
Recruiting Nursing Homes
Maximizing participation in the CMS 11th Scope of Work national collaborative

Improving Care
Reducing Inappropriate Use of Antipsychotic Medications

Reaching Out to Residents
Enhancing beneficiary involvement in healthcare decision-making
Nursing Home Quality Improvement
Working to improve the quality of care delivery to nursing home residents.
New York South Carolina Washington D.C.
The AQIN Collaborative Approach
Working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Atlantic Quality Innovation Network (AQIN), led by IPRO in New York and including Qlarant in the District of Columbia and the Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence in South Carolina, is developing a strategy to guide local, state and national efforts in improving quality of care in nursing homes and skilled-nursing facilities.
As a collaborative effort, the AQIN is partnering with long-term care communities and other providers throughout our three regions to improve nursing home quality and performance by focusing on enhanced consumer engagement, strengthened survey processes and standards, the creation of strategic partnerships and the advancement of quality through innovation.
Goals
Communities and other providers participating in this initiative are working with our industry experts to achieve the following goals:
- Achieve a score of six or better on the Nursing Home Quality Composite Measure Score
- Improve the mobility of long-stay residents
- Reduce Inappropriate Use of Antipsychotic Medications
- Decrease healthcare-acquired conditions (HACs)
Nursing Homes are also targeting the following areas for improvement:
- Communication/Teamwork/Staff stability
- Collaborative Problem Solving
- Using Data to Drive Improvement
Key Strategies & Interventions
AQIN supports participants of the Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative by providing:
- Learning and Action Network activities – educational webinars and video series; informational emails; NH Quality Care Collaborative events (NHQCC); focused, virtual affinity group collaboration; and a Peer Mentoring Program
- Quality Assurance & Performance Improvement (QAPI) principles, processes and resources;
- Collaborative Change Package resources
Nursing Home Quality Improvement Project
Participating Nursing Homes:
- Join in educational collaborative sessions, teleconferences, affinity groups, webinars and website forums;
- Form an interdisciplinary team to work with IPRO on areas targeted for improvement;
- Develop interventions on topics specific to improving composite measure score;
- Develop interventions to decrease inappropriate usage of antipsychotic medications;
- Develop plans to improve resident mobility;
- Develop measures to align efforts to reduce avoidable hospital admissions/re-admissions;
- Maintain an updated QAPI Assessment Tool;
- Develop and apply strategies for implementing QAPI and overall quality by working to:
- Utilize a data-driven and proactive approach to quality improvement
- Identify opportunities for improvement
- Address gaps in systems through planned interventions and working through action plans to improve the overall quality of care
- Actively share best practices and lessons learned
Initiatives
- Cardiovascular Health
- Care Coordination
- Community Based Sepsis
- Diabetes Self-Management
- Drug Safety
- Immunization
- MAPPP
- Nursing Home Quality
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- Nursing Home Quality (NY)
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- QAPI Self-Assessment
- CASPER Data
- Eliminating Inappropriate Antipsychotic Medication Use
- Clinical Quality Measures (QM)
- Composite Measure Score
- NHQCC Collaborative I Kick-Off
- NHQCC Collaborative I Outcomes Congress
- QI/QAPI
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- Using a System's Approach to Quality & Performance Improvement
- Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NHQCC) Learning
- Engaging Staff in Individualized Care
- QAPI Self-Assessment and Related Resources
- QAPI In Action
- Quality Improvement (QI) Resources
- Quality Improvement Strategies
- Steps to QAPI
- Elements for Framing QAPI in Nursing Homes
- Clinical Topics
- Resources
- Consumers
- Nursing Home Quality (DC)
- Nursing Home Quality (SC)
- Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship
- Quality Payment Program
- Transforming End of Life
Contact Us
New York
Pauline Kinney, RN, MA, LNHA, RAC-CT
Senior Director, Health Care Quality Improvement
Tel: 516-209-5402
Fax: 516-326-0434
pauline.kinney@area-I.hcqis.org
Maureen Valvo, RN, BSN, RAC-CT
Senior Quality Improvement Specialist
Tel: 516-209-5308
Maureen.valvo@area-I.hcqis.org
David L. Johnson, NHA, RAC-CT
Senior Quality Improvement Specialist
Tel: 518-320-3516
David.johnson@area-I.hcqis.org
Dan Yuricic, MA
Senior Quality Improvement Specialist
Tel: 516-209-5458
Danny.yuricic@area-I.hcqis.org
District of Columbia
Jacqueline Bell-Hairston
Project Manager
Tel: 410-872-9638
bellj@qlarant.com
South Carolina
Nancy (Libby) Lawson, M.Ed., RN
Quality Specialist
Tel: 803-212-7500 ext. 5619
nlawson@thecarolinascenter.org