An innovative approach to build high-reliability hospitals in rural and underserved areas
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services named nine organizations in September 2020, including TMF Health Quality Institute, as Hospital Quality Improvement Contractors (HQICs) for the CMS Quality Improvement Program. This CMS Hospital Quality Improvement (HQI) initiative built on the achievements from CMS’ previous initiatives, Hospital Improvement Innovation Network and Hospital Engagement Networks, with a keen focus to improve patient safety, quality and outcomes in rural, critical access and vulnerable populations. While the program ended in September 2024, the processes established with engaged hospitals to promote high quality patient care continues.
As an HQIC from September 2020 to September 2024, TMF collaborated with participating hospitals to focus on reducing all-cause patient harm and readmissions in rural, medically underserved and vulnerable populations. TMF facilitated health care transformation by working with participating hospitals to identify, use and spread evidence-based practices, and through the systematic use of quality improvement science. As an organization with a history of strong connectedness to hospital organizations, TMF leveraged our ability to support hospitals by committing to challenging goals and remaining in on-going action to adapt and test practices in support of achieving those goals.
Goals and Areas of Focus
In alignment with the CMS Rural Health Strategy, TMF’s initiative focuses on engaging rural and critical access hospitals and hospitals serving vulnerable populations. TMF provides quality improvement and technical assistance support to address opportunities in the following areas:
- Patient safety
- Patient and family engagement
- Leadership anf Governance engagement
- Health care disparities
- Public health emergencies
- Staffing and workforce
- High reliability organization implementation
- Resolution of CSM citations
TMF and its partnering hospitals exceeded all outcomes measures for this program, resulting in 2,100 patient harms avoided, and $43 million saved.
Your hospital and providers work hard every day to provide safe reliable quality care. TMF invites you to partner with us in future project to work to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, economy and quality of services delivered to the patients you serve.