AQAF-April-MeetingSelect Alabama nursing homes that are participating in a major initiative to improve health outcomes met Tuesday in Montgomery.

The Alabama Nursing Facility Intervention Executive Leadership Collaborative (NFI Collaborative) seeks to lower the number of avoidable hospital readmissions.

Alabama Nursing Home Association Executive Director Bill O’Connor told those attending the event that they have a unique window of opportunity to make a difference in healthcare.

“Health care is the number one thing people are talking about today,” O’Connor said. “We’ve got great people that work in our nursing homes. They look forward to this change, and will embrace it because what we do today won’t be what we do tomorrow.”

The NFI Collaborative is a partnership of the Alabama Nursing Home Association, Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation (AQAF), Alabama Dept. of Public Health and several other health care organizations. Established in 2013, it is funded by a $15.2 million grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Over the course of the collaborative, each nursing home will:
•    Identify possible causes for avoidable hospitalizations and select the proper interventions;
•    Deploy leadership approaches to more effectively train nursing home staff; and
•    Implement evidence based medication safety practices.

In addition, AQAF has on-site staff to partner with the existing nursing facility staff to provide preventive services as well as improve assessments and management of medical conditions. AQAF will also work toward more seamless beneficiary transitions of care, and leverage use of emerging technologies, among many other activities.  The work will be subject to a rigorous external evaluation.

O’Connor reminded the audience that everyone involved in the initiative must focus on what is most important.

“In everything, let’s make sure we’re talking about the person we’re serving,” O’Connor said. “How will we deliver the best possible service to those we serve at a cost that is sustainable to the taxpayers.”

Twenty-three Alabama nursing homes in 14 counties are participating in the collaborative. Nationwide, 145 nursing homes in seven states are participating.

The nursing homes participating in the collaborative are:

About AQAF:
AQAF provides health care quality improvement services to clients in the public and private sectors. Through a contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, AQAF serves as Alabama’s Medicare Quality Improvement Organization. For more information visit www.aqaf.com.