Ionia County Memorial Hospital
479 Lafayette St. Ionia, Michigan 48846
1-616-527-4200
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Our Mission: We are committed to improving and maintaining the health of the people of the communities we serve.
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November 17, 2005
ICMH RECEIVES STATE RECOGNITION AWARD
Ionia County Memorial Hospital announced today that it has received an award for participation in the Michigan Heart Failure Discharge Documentation Initiative. The goal of this project is to increase patient education relating to discharge documentation for heart failure patients. The outcomes of the project showed encouraging results. The partnership included 39 Michigan hospitals, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Michigan Chapter of the American College of Cardiology and MPRO, Michigan’s healthcare quality improvement
organization. At Ionia County Memorial Hospital the project was directed by physician champions, Brian Thangamani, MD and Doyle Calley, MD and Project Manager, Barb Dora.
The purpose of this initiative was to increase patient education relating to the six key elements of the heart failure discharge measures of medication, diet, activity, follow up appointments, symptom worsening and weight monitoring, as well as reduce hospital readmissions for Michigan’s heart failure patient population by utilizing established tools.
“Our approach employed the Institute of Healthcare Improvement’s Model, along with the lessons learned from previous Guidelines Applied in Practice projects,” said Terry Aldini, RN, MSA, project manager, MPRO. Ms. Aldini added, “The Model is an organized approach to health care quality improvement in which providers test and measure practice innovations and share their experiences in an effort to accelerate learning and implementation of best practices.”
Congestive heart failure is the leading discharge diagnosis in patients over age 65 and its incidence increases with age reports the American Academy of Family Physicians. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2004 Medicare data, Michigan had more than 35,000 patients discharged with a diagnosis of heart failure last year, costing approximately $226 million to the state’s hospitals.
“Ionia County Memorial Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of life for heart failure patients. Reducing hospital readmissions for heart failure patients and keeping them healthy is our top priority and we are dedicated to this goal,” said Dr. Brian Thangamani. “We are pleased to join other providers across the state to work on this joint project. Together we can make a difference in the quality and safety of patient care.”
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