From the President’s Desk
Submitted by Teresa Jeffus

Greetings everyone,

I hope you have all had a wonderful summer.  Though it’s always sad when the school holiday comes to an end we have a lot of exciting things to look forward to this fall. Cardigan and scarf weather, football season, pumpkin spice lattes and AAHQ annual meetings are all on the horizon!

I am excited to tell you about some things that the board has been working on over the last few months.  First, our educational conference, Quality across the Healthcare Continuum: Putting the Pieces Together, will be held on Friday, October 27^th, 2017.  It is shaping up to be another outstanding educational opportunity with presentations from some excellent speakers.  We are hoping that the use of credit cards for registration makes that process a lot smoother this year.

We have planned this event at the Gilbreath Conference Center at Baptist Hospital, which member feedback has shown to be a central and convenient location.  Vendors will be on site during the conference so that you may visit with them about their services.  A delicious and healthy lunch as well as refreshments will be provided for your convenience.

Another opportunity to gain CPHQ hours will be available on December 7^th and 8^th at the annual CPHQ educational review course.  Planning is underway for that event.  We are wrapping up instructor selection and location scheduling at our chosen venue.  We will notify you when details have been finalized, in the meantime please save the dates if you are interested in attending.

Until next time, enjoy your last few weeks at the pool!

Teresa Jeffus, RN, BSN, CPHQ, CPPS.

AAHQ President

Professional Development Roundup
Submitted by Shannon Finley

FALL EDUCATION CONFERENCE: SAVE THE DATE

Quality across the Healthcare Continuum: Putting the Pieces Together
October 27, 2017

J.A. Gilbreath Conference Center
Baptist Medical Center
9601 Baptist Health Drive
Little Rock, AR 72205

AAHQ’s Professional Development Team is planning a wonderful Fall Education Conference, scheduled for October 27, 2017. The conference sessions will include a wide variety of speakers discussing quality across the healthcare continuum in Arkansas. Conference attendees should plan for this day to be a wonderful opportunity for networking with other leaders in quality! Come share the ways that you/your teams are putting complex pieces of today’s healthcare puzzle together. There is still time to submit an abstract:

Please send the following information to Shannon Finley at sfinley55@gmail.com  by August 15, 2017 for consideration.

Name:
Credentials:
Title:
Organization:
Email:
Phone:
Biography (100 words or less):
Co-presenters (provide contact information and 100-word biographies for each co-presenter):
Title of Presentation:
Topic Area(s) of Submission:
Description of Presentation (200 words or less):

The AAHQ Professional Development Team will evaluate abstract submissions on the following:

1. Clarity and organization: Abstract submissions should present topics/ideas in a logical, easy-to-follow format. Titles should be brief, clearly indicating the nature of the topic. Text should be grammatically accurate.
2. Relevance to Healthcare Quality
3. Innovation in Healthcare Quality

Accepted presenters will receive email notification by Sept. 15, 2017 with additional guidelines to complete for continuing education requirements.

If you would like to serve on the Professional Development Team or have any suggestions, please contact Shannon Finley at sfinley55@gmail.com.

Membership Services Update

Submitted by Karen Donaldson

 

 

 

 

Member Spotlight: Karen Black

AAHQ long-time member, Karen Black, has been in the healthcare field for many years.  She was instrumental in starting “quality circles” when working as an operating room nurse at Baptist Medical Center back in the 1980’s, so her interest in quality healthcare has been ongoing from early in her career.  After several years in the Home Health arena, she moved to Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield in Little Rock and has been there since 1998.  She served initially as the QI manager initiating NCQA, then moved to Quality Improvement Coordinator until 2010, when she became the Manager of Quality Improvement, Accreditation, and Compliance.  She has experience in Utilization Management, Case Management, Share Point, the URAC accreditation process, and has made many presentations and authored articles related to these topics.  She has been a life-long learner and plans to continue doing that.  She has been a senior examiner for the Governor’s Quality Award (previously AIPE) and has promoted the use of the Malcolm Baldrige criteria and quality principles to improve healthcare, becoming a judge for the GQA in 2016.  She serves as a member of the URAC Case Management Advisory Group and on the FEP Quality Oversight Group.

On a more personal note, Karen loves animals and lives with several at her home in Conway.  She is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (say that fast…), a non-profit educational organization recreating and researching life in the years 600 AD – 1600 AD.  She has been active in participating in events related to these time periods for many years, and her skill in the period re-enactments is weaving.  She is also active in Archery and Rifle Competitions.  She is a busy lady and promotes quality in all aspects of her life and work.

Finance Action Team Update
Submitted by Lynnette Jack

NEWS FLASH:  AAHQ is now accepting Visa and MasterCard payment of dues and registrations! 

We are happy to announce that we are catching up with 2017 and now accepting Visa and MasterCard payments.

Reimbursement for the CPHQ examination may be considered for members applying for this assistance, if funds are available.  If you are interested, you may contact any board member who will be able to respond to any questions you may have about this benefit.

The financial standing of the organization remains strong.  Our financial balance as of June 30, 2017 was $33,672.40.  Thank you for all the member support that makes the work of AAHQ possible!

External Relations
Submitted by David Vrudny

We are pleased to report the AAHQ External Relations team has three new members – Chelsey Davidson, Lisa Stansbury and Devin Terry. This outstanding group is helping AAHQ build relationships with external stakeholders and make our organization better known to the public. Please join us in welcoming Chelsea, Lisa and Devin to our team!

 

 

 

Arkansas Department of Health Strategic Map – Through 2019

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH)’s mission is “to protect and improve the health and well-being of all Arkansans.” ADH has put in place a strategic map outlining six key areas of focus including childhood obesity, teen pregnancy, mental and community wellness, hypertension, immunizations and tobacco use.  The following graphic addresses the importance of each of these areas:

The objectives for each area to achieve by 2019 are as follows:

Childhood obesity

• Increase the proportion of infants who are exclusively breastfeeding at 3 months from 29.1% to 35%.
• Increase from 81.6% to 90% the percentage of schools in which students cannot purchase soda pop or fruit drinks (that are not 100% juice) from vending machines or at the school store, canteen, or snack bar.
• Promote economic growth and safety in Arkansas communities by enhancing places for physical activity and incorporating multimodal transportation.
• Increase from 0 to 20 the number of Early Childhood Education Centers (ECEs) that exceed Arkansas’ state licensure requirements for food service, nutrition, and physical activity.

  Teen Pregnancy

• Decrease the overall teen birth rate from 43.4 live births per 1,000 females in 2013 to 34.7 per 1,000 females ages 15-19.
• Decrease the African American, non-Hispanic teen birth rate from 58.3 live births per 1,000 females in 2013 to 43.7 live births per 1,000 females ages 15-19.
• Decrease the teen birth rate from 82.5 live births per 1,000 females to 66.0 live births per 1,000 females ages 18-19.

Mental and Community Wellness

• Decrease the number of suicide deaths among 10-24 year olds in Arkansas from 68 to 44.
• Work with health care providers and organizations focused on services for older Arkansans to identify at least one meaningful and reliable measure on screening and treatment of alcohol use disorder in Arkansans age 65 and older.
• Work with health care providers and organizations focused on services for older Arkansans to identify at least one meaningful and reliable measures on depression screening for Arkansans age 65 and older.
• Increase the data on and awareness of adverse childhood experiences in Arkansas from the current very low levels to at least one source of data and one sustainable awareness activity.
• Increase the number of organizations who use a toolkit developed by ADH to educate individuals and communities on the long-term effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Hypertension

• Increase identification of adults with at least two elevated blood pressures within the last 12 months from 38% to 82%.
• Refer 80% of individuals with 2 elevated blood pressures identified in the LHU to care.
• Monitor 80% of individuals with hypertension who receive services at ADH for medication adherence.
• Increase the number of counties providing team-based care for chronic disease management (hypertension and diabetes) from two to ten counties statewide.

Immunizations

• Increase the vaccination rates for all ACIP-recommended vaccinations for children, with an increase in the vaccination rate for children aged 19-35 months from 66.0 to 80.0 percent for the 4:3:1:3:3:1:4 combined immunization series serving as the representative measure.
• Increase the vaccination rates for all ACIP-recommended vaccinations for adolescents, with an increase in the vaccination rate for adolescents aged 13-17 years from 23.4 to 40.0 percent for females and from 11.4 to 40.0 percent for males for the completed HPV immunization series serving as the representative measure.
• Increase the vaccination rates for all ACIP-recommended vaccinations for adults, with an increase in the annual influenza vaccination rate for adults 18 years and older from 43.9 to 70.0 percent serving as the representative measure.
• Increase the proportion of immunization providers who report vaccine doses administered to children under the age of 22 years to WebIZ from 25 to 100 percent.

Tobacco Use

• Decrease the tobacco use prevalence (cigarettes, cigars, smokeless) in youth (9^th – 12^th graders) from 26.5% to 24.5%.
• Decrease the tobacco use prevalence (cigarettes, smokeless) in young adults (18-24) from 27.7% to 25.7%.
• Decrease smoking prevalence among adults (18+) from 25.9% to 23.9% percentage point change.

Protocol
Submitted by Pam Blake

Call for Nominations

 It is time to develop a list of nominees for election of officers of the AAHQ Board of Directors.  Nominations are sought for the office of the 2018 President-Elect.

 The office of President-Elect is a three year commitment as this position will transition into the President and Past President positions for 2019 and 2020, respectively. The duties of the President–Elect and subsequent offices are described below.

Please submit all nominations to Cindy Harris at CHarris@arkhospitals.org or Pam Blake at blakep@jrmc.org by Friday, September 1, 2017.

 Duties of the Offices throughout the Three Year Commitment:

• President-Elect – In the absence of the President, the President Elect shall perform the duties of the President. The President Elect shall perform all duties assigned by the President, and will become familiar with and prepare for the duties of the office. In the event the President cannot fulfill his/her tenure of office, the President Elect shall serve out the unexpired term, and then begin his/her own term of office. This individual will serve in this position in 2018.
• President – The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and the Board of Directors. The president shall appoint any special committees and team leaders. The president shall be an ex-officio member of all committees and Action Teams and shall attend all usual duties pertaining to the office. This office will be served throughout 2019.
• Past President – In the absence of the President and President Elect, the Past President shall perform the duties of the President. The Past President shall perform all duties assigned by the President. This office will be served throughout 2020.

Qualifications for Nominees for President-Elect:

• Member in good standing in the organization for a minimum of 2 years.
• Currently employed by an AHA affiliated organization.
• Nominee must submit a picture and pertinent biographical sketch of their professional activities and services to the Association, which shall be included with the ballot.

Communications Update
Submitted by Dalana Pittman

10,000 CPHQs

As healthcare quality professionals, we’re always looking for ways to improve – not just for our organizations but also for ourselves. That’s one of the reasons why I chose to earn the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality® (CPHQ) credential. Today, you’ll find more than 10,000 active CPHQs around the globe, and I’m proud to be one of them.

If you hold the CPHQ credential, congratulations! If you don’t have a CPHQ, I urge you to consider becoming certified. It is the only accredited certification in healthcare quality. Placing the credential after your name enhances your credibility and distinguishes you from your peers. Visit the NAHQ website to learn more about the CPHQ. You can even watch a recent webinar NAHQ hosted to answer common questions about the certification and exam. Or, feel free to ask me any questions you might have about the CPHQ. I’m happy to share my experience. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s76T4wATmoQ

NAHQ Next

The NAHQ Next Conference Planning team has been working hard to create an action packed agenda for NAHQ Next! It’s full of healthcare quality leaders and inspirational speakers to help us take our work to the NEXT level.

NAHQ Next is THE event that will help to position you as an indispensable member of the healthcare team, connect you with the brightest minds in the profession, and provide solutions to the workplace challenges you face every day.  Not only will you enhance your healthcare quality knowledge at NAHQ Next, but you’ll also have the chance to take advantage of resources to advance your personal career from getting a complimentary professional headshot to speaking with a coach for professional advice.  Watch NAHQ’s brief video to see what NAHQ Next has to offer you whether you’re new to healthcare quality or an experienced professional.  https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=FGgzRqXs2Vw

Time’s running out for you to save $200 when you register at the early bird rate!  Reserve your spot today and see you in Cincinnati!

American Data Network PSO Presents Inaugural Good Catch Awards to ACH Nurse, St. Bernards Physician
Submitted by Susan Allen

American Data Network PSO’s statewide Good Catch campaign empowers hospital staff to speak up and report potential risk when it is discovered. The campaign, which is grounded in the belief that a near miss or close call reported today can prevent an error from happening tomorrow, aims to help hospitals significantly increase near miss reporting, understand process and system vulnerabilities, and develop data-driven improvement activities.

ADNPSO pledged to recognize individual clinicians and departments  demonstrating outstanding efforts to drive change and enhance patient safety throughout the campaign. In June, ADNPSO presented the first Good Catch Awards to two exceptional clinicians whose attentiveness and willingness to speak up led to improvements in care delivery and hospital protocol.

Chloe Baldwin, RN at Arkansas Children’s Hospital received the Individual Good Catch Award for the campaign’s first quarter. Baldwin demonstrated courage and persistence when she raised questions and concerns after a patient’s physical assessment. Her tenacity led to further diagnostic testing and ultimately to changes in the patient’s care plan. Baldwin’s Good Catch has been shared hospital wide and incorporated into employee safety training as an exemplary illustration of situational awareness and advancement of error prevention techniques.

 

 

Don Howard, MD, an intensivist with St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro, received the Physician Good Catch Award for the first quarter. Dr. Howard’s Good Catch came during a thorough review of medication orders prior to a patient’s transition to a lower level of care. He expressed concern when he

found no documentation for discontinuing a high-risk medication restricted to use in the intensive care unit. Dr. Howard’s Good Catch prompted a hospital-wide gap analysis of verbal order practices especially those in high-risk areas such as the emergency department and ICU. In addition, SBMC added an electronic trigger within its medical record system to force a review of high-risk medications during transitions of care to help mitigate human error.

With over 2,000 near misses reported, first quarter data submissions revealed a sound start for the Good Catch campaign. In preparation for the campaign’s launch, ADNPSO provided participating hospitals with tech training related to near miss reporting as well as a Good Catch Tool Kit including a Blueprint for Success and team charter guidelines. ADNPSO also distributed campaign posters and educational materials and will introduce new tools, including infographics and tip clips, as hospitals work to sustain momentum and grow their near miss reporting programs throughout the campaign’s year-long run.

 

First Stop:  A Culture of Safety
Submitted by Pam Cochran

 

 

 

 

 

In 2011, Mark Chassin and Jerod Loeb authored “The Ongoing Quality Improvement Journey:  Next Stop, High Reliability.” Published in Health Affairs, this seminal work identifies the characteristics of highly reliable healthcare organizations as committed leadership, culture of safety, and dedication to a robust quality improvement practice.  If the next stop is high reliability, where should the first stop be?  I have confidence that a Safe Culture is just that stop!

Published by The Joint Commission in March 2017, “Sentinel Event Alert” Issue 57, states a culture of safety is as critical as resources devoted to revenue and financial stability, system integration, and productivity. Daily in healthcare facilities, executive leaders focus on just those three fundamentals of business.  Effectively managing the costs, working cohesively within and without, and delivering quality services is the goal of daily operations.  Yet, leaders can be unaware of culture characteristics that can undermine and erode the foundation of trust and threaten the facility as a whole. Systems fail when employees feel undervalued, unheard, or do not feel safe to openly report and discuss process failures.

Leaders are responsible to treat others with dignity and respect, be engaged with staff, and promote a culture of learning and productivity.  Successfully sharing the mission and the goals of an organization enhances the confidence essential for staff to feel secure in their work.  Leaders must be dedicated to ensure healthy relationships with staff and model behaviors that instill confidence.  Managers who walk the walk have far more success than those who talk about transparency and non-punitive reporting and then, practice differently.  In “Sentinel Event Alert” Issue 57, The Joint Commission supports the concept that happy employees, joyful and dedicated to their work, are foundational to success.  Simply stated, happy employees make for happy patients and better outcomes! The importance of a trusting relationship between leadership and staff cannot be overstated.

In 1994, The Joint Commission published groundbreaking standards holding leaders responsible for the operations of the organization and the performance of personnel. It is widely agreed that the making of a trusting and safe culture takes time and effort.  To answer the need, The National Patient Safety Foundation Lucian Leape Institute, in collaboration with the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), developed a guide for organizational leaders seeking an environment that promotes justness, reporting, and learning.   Their blueprint, published in 2017, speaks to six domains for the executive’s focus and dedication.  The domains are vision, trust, respect and inclusion, board engagement, leadership development, just culture, and behavior expectations.  Each day healthcare leaders should ask themselves the following question.  “Today, what actions have I taken to promote a safe culture in my hospital”?  A download of the 41-page guide is available on the internet here.

Finally, Monday, July 17, 2017 was National Emoji Day.  It seems everywhere we turn, we see emoji after emoji.  In fact, I cannot help myself and generally conclude each text with an emoji or two.  I recently learned there is even an emojipedia. Who knew?   I could not resist using an emoji clipart to open the discussion highlighting the need to stop and evaluate cultures and then, working tirelessly to improve the confidence of patients, communities, and employees.

Enjoy the rest of summer 2017

Pam Cochran MSN, RN-BC, ACM, CPHQ

Spotlight from AFMC
Submitted by Mandy Palmer

Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship

AFMC was awarded a new project under the TMF QIN CMS 11^th SOW on Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship.

Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs and save millions of lives each year. However, antibiotic usage comes with a serious and growing threat to our nation’s health and economy.

The outpatient setting accounts for more than 60 percent of antibiotic expendi­tures for humans in the United States. Nearly half of the prescriptions are inappropriate in terms of selection, dosing, duration and unnecessary prescribing.

Arkansas is ranked sixth highest in the nation in the rate of antibiotic outpatient prescriptions dispensed, with 1,155 antibiotic pre­scriptions per 1,000 people, compared to the national average of 835.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is actively working to improve antibiotic usage to combat antibiotic resistance. In November 2016, the CDC released the Core Element of Outpa­tient Antibiotic Stewardship along with a checklist for clinicians and facilities. These elements are for clinicians (including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitio­ners and dentists) in primary care clinics, emergency rooms, health care systems, outpatient specialty and subspecialty clinics, retail and urgent care clinics and dental clinics.

AFMC will be working with these outpatient entities to implement these four core elements. You may visit tmfqin.org to find out more information or contact Mandy Palmer mpalmer@afmc.org.

Care Transitions

AFMC QIO, subcontractor to the CMS Regional TMF QIN-QIO, continues to make strides in the state’s effort to reduce avoidable 30-day hospital readmissions among Medicare beneficiaries. Arkansas has exceeded the contract’s deliverables to reach 40 percent of the state’s Medicare population with Arkansas Care Transitions (ACT) coalitions. The nine ACT coalitions, or communities, have reached more than 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries living in the state. The organized community coalitions cover 68 of the state’s 75 counties.

Approximately 38 percent of 30-day readmissions occur within the first seven days following hospital release.

Although each ACT coalition is unique, many of the potential causes for readmissions are the same. Some of these include:

• Underutilization of support services such as hospice or palliative care
• Adverse drug events secondary to lack of adequate or timely medication reconciliation or access to prescribed medications
• Lack of timely follow-up by a primary care physician due to access issues
• Poor and inconsistent communication among providers – probably the most common reason

Subsequent to the recognition that these problems are coalition-wide, AFMC staff helped organize statewide care transitions work groups, comprised of members representing each of the nine coalitions. The intended purpose of these work groups was two-fold:  avoid duplicative efforts, and strive to have standardization of processes to improve safety and continuity of care.

The topic-specific work groups include, but are not limited to:

• Medication Safety Affinity Group (MSAG)
• Hospice and Palliative Care Group
• Universal Hand-Off (Universal Transfer Form) Work Group
• Behavioral Health Work Group

Recruitment for both coalition and work group participation is ongoing. We invite and need representation across health care settings, policy makers, and most importantly, our seniors. For additional information, contact Jo Whitmore, jwhitmore@afmc.org or Melodie Zipfel, mzipfel@afmc.org

 Medicare Beneficiaries Quality Improvement Program (MBQIP)

The Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) is a quality improvement activity under the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) grant program of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP).

The goal of MBQIP is to improve the quality of care provided in critical access hospitals (CAHs), by increasing quality data reporting by CAHs and then driving quality improvement activities. Subcontracted by the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), AFMC assists the CAHs with technical support for reporting, data analysis and performance targets, and education to enhance improvement activities. All 29 Arkansas CAHs are working diligently to continue to report data and improve performance of the measures required in four domains: Patient Safety, Patient Engagement, Care Transitions and Outpatient.

Arkansas CAHs will convene in Little Rock July 18 for the annual CAH Workshop where there will be emphasis on HCAHPS.

 Medicaid Inpatient Quality Incentive (IQI) program

Moving into the 12th year of the highly successful Medicaid Inpatient Quality Incentive Project, one new submission measure and updated guidelines for previous measures will present more opportunities for improving patient care and increasing reimbursement. The project’s success is the direct result of the hard work and commitment of Arkansas hospitals.

There are eight performance measures this year that will require hospitals to achieve an improvement threshold and obtain a passable validation score for third and fourth quarter 2017 discharges. There are two submission measures and one outcome measure that hospitals will be required to abstract, submit, and pass validation for discharges in these two quarters.

The criteria were developed jointly by Arkansas Medicaid, the Arkansas Hospital Association, the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, and the IQI Advisory Committee, which is comprised of hospital quality professionals. The advisory committee was invaluable in helping to develop and refine the state fiscal year 2018 criteria. We fully anticipate Arkansas hospitals will once again rise to the challenge.

 Nursing Homes 

Selected nursing homes from across the state are voluntarily submitting Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI) information into the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) database. While this program may be familiar to those who practice in hospital settings, this is a new and exciting adventure for nursing homes. – Overall, 38 homes were recruited for the project, and more than 80 percent of them have consistently reported information since March. AFMC staff continues to work diligently with these homes to make sure there is a staff person who is trained to report and has access to the NHSN database. This has been a challenging undertaking, but, with upcoming regulation changes, it will be helpful to homes that were selected to work on this project.

Creating a Healthy, Proactive Reporting Culture
Submitted by Stephanie Evans, BSN, RN, CPPS

Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Proactively identifying and addressing potential areas of weakness in our systems, processes, and even culture, is an integral part of ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality care.   This includes analyzing errors and events that are intercepted before they reach the patient, commonly referred to as a good catch or near-miss event.

These events often spotlight vulnerabilities and areas of risk within our organizations.  They are red-flags!  Unfortunately, they are frequently under-reported in healthcare, so we were excited to see statewide efforts being made through the Good Catch Campaign to promote reporting and learning from events in a proactive manner.

At Arkansas Children’s, one of the things we have learned during our journey towards high-reliability is that you can’t just tell staff to report events and expect to have robust reporting.   Reporting must become a part of your organizational culture.  We have found that there are three primary factors that contribute to successfully creating and sustaining a culture of proactive reporting:

Ease of Reporting – Long, lengthy forms or complex systems are deterrents to reporting in a busy healthcare setting.   Allow staff to report only the details that are required for follow up: who, what, when and where.

Safe Reporting – Staff must feel safe when reporting errors and events.   A culture that is fair and just will allow staff to feel that they are able to report events without a fear of a punitive response.

Transparency – Above all else, we must be transparent.  Staff need to understand why reporting is important and they need to know how it is making a difference; otherwise, it is likely to be seen as “one more thing you’re asking me to do.”   This can be done by providing feedback to staff who have reported events, and including a discussion of these events in your organizational safety huddle and other venues across the organization, to promote transparency.

The Good Catch Campaign has helped many organizations to jump start their reporting!   We encourage you to capitalize on that momentum as you work towards creating a healthy, proactive reporting culture!

Our Sponsors

ARKANSAS FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL CARE

Julie Kettlewell, RNP, AVP of Quality Programs 1020 West 4th Street, Suite 300
Little Rock, AR 72201 Phone 501-212-8740
E-Mail jkettlewell@afmc.org Website www.afmc.org

The Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC) was incorporated in 1972 as a private, nonprofit educational organization dedicated to the evaluation and improvement of health care. We are the federally designated quality improvement organization (QIO) for Arkansas. Our staff includes physicians, nurses, statisticians, educators, communicators – professionals with widely varied expertise, at various stages of life and career, who have been on both sides of the health care system. We work with staff in every health care setting and offer free tools and resources, such as educational materials for patients and providers and help with Medicare and Medicaid issues. We review certain types of health care paid for by Medicare and Medicaid to ensure high-quality, cost-effective care and to resolve beneficiary concerns. We help find evidence-based ways to improve preventive care as well as treatment and management of specific illnesses and conditions. We are also a health information technology regional extension center (HITREC), federally funded to provide technical assistance to health care providers as they make the transition to electronic health records. Our roles and responsibilities are constantly evolving, but they all serve the purpose of building support systems and partnerships, and helping focus the efforts of the health care community, agencies and organizations toward common goals. Together, we’re working to make health care safer, more effective and more efficient.

BANCORPSOUTH INSURANCE SERVICES, INC. Tom Hesselbein, CPCU, Executive VP, Healthcare (Ramsey, Krug, Farrell & Lensing) 8315 Cantrell Road, Suite 300 Little Rock, AR 72227 Phone 501-614-1134 Email Tom_Hesselbein@rkfl.com

 

AMERICAN DATA NETWORK
Sherry Bird, Director, Business Development 10809 Executive Center Dr., Searcy Building Suite 300 Little Rock, AR 72211
Phone 501-225-5533
E-mail sbird@americandatanetwork.com
Website www.americandatanetwork.com

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.

2016 Board of Directors

President
Teresa Jeffus
501-296-1009
501686-8175 fax
JeffusTeresaM@uams.edu

 

 

Past-President
Phyllis Dorrough
501-202-1276
501-202-1159 fax
phyllis.dorrough@baptist-health.org

 

 

 

President – Elect
Pam Cochran
501-257-3087
501-257-3110 fax
autocontrols@att.net

 

 

 

Secretary
Margaret Corbett
501-513-5735
501-513-5312 fax
mcorbett@conwayregional.org

 

 

 

Action Team Leaders

Protocol
Pam Blake
870-718-1724
blakep@jrmc.org

 

 

 

Professional Dev.
Shannon Finley
501-296-1010
501-686-8175
Sfinley55@gmail.com

 

 

Membership Srv.
Karen Donaldson
870-382-7657
870-382-6555 fax
kdonaldson@deltamem.net

 

 

 

Finance
Lynette Jack
501-379-8980
501-407-9288 fax
mqrs@comcast.net

 

 

 

Communication
Dalana Pittman
501-537-7944
501-225-5539 fax
dpittman@americandatanetwork.com

 

 

 

External Relations
David Vrudny
501-661-2096
501-280-4207 fax
David.Vrudny@arkansas.gov

 

 

 

Member at Large
Beth Schooley
870-845-8014
870-845-4178  fax
beths@howardmemorial.com

 

 

 

AHA Liaison

Cindy Harris
501-224-7878
501-224-0519 fax
charris@arkhospitals.org

Editor: Dalana Pittman
American Data Network
Little Rock, AR