CheckPoint: (State Level)
VMH began participating in a quality initiative called CheckPoint in January of 2004. CheckPoint was initiated by the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA).  Its purpose is to provide consumers and employers with reliable, valid data on 5 safety goals and lists recommended care that adults should get if being treated for a heart attack, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, or having surgery.
This website also provides information on mortality rates for patients with a principle diagnosis code of acute heart attack, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia.
This information helps consumers, health care providers, family, and friends compare the quality of care provided in the hospitals that submit data on the quality of care they provide for certain conditions.  This quality information not only helps people make good decisions about their health care, but also encourages hospitals to improve the quality of health they provide. The data submitted is validated by the federal government.  If the hospital passes the validation process, only then is their data made public.It makes us aware of the few of the many efforts that are taken to prevent errors in hospitals. By providing this information to the public, we can help improve their overall health status.  For more information about the CheckPoint program – go to the website: http://www.wicheckpoint.org/
 
Hospital Compare:  (National Level)
This is a national program that receives its information from Wisconsin’s state level program, CheckPoint.  The guidelines for this program are identical to the CheckPoint program with one exception.  That exception is CheckPoint waits for 25 cases per measure before they publicly report the data, whereas Hospital Compare does not.  For more information about this program – go to the website: http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov
 
Healthgrades, a national healthcare organization awadred VMH five-star ratings for our total knee replacement surgeries in 2008.  Healthgrades gets its information from Medicare files called MedPAR (Medicare Provider Analysis & Review).  MedPAR obtains its information from the data that each hospital submits to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid through various programs including CheckPoint.
 
Patient Satisfaction:
This program began in January of 1995.  VMH has an internal Patient Advocate Program where inpatients tell staff members about their hospital stay.  This is done before a patient is discharged.  The Patient Advocate records responses on the customer satisfaction form and make any necessary referrals to assist in improving a patients’ stay.  Our staff receives high marks for their quick response, caring attitudes towards patients, concern for patient privacy, and their technical skills.
 

HCAHPS – (Hospital Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems):
This is an external patient satisfaction program.  This survey was created by the federal government and designed to produce comparable data on the patients’ perspectives on their in-patient care.  This survey is mailed to the patient after they are discharged from the hospital per federal guidelines.  Its purpose is to uniformly measure and public report patients’ perspectives on a national basis.  Its intent is to help consumers make more informed choices among hospitals and to create incentives for hospitals to improve their performance.  
There are 10 categories in which hospitals are rated.  Those categories are as follows:
-      Communication with Nurses
-      Communication with Doctors
-      Responsiveness of Hospital Staff
-      Pain Management
-      Communication About Medicines
-      Quietness of Hospital Environment
-      Discharge Information
-      Overall Rating
-      Willingness to Recommend Hospital
 
We have been above both state and national averages in almost every category.  We need a 40% response rate in order for our results to be made public.  Through quarter 3, 2007, our response rate update has been 56%.  This indicates that our community takes their healthcare very seriously.  
 
VMH is participating in a quality improvement initiative conducted by MetaStar (Wisconsin’s quality improvement organization) called ‘Systems Improvement and Organizational Safety Culture Change’.  This initiative started in April of 2006.  Bar-coded technology can prevent many medical errors at all stages of the drug ordering and delivering system.  It decreases the risk of administration of medications to patients with known allergies and decreases errors in dose calculations.  Bar-coding can overcome many of the human limitations and environmental effects on performance and patient safety.  Our intent is to begin this technology after implementation of the automated medication dispensing system and the electronic medication administration record.  
 
VMH is participating in a study conducted by MetaStar, titled Rural Organizational Safety Culture Change.  This involves a survey, which focuses on assessing teamwork and culture within the organization.  The ‘Patient Safety” survey was developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and is being used by hospitals across the U.S. to assist inpatient safety efforts.  VMH started with this initiative in October of 2006.   It has helped us identify strengths and challenges related to improving the safety of our patients.  It has also assisted us in forming new committees to focus on specific quality improvement efforts that were identified.  
Some of the current activities to keep you safe are: -- Using two patient identifiers – your name and date of birth are the preferred.  Identifiers are used whenever a lab sample is collected, medication is given, blood  is transfused, or surgery is done.