, please email hospitals@tmf.org.

Scan the following QR code to download the hospital fact sheet.

Health Information Exchange: Powering ACO and CIN Success in Arkansas

Submitted by: Justin Villines, MBA, BSM

In today’s value-based care environment, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs) depend on timely, accurate, and actionable data to improve outcomes, coordinate care, and control costs. Across Arkansas, Health Information Exchange (HIE)—led by the statewide State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE)—serves as a critical infrastructure that connects hospitals, clinics, and care teams, enabling patient information to follow the individual across the continuum of care regardless of EMR or location. This level of interoperability is essential for organizations participating in value-based models, where success is tied directly to quality performance, utilization management, and care coordination.

One of the most significant benefits of HIE for ACOs and CINs is its ability to enhance care coordination. Patients frequently move between emergency departments, inpatient settings, primary care providers, specialists, and post-acute care facilities, creating gaps in communication that can negatively impact outcomes. Through HIE, providers gain access to a longitudinal patient record that includes admissions, discharges, transfers (ADT), lab results, imaging, medications, and clinical documentation. In Arkansas, this means primary care providers can receive real-time notifications when their patients are seen in the emergency department or admitted to the hospital, allowing for timely follow-up and better management of transitions of care. Specialists can also review prior workups, reduce unnecessary duplication of services and improve clinical decision-making.

HIE also plays a vital role in reducing readmissions and lowering the total cost of care—two core objectives for ACOs and CINs. By providing visibility into patient encounters across multiple facilities, HIE enables organizations to track readmissions within a 0–90 day window, identify high-risk patients, and intervene earlier. Real-time discharge notifications support transitional care management workflows, ensuring that patients receive appropriate follow-up after leaving the hospital. This proactive approach not only improves patient outcomes but also directly impacts shared savings performance by reducing avoidable utilization and eliminating redundant tests and procedures.

In addition, HIE strengthens population health management and quality reporting efforts. ACOs and CINs rely heavily on accurate and complete data to meet performance metrics such as HEDIS, MIPS, and MSSP quality measures. HIE aggregates clinical data from multiple sources, filling gaps that often exist when information is siloed across different EMRs. In Arkansas, this enables providers to identify care gaps such as missing HbA1c tests, overdue screenings, or incomplete immunizations, while also supporting public health reporting requirements like electronic lab reporting and syndromic surveillance. With more complete and timely data, organizations can improve numerator and denominator accuracy, ultimately leading to higher quality scores and increased incentive payments.

Another key advantage of HIE is its ability to enable interoperability across a highly diverse healthcare landscape. Arkansas includes a mix of rural hospitals, independent clinics, large health systems, and specialty providers, many of which operate on different EMR platforms. HIE serves as the interoperability backbone, allowing these organizations to exchange data without requiring costly system replacements. Providers can query external records, retrieve clinical summaries, and integrate this information into their workflows, creating a unified view of the patient. This is particularly important for CINs, which often consist of independent practices that must remain clinically integrated while maintaining autonomy.

HIE further strengthens referral networks and care alignment within ACOs and CINs by facilitating the seamless exchange of clinical information between referring providers and specialists. Access to complete patient histories prior to visits improves care planning, while timely delivery of consult notes and follow-up recommendations ensures continuity of care. This supports more effective closed-loop referrals and enhances collaboration across the network, leading to better patient outcomes and stronger provider relationships.

Beyond clinical care, HIE in Arkansas also supports public health initiatives and whole-person care. By connecting with state registries and public health systems, HIE enables providers to report and access critical data related to disease surveillance, immunizations, and population health trends. It also creates opportunities to integrate behavioral health and social determinants of health (SDOH) data, aligning with the broader goals of ACOs and CINs to address the full spectrum of patient needs.

Finally, HIE improves operational efficiency and reduces administrative burden for healthcare organizations. By replacing manual processes such as faxing, phone calls, and record requests with automated data exchange, providers and care teams can focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks. Automated notifications, centralized data access, and streamlined reporting contribute to increased productivity and provider satisfaction. In a state like Arkansas, where geographic diversity and access challenges can impact care delivery, HIE provides a unifying framework that connects providers across settings and communities. For ACOs and CINs, leveraging HIE is not just a technological advantage—it is a strategic necessity. By enabling better coordination, improving quality performance, reducing costs, and supporting interoperability, HIE empowers hospitals and clinics to succeed in value-based care and deliver more connected, patient-centered healthcare across the state.

AAHQ Sponsors

Gold Level Sponsors

American Data Network

Founded in 1994, American Data Network provides clinical, quality, safety and financial data applications and services to healthcare executives, allowing them to better manage costs and care quality, influence physician practice patterns and meet demands for public accountability and disclosure. For more information about ADN and its services, please visit www.americandatanetwork.com.

Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care

For more than 35 years, AFMC has helped improve the quality of healthcare in Arkansas. As the federally designated quality improvement organization (QIO), we work with staff in every healthcare setting and offer free tools and resources. Together, we’re working to make healthcare safer, more effective and more efficient. For more information about AFMC’s services, please go to www.afmc.org.

Empower Healthcare Solutions

Founded in 2018, Empower is the largest of four Provider-led Arkansas Shared Saving Entities (PASSE) in Arkansas. Empower is committed to helping members live fuller, healthier lives at home and in their communities. For more information about Empower Healthcare Solutions, please visit https://getempowerhealth.com/