Fall Winter 2017

The Oregon Caregiver Fall/Winter 2017 www.ohca.com 10 QUALITY O regon Health Care Association’s history of collaboration for quality improvement in long term care achieved an important milestone during the 2017 legislative session with the passage of House Bill (HB) 3359 . My colleagues and I are pleased that so many legislators, advocates, and long term care leaders rallied around this concept to promote quality improvement, patient safety cultures, and public reporting. HB 3359 will significantly advance quality measures for assisted living, residential care, and memory care communities. These newly adopted standards will place Oregon once again on the frontline of progressive public policy for home and community based services (HCBS). Publicly reported quality measures were a recommendation from the Purple Ribbon Commission, a group of Oregon and national aging and dementia care experts and researchers brought together by OHCA and the Alzheimer’s Association Oregon Chapter. This recommendation and a handful of others from the Purple Ribbon Commission were added into HB 3359 . “It is very rewarding to realize this quality improvement objective,” said Jay Leo, a Purple Ribbon Commissioner. “Adoption of statewide quality measures will help providers understand their care and service delivery better and will also provide more information for consumers and regulators to evaluate individual community performance in a holistic manner, not just via complaints and compliance.” HB 3359 defines a set of six key quality measures: staff retention, falls resulting in physical injury, antipsychotic usage for non-standard purposes, compliance with staff training requirements, a quality of life indicator, and annual resident satisfaction surveys results conducted by a third party. HCBS providers must begin gathering these key quality measures in 2019 for submission to the Department of Human Services (DHS) by January 31, 2020. These measures come from the patient safety organization reporting principles which support transparent reporting without fear of retaliation. They also align with the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act passed by Congress in 2005 and will allow for all quality partners to use the information to collaborate, learn from, and improve care and services. In addition to requiring reporting by HCBS facilities, HB 3359 directs DHS to complete an annual report that illustrates statewide patterns and trends based on the reported data; identifies non-reporting communities; allows providers and consumers to compare performance on each quality measure; identifies the number, scope and severity of regulatory violations; and shows the timelines for survey and abuse investigations. This report will be made available publicly by DHS. The reporting aspect of the bill will be guided by a Governor-appointed “Quality Measurement Council.” The council, established within DHS, will prescribe how the department shall implement the requirements within the bill. The council will consist of eight members who are required to represent Home & Community Based Care Quality Measures Benefit All By Linda Kirschbaum, Oregon Health Care Association HB 3359 Key Quality Measures • Staff retention • Falls resulting in physical injury • Antipsychotic usage for non- standard purposes • Compliance with staff training requirements • Annual resident satisfaction surveys results conducted by a third party • Quality of life indicator AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program provides a pathway for providers to journey toward performance excellence. The program is based on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. OHCA members may apply for three progressive levels of awards: Bronze —Commitment to Quality, Silver —Achievement in Quality, or Gold —Excellence in Quality. Each level has its own distinct rigors and requirements for quality and performance excellence. The 2018 Quality Awards program application process begins in the fall of 2017. The intent to apply deadline is November 9, 2018.