ALTON, IL – Nearly 200 hospitals across the state, including Alton Memorial Hospital, have joined the Illinois Hospital Association’s “Raising the Bar” initiative to raise the level of health care quality and make Illinois a national leader in quality care and patient safety.

Working through the IHA’s new Quality Care Institute, hospital leaders have pledged to share best practices and implement new methods to prevent and reduce infections and other complications as well as unnecessary hospital readmissions.

Get The Latest News!

Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.

“Quality care is a core priority for our hospital, and by pledging to ‘Raise the Bar’ on health care quality and safety, our hospital has reaffirmed its commitment to ensure that every patient gets the right care, at the right time, in the right setting,” said Alton Memorial President Dave Braasch. “Through IHA’s Quality Care Institute, we will transform health care and prepare for changes in the health care delivery system while continuing to provide the best care to our patients and the communities we serve.”

Leaders of hospitals from throughout Illinois have signed the “Raising the Bar: A Call to Action pledge,” which calls for the hospitals to engage in specific interventions over the next three years to reduce hospital readmissions, hospital-acquired infections and other complications. The hospitals pledged to work to develop and collaborate on initiatives and programs that will:

-- Reduce 30-day hospital readmission rates for congestive heart failure, heart

  attack and pneumonia;

-- Reduce hospital-acquired conditions and infections such as Methicillin-resistant

Article continues after sponsor message

Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); C. difficile; central line-associated bloodstream   

infections (CLABSI); catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI);  

surgical-site infections; and deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism

following certain orthopedic procedures.

Through the Quality Care Institute, hospitals can access data, tools and best practices from across the state, and from state and national experts on quality improvement and patient safety. The Institute will also provide Illinois hospitals with practical approaches for performance improvement and will actively advocate for the removal of barriers to the coordination of patient care.

The Quality Care Institute is also providing members and the public a wide range of data on the services provided at nearly 200 Illinois hospitals and how they measure up in quality and safety of care through the Illinois Hospitals Caring for You Web site, www.illinoishospitals.org.

More information about the Quality Care Institute and the “Raising the Bar” initiative is available at the Institute’s Web site, www.ihaqualitycare.org. The pledge form can be seen at www.ihatoday.org/qci/pledge.pdf.

The IHA, with offices in Naperville, Springfield, and Washington, D.C., is an advocate for 200 Illinois hospitals and the patients and communities they serve. For more information about IHA, visit www.ihatoday.org.

More like this:

Feb 28, 2024 - OSF Saint Anthony’s Awarded Primary Stroke Center Advanced Certification From The Joint Commission

Mar 22, 2024 - OSF Collaborates To Solve Psychiatrist Shortage Amid Growing Mental Health Demands

Mar 15, 2024 - IAC Reaffirms Echocardiography Accreditation for HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital

Jan 11, 2024 - Gov. Pritzker Announces $10M Capital Investment For The Southern Illinois Healthcare Cancer Institute

Jan 9, 2024 - 2023 Continued Multi-Year-Over-Year Growth Trend At OSF Saint Anthony’s