Critical Access Hospitals Discussion

Question 1

Critical access hospital is a designation assigned to hospitals in rural areas, eligible for Medicare reimbursement, improving access to healthcare in these areas. One of the critical care hospitals is Guttenberg Municipal hospital managed by CEO Kin Gau who joined forces with a Finley Hospital and adopted a PDSA model (plan, do, study, act) in a bid to improve the hospital’s quality. The managers were involved which enabled the education and motivation of other staff members to become involved in the process of quality improvement (Jacobsen, 2009). The CQI strategy employed by the hospital requires feedback, so there were internal quality measures feedback as well as external feedbacks using the Iowa  Recognition for Performance Excellence Critical Access Hospitals Discussion

Program (Jacobsen, 2009). Commitment to continuing quality improvement would involve taking bold steps in planning the cycle while also ensuring that the staffs agree to the process by selecting a few projects at a time to keep the process manageable (Jacobsen, 2009). Furthermore, instead of training managers alone, staff training should also be carried which would make the transition of the process easier (Jacobsen, 2009).Critical Access Hospitals Discussion

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Question 2

Critical access hospital is a hospital in a rural area, designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services helping to reduce financial vulnerability and improve access to healthcare having 25 or fewer acute inpatient beds (Critical Access Hospitals, 2018). The hospital used the PDSA, Plan, Do, Study, Act model for QI (Quality Improvement) in Collaboration with the Finley Hospital that presented the concept of CQI and with the involvement of a board member who introduced the Malcolm Baldridge criteria. The model improved the performance of the employees and as a result improving patient satisfaction. The Malcolm Baldridge criteria then became an essential tool in the external initiative employed by Guttenberg Municipal Hospital. The Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence Program was based on the Baldridge criteria which give external feedback ( Jacobsen, 2009).

Approach 1-The Malcolm Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence was used as part of CQI initiative, and it helped in alignment. Approach 2-another was to include the managers, making them part of the CQI committee which helped in Approach 3- education and motivation of other staff members to part of the process.Critical Access Hospitals Discussion

The organization kicked off a lean project using the 5S methodology which is translated from Japanese into English as sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain. The wheel-chair project using the 5S methodology in which the chairs were color-coded to specific locations in the hospital. The hospital community enjoys QI journey as reports have shown patient loyalty over the period of QI, the community of Iowa expects excellence from Guttenberg Municipal Hospital because of CQI (Jacobsen, 2009).

References

Critical access hospitals. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/critical-access-hospitals

Jacobsen, J.(2009). Quality Engrained in Culture in Iowa Hospital. www.asq.org, 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.stat.purdue.edu/~kuczek/stat513/Relevant%20Articles/Relevant%20Articles/quality-engrained-in-culture-at-iowa-hospital.pdf Critical Access Hospitals Discussion