The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN) recently recognized Memorial Hospital, Chester, for its ongoing commitment to exceptional quality of care, during a ceremony held November 18th at the I-Hotel and Conference Center, Champaign, IL.
Memorial Hospital’s Environment of Care and Patient Safety Committees meet monthly to work on maintaining and executing top performance in the four domains of quality outcomes laid out by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Program (MBQIP). As a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), Memorial voluntarily participates in the four defined domains of quality outcomes, which includes: Patient Safety/Inpatient; Patient Engagement; Care Transitions; and Outpatient Measures.
Memorial Hospital was recognized for being in the top 10% of all critical access hospitals in the country for influenza vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel as part of the Patient Safety/Inpatient Domain. It was also honored for being in the top 10% of all CAHs in the country for exceptional care of emergency department transfer patients as part of the Care Transitions Domain. “Here at Memorial, the patient is always our first priority,” says Brett Bollmann, CEO. “All of our employees are dedicated to ensuring a safe and healing environment for our community and making certain that those who need care that is more advanced are transitioned quickly in order to receive needed treatment as fast as possible.”
The Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Program began in 2011 as a way for critical access hospitals to demonstrate the quality of care that they provide. This program has continued to evolve, adding new measures and removing outdated ones. The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN), located in Princeton, IL, is a network of 57 small rural Illinois hospitals dedicated to strengthening the operations of its member hospitals through collaboration. The organization is composed of Illinois hospitals who have earned critical access hospital designation by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. ICAHN is recognized nationally for its work with rural healthcare and administers several state, federal, and private healthcare programs.