3rd Annual IHA Quality Advocacy Showcase Highlights Hospital Efforts Statewide

Springfield—On April 12, leaders from Anderson Hospital met with legislators in the Illinois State Capitol to share a quality improvement initiative that addresses improving the quality of care for acute chest patients who arrive in the emergency department and how this initiative has benefited patients, families and communities while reducing healthcare costs.

Anderson Hospital leaders were among more than 100 hospital and health system leaders from across Illinois who shared with legislators their efforts to improve patient care and safety during the Illinois Health and Hospital Association’s (IHA) Quality Advocacy Showcase. A total of 92 hospitals and health systems were represented at the event.

“A partnership with our legislators is so important to ensure that hospitals receive appropriate and timely funding,” said Kathryn Ward, MSN RN Lean Facilitator. “Illinois Health and Hospital Association ties hospitals together and provide a loud voice for us to assure that our community needs are met through funding”.

Ward met with Rep. Katie Stuart during the event. Ward said “the opportunity to meet with a State Representative and discuss the importance of healthcare funding for quality projects that positively impact our community was awesome”. “It was obvious during my interaction with Representative Katie Stuart that she is energetic and committed to helping healthcare organizations develop good strategies that support population health.

With a focus on patient safety, Anderson Hospital’s project to improve quality of care for acute chest pain patients arriving to the emergency department while using Lean strategies was launched ono April 21, 2016. The quality initiative has been a two year project that led to a hospital investment of $478,000 and a cost savings of $645,000. For the patients, families and communities, Anderson Hospital serves, the project:

For patients, decreased mortality & morbidity

For family members, decreased emotional stress with early diagnosis

For the community, efficient and qualitative emergency care

IHA’s Quality Advocacy Showcase, in its third year, is designed to visually demonstrate the work of physicians, nurses, quality improvement leaders and hospital administrators to develop and implement solutions to improve care. IHA produced one 30-by-42-inch poster per hospital or health system project for the event.

“This event provides a timely reminder of the life-saving work Illinois hospitals do daily and the critical role state government plays in ensuring that hospitals have the resources to continue to provide high-quality care to all Illinoisans,” said IHA President and CEO A.J. Wilhelmi.

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Note: Individual hospital and health system posters can be found in our 2018 compendium. Professional photos from the Quality Advocacy Showcase are available for media use.