AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange

August 19, 2009 | Go to past issues.

Featured Topic: Long-Term Care

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has found that one-fourth of the country's 16,000 nursing homes have serious deficiencies that cause actual harm to residents or place their health and safety at risk.

The featured innovations describe quality improvement efforts to reduce high rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia, pressure ulcers, and staff turnover at long-term care facilities.

The featured QualityTools provide practical information and resources to improve long-term care.

This Issue's Featured Innovations:

Adaptation and Expansion of Existing Bundle of Inpatient Interventions Reduces Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia at Long-Term Care Facility

Nursing Home Learning Collaborative Improves Quality of Care, Reduces Staff Turnover

Staff Training and Support, Incentives, and Feedback Fails to Generate Sustainable Reductions in Pressure Ulcers at Nursing Home

Other Innovations in this issue:

Counselor-Led House Calls Reduce Symptoms and Hospitalizations, Improve Quality of Life Among Home-Bound Elders With Mild Depression

Multipronged Strategy Reduces Use of Seclusion and Restraints to Manage Aggression at Inpatient Behavioral Health Facility

Nurse-Led Program Increases Provision of Cessation Counseling to Inpatients Who Smoke

Revised Processes Related to Daily Opening Reduce Wait Times and Enhance Patient Satisfaction at Two Urban Clinics

updated House Calls to Frail Elders Reduce Costs, Hospital Use, and Nursing Home Placements

updated Interdisciplinary Team Identifies and Addresses Risk Factors For Falls Among Nursing Home Residents, Leading to Fewer Falls and Less Use of Restraints

updated Prevention and Treatment Program Integrates Actionable Reports Into Practice, Significantly Reducing Pressure Ulcers in Nursing Home Residents

updated Real-Time Vital Sign Monitoring Ensures Timely Care For At-Risk Patients, Leading to Fewer Unplanned Intensive Care Unit Admissions and Out-of-Intensive Care Unit Cardiac Arrests

Go to all Innovations.

This Issue's Featured QualityTools:

AGing Integrated Database (AGID)

Nursing Home eTool

Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture

Other QualityTools in this issue:

PEARLS (Program to Encourage Active and Rewarding Lives for Seniors) Toolkit

Smoking Cessation Public Service Announcements With National Football League Hall of Famer Darrell Green

www.trytostop.org

Your Guide to Coumadin^®/Warfarin Therapy

Go to all QualityTools.

Last updated: August 19, 2009.

AHRQ's Innovations Exchange featured in August Exceptional Parent Magazine.
Federal Health Program Encourages Health Service Innovations on Developmental Disabilities (Go to Preview to read article online. Subscription required to print article).
by Mary Nix, MS, Project Officer for the Health Care Innovations Exchange

Register Now for AHRQ's 2009 Annual Conference and sign up for these Innovations Exchange sessions:

Progress of a Learning Network: Working to Reduce Disparities by Improving Access to Care
Monday, September 14, 2009; 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. (EDT)

So You're Doing Quality and Safety Improvement: How Can You Tell Whether It's Working?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009; 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. (EDT)

Slide presentations are available from the AHRQ August 13 Webinar,
The Roller Coaster Implementation of the Arizona Medical Information Exchange (AMIE).
Audio and Transcript Coming Soon.

Perspective:
Applying Customer-Driven Innovation to Health Care: An Interview with Jeneanne Rae, Co-Founder and President, Peer Insight, LLC

Visit our Webpage to Learn About: Linking Clinical Practices and the Community for Prevention

•	Read about ways to cultivate innovation and overcome challenges to adopting new ideas.

•	Connect and collaborate with people who have similar interests and goals.

The Health Care Innovations Exchange benefits from the guidance and input of a multidisciplinary group of highly qualified medical professionals.

Paul E. Plsek, MS
Paul E. Plsek & Associates, Inc.; Author: Creativity, Innovation, and Quality

Visit all expert biographies.